A Day in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE. Its on an island 250 metres from the mainland but connected by bridges.
It has a famous mosque but first we visited the Heritage Village which is right next to the beach and has great city views.
view from beach
It shows how people lived before the discovery of oil.
But the rest of this city is about spending money on huge buildings and fancy hotels.
It is the richest city in the world. An average each citizen is worth $17 million.
The Grand Mosque
The Sheik Zayed Mosque is all about the biggest and best everything.
The statistics are stunning.
- 41,000 worshippers.
- 100,00 tons of pure white marble.
- A chandelier weighing 12 tons.
- A carpet taking 1200 weavers 2 years to complete.
- 80 marble domes held up by 1000 pillars
- Four minarets, each 107 metres high.
The walls are inlaid with floral motifs containing lapis lazuli, red agate, jasper, amethyst and mother of pearl.
Tourists are made welcome. At the entrance you are inspected to see if you pass the dress code.
You need to wear long, loose ankle length clothing with long sleeves and a headscarf for women. You be will not allowed in if you are not covered up but you can borrow the correct garments easily.
There is a lot to see and as you walk round the views through every arch have carefully planned reflections in both the water and the marble.
The interior walls are covered in semi precious floral designs and even the ceilings are very ornate
This was definitely the highlight of our day and, beautiful as it is, a day in Abu Dhadi is enough.
