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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: A Marvel of Islamic Architecture in 2024

By Kuldeep Kumar

09-Nov-2024 0

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the world's largest mosques, located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The mosque is so large that it can accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers and therefore the main prayer hall will accommodate over 7,000. Here is all about Sheikh Zayed Mosque that you ought to know. This enormous mosque has now attracted people from around the world and each of the countries has people wanting to travel to Dubai hence, Dubai E Visa Online makes sure that all who want to travel get their own choices and comfort. You can opt for a 14 days Dubai visa to catch a glimpse of this wonderful mosque. You can apply for a Dubai Visa Online with the minimum document required for Dubai Visa

There are two prayer halls, one of which is the women's prayer hall. Each of those prayer halls can accommodate 1,500 people. The largest prayer hall is dominated by one of the world's largest chandeliers. The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan built this mosque to convey historic consequences and to embody the Islamic message of peace, tolerance, and variety. Also, explore the Best Places to visit in Dubai in 2024.

The marble employed in the development included

Lasa from Laas, South Tyrol, Italy, was utilised in the inner elevations. Makrana, from Makrana, India, was employed in the annexes and offices. The mosque's minarets combine Mameluke, Ottoman, and Fatimid styles in a manner that fuses diverse Islamic architectural styles into one expression of art and wonder. The use of natural multi-colored marble creates novel artistic outcomes, including decorated crowned columns where the crowns don't seem to be located on the highest of the columns but on the underside. This extraordinary technique is innovative in Islamic architecture. The colours of the walls, columns, and carpet are harmonised in an exceeding manner that transforms the mosque into a creative masterpiece and a symphony of colours and shades. Another important feature is the artistic glasswork.

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Minarets

The mosque consists of four minarets, each approximately 106 metres tall. Each minaret has been embedded with at least three different geometric shapes. The primary could be a square that forms the minaret's base. Its style of architecture reflects that of Moroccan, Andalusian, and Mameluke styles.

The second section of the minaret consisted of an octagonal shape, which could be a design that dates back to the Mameluke era, which ranges from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The third section is cylindrically shaped, a design element that originated from the Ottoman era, which is from the 14th to 20th centuries. The crowning lantern, which is covered with a gold-glass mosaic, dates back to the Fatimid era, which is from the 10th to the 12th centuries.

Carpet

The main prayer hall has the world's largest hand-knotted carpet being laid out. The delicate Islamic medallion design was made by one of the third-generation carpet makers and artists, Dr. Ali Khaliqi. The piece that has been made of wool is about 5,700 square metres and has been hand-crafted by at least more than 1,200 artisans. The overall project took two years, including eight months for the look and 12 months for the knotting.

Chandeliers

There are seven crystal chandeliers from Germany being imported. The biggest is 10 metres across, 15 metres tall, and weighs 12 tonnes. There are two smaller versions of the identical design, also located within the main prayer hall. These weigh 8 tonnes each.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has many unique elements that are quite special as well: The carpet within the main prayer hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet, made by Iran's Carpet Company and was designed by an Iranian artist named Ali Khaliqi. This carpet measures about 5,627 M2 (60,570 sq ft) and was made by more than 1,200–1,300 carpet knotters using their skills. The weight of this carpet is 35 tons and it is predominantly made of wool (originating from New Zealand and Iran).

The pools along the arcades reflect the mosque's columns, which become illuminated in the dark. Beautiful bluish-grey clouds are projected in lights onto the external walls and become brighter and darker in line with the phase of the moon.
The 96 columns that are inside the main prayer hall are clad with marble and decorated with mother of pearl, one of a kind in all the few places where one can see this craftsmanship by a renowned artist.
The five pillars of belief for those using the Mosque are: there's just one God, Allah
To pray 5 times daily and cleanse the body by washing before prayer
To walk to Mecca a minimum of once in a lifetime
To adhere to Ramadan fasting between sunrise and sunset and provide 2.5% of their money to charity annually

White Is Now The colour Of Purity

Part of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque's everlasting beauty is attributed to the white marble. H.H., the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, chose white marble for the development of the mosque as a representation of peace and purity. Built with 100,000 tonnes of white marble imported from Macedonia, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi stands today because of its epitome of purity. The white marble is an inherent characteristic that provides the mosque's personality and stylish grandeur.

Perfection Demands Time And Precision

It took 11 long years to complete the marvel that's the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque today. The development of the mosque began in 1996, but it wasn't until 2007 that the Sheikh Zayed Mosque was opened for worship. Sadly, it was three years after H.H., the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, died, leaving behind this wonder. His grave rests in the mosque's courtyard. During these 11 years, it took 38 different contracting companies and over 3,000 workers and artisans to make the vision come true. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, with its reflective pools, marble mosaic courtyard, opulent design, and everlasting grandeur, is one of the most spectacular landmarks in the UAE.

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The Marvellous Fusion Of Architectural Styles

One of the foremost unique facts about the Sheikh Grand Zayed Mosque in the United Arab Emirates capital is that its design combines the simplest of Islamic architecture. Syrian architect Yousef Abdelky took inspiration from the Mughal and Persian architectures with hints of Moorish styles when creating the plans for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Except for that, one can witness traces of Arabic architecture of Moroccan, Mameluke, and Andalusian origins throughout the various elements of the mosque.

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A Guinness Record For The Carpet

The Persian carpet within the main prayer hall of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque is quite the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world. It covers a locality of 5,700 square metres and took two years to be completed, trimmed, and transported to the mosque. Around 1,200 artisans had worked on the carpet, hence creating 9 different parts that were later assembled and weaved together to form one piece. This gorgeous Persian carpet is made of 70% wool and 30% cotton.

Everything About Its Grand, Chandeliers Included

Just as grand as its name, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has about seven luxe crystal chandeliers that are located within the main prayer hall and other foyer entrances. This chandelier is made by Faustig Germany. These chandeliers have Swarovski crystal-studded glass panels that are only a part of their overall allure. All these chandeliers are made of brass, stainless steel, and around 40 kg of galvanised gold! the most important of those, which is additionally the second-largest within the world, adorn the most prayer hall. It's 49 feet high, has a diameter of 33 feet, and weighs a whopping 12 tonnes. The six others weigh between 8 and a pair of tonnes.

Hence, as you now know, Sheikh Zayed Mosque is everything that a tourist site should have fulfilled.