Sheikh Zayed Mosque

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Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the third largest mosque in the world ^[1], located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan the founder and the first President of the United Arab Emirates, who is also buried there. The Mosque was officially opened in the month of Ramadan in 2007. It is located in a large area between two bridges, Mussafah Bridge and Maqta bridge. It is considered the sixth largest mosque in the world ^[2]. Although it is illegal for non-Muslims to enter mosques in the United Arab Emirates, this mosque will be an exception. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority announced that tours of the mosques will be given to both Muslims and non-Muslims beginning in mid-March 2008 in order to promote cultural and religious understanding.^[3]

[edit] World Records

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque made some world records:

• The carpet laid out on the vast expanse is the "World's Largest Carpet" made by Iran's Carpet Company and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi.^[4] This carpet measures 5,627 square meters, and was made by around 1,200 weavers, 20 technicians, and 30 workers. The weight of this carpet is 47 tons - 35 tons of wool, and 12 tons of cotton. There are 2,268,000 knots within the carpet.

• This mosque also holds, the largest chandelier. There are seven imported chandeliers from Germany and are copper and gold-plated. The largest chandelier has a 10 meter diameter and a 15 meter height ^[5].

Both of these records were previously held by the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Oman.

[edit] Architecture

The Mosque is large enough to accommodate more than 30,000 worshippers.

There are four minarets on the four corners of the mosque which rise about 107 meters in height. There are 57 domes covering the outside yard and the main building as well. The domes are decorated with white marble and the interior decoration is made of marble. The courtyard is paved with floral marble designs and measures about 17,000 square meters.

[edit] References