Saturday, January 23, 2010
Leaving Al Nahyan Mosque
Interestingly, I was not allowed inside of the women's section of the mosque.
Al Nahyan Mosque
To make the massive carpet for the inner mosque area, carpet weavers were brought from Iran and they wove the carpet in place within the mosque.
Floor Detail - Al Nayan Mosque
Like the columns, the designs are are made of cut stone inlaid in marble.
Touring the Mosque
Amazingly, tourists are allowed inside the mosque. Women are given black clothes for cover-up and men are given white robes if they are wearing shorts. If you look at the details in the column to my right in the picture, it is all carved stone inlaid into the marble.
Abu Dhabi's Prize - the Al Nayan Mosque
The Al Nayan Mosque is open to visitors, but it is so new that workers were still putting down tile in the outside floors. It was designed to be the largest mosque in the world and would have been, if Saudi Arabia hadn't intervened. They objected that no mosque should be larger than the one in Mecca
. Abu Dhabi conceded and their mosque is now the second largest in the world, but definitely larger than any mosque in Dubai.
. Abu Dhabi conceded and their mosque is now the second largest in the world, but definitely larger than any mosque in Dubai.Playing Catch-Up
Abu Dhabi is working hard to catch up with Dubai to become just as successful with tourism. It's efforts are much more conservative. It has always been a city where the heights of buildings are regulated to about 10 stories. Now the buildings are taller but seem to stop at around 25 stories to control environmental impact.Abu Dhabi City View
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emerates. It's about a 2 hour drive south from Dubai. As you can see, even though the city is larger, older, and richer, it isn't as built up and modern as Dubai.
Atlantis Anemone
This is the centerpiece of the Atlantis Hotel Lobby. One critic slammed it as "the intstines of all the people who had ever stayed there." Ouch!
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