Taj of the Abu Dhabi — It doesn’t get grander than this

Ancient wisdom has it that “to cultivate the sense of the beautiful is one of the most effectual ways of cultivating an appreciation of the divine goodness”.  There is, therefore, something in true beauty that corresponds with right reason.

When I saw the Taj Mahal at Agra for the first time many years ago, I was awestruck by its sheer beauty, wondering how it was possible for anyone to create such a magnificent edifice on this earth. I felt the same way recently when I first saw the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The grace and grandeur of the construction humble you into complete silence; to borrow a popular musical cliché, it makes you feel ‘the sound of silence’ while being surrounded by lots of people.

The Taj, which was built as a mausoleum, dates back to about 370 years ago and is a significant architectural masterpiece of the Mughal dynasty. But the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, initiated by the late President of UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, is a modern edifice, already being hailed by international media as the “Taj of the Abu Dhabi” — arguably one of the best Islamic architectural masterpieces in the world.

A key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers for people in the region, the Grand Mosque is said to be the largest in the UAE, accommodating as many as 40,000 people.

Architecture

Visitors are allowed to freely move around, both inside and outside the mosque, and take in the brilliant design and construction, which involved artisans and materials from virtually every corner of the globe. The design is said to have been inspired by Arab, Mughal and Moorish mosque architecture, particularly the dome layout and the floor plan. The archways are distinctly Moorish and the Minarets classically Arab.

Built at a cost of $545 million, the Grand Mosque, which opened in 2007, has 82 domes of Moroccan design with white marble, with the main dome having a height of 70 metres from inside. According to the Research Centre for Islamic History and Culture in Turkey, this is the largest dome of its kind in the world today. There are 1,000 columns in the outer area, with over 20,000 marble claddings inlaid with semi-precious stones, including Abalone shell, amethyst, lapis lazuli, mother of pearl and red agate. There are four prayer halls, and the 96 columns in the main prayer hall (which can house over 7,000 people) are decorated with mother of pearl.

The four Minarets at the four corners of the courtyard rise to an impressive height of 351 ft, and the courtyard, with its breathtaking floral designs, measures about 1,80,000 sq.ft., considered to be the largest marble mosaic in the world.

Unforgettable experience

The mosque has many unique elements, like the carpet in the main prayer hall (measuring 60,750 sq.ft.), which is said to be the world’s largest, made by an Iranian carpet company and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqui. Made predominantly from wool (originating from New Zealand and Iran), the carpet weighs 35 tonnes and is believed to have taken two years for completion.

Some 28 different types of marble have been used in the Grand Mosque, including Sivec from Greece, Lasa from Italy, Markana from India and East White and Ming from China. The Grand Mosque has seven chandeliers, imported from Germany and holding millions of Swarovski crystals, with the largest of these having a diameter of 33 ft and height of 15 ft. 

The overall experience of a visit to the Grand Mosque at Abu Dhabi should be an unforgettable one for anyone visiting the Emirates region for the first time.

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