Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

To enter the main building of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, you must cross the grand open courtyard. As you make your way across, you’ll pass arcades with open archways based on traditional Moorish design. 

The arcades surround the courtyard and connect the towering Arab minarets that stand at each corner of the structure. Looking up, you’ll notice numerous white domes rising from all sides of the building. Looking down, you’ll see one of the world’s largest marble mosaic floors.

Standing in the main courtyard, the tallest structures you’ll see are the towering, 107-meter-high minarets standing in each of the courtyard’s four corners. The minarets, based on classic Arab design, house the mosque’s offices and library.

The library contains approximately 7,000 books on a wide range of subjects —including science, civilization, calligraphy, and the arts—all of which are available to the public.

As you face the main building, which houses the mosque’s prayer halls, you’ll see the largest dome of all. This tops the largest prayer hall, which can hold up to 7,000 worshipers.

The floor of the courtyard is believed to be the world’s largest marble mosaic. Featuring marble from Macedonia, Italy, India, and China, the white floor features an enormous floral design that winds along the edges of the courtyard. 

You’ll pass along a walkway lined with towering palms to reach the main entrance of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The entrance features many architectural details that work together to create a peaceful, yet dramatic scene.

Twin fountains gurgle on either side of the central walkway, which opens onto an expansive marble floor where reflecting pools stretch to left and right.

The facade—made of pure white marble—features repeating Moorish archways. In the evening, lines of glowing carved boxes bathe the arcades in a warm, yellow light.

Water plays a dual role in helping create a tranquil setting at the approach to the mosque’s entrance. Fountains of crystalline water bubble and glisten in the sunlight, while pools of calmer water line the arcades. 

These pools reflect the numerous columns and arches, creating the illusion that the open archways are twice as long as they truly are.

Standing in front of the mosque’s entrance you can’t help but notice the series of repeating open Moorish arches—also known as keyhole or horseshoe arches—that stretch out to the left and right, with the largest arch at front and center.

Each of the arches’ white columns showcases a flowing floral motif of colored semi-precious stone inlay, and is topped with a carved gold leaf palm tree.

Reflecting the late Sheikh Zayed’s desire to unite people, more than 3,000 artisans and workers, and at least 38 contracting companies worked together to construct the mosque.

If you were to return to the mosque night after night, you would note that the lighting changes with the phases of the moon; during the full moon the light is cold and white; as the moon wanes, the light becomes a deeper bluer.

Every detail in this space—from the materials used to the color schemes and designs—was chosen to create an atmosphere that reflects the sacred space that is the prayer hall. As you enter the hall, you may feel both humbled and inspired by the seemingly unreal beauty of the room.

A hand-woven rug cushions your feet, opulent gold and crystal chandeliers glow overhead, and numerous marble columns, like perfectly round trees of the purest white, stand tall between open Moorish archways.

Designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi and hand-knotted by approximately 1,300 artisans, this wool carpet weighs 35 tons and is believed to be the largest carpet in the world. The carpet features a scrolling floral design set against a deep green background. 

The largest of the mosque’s seven imported chandeliers hangs within the main prayer hall. This chandelier—measuring 10 meters across by 15 meters high and weighing 12 tons—is the third largest chandelier in the world.

Each of the mosque’s chandeliers is gold-plated, and together they contain millions of Swarovski crystals of various colors that create a brilliant luster.

There are 96 columns in the main prayer hall, each made of pure white marble and decorated with the same scrolling flower motif that is featured on many of the walls and floors throughout the mosque. Each piece of the inlay work was hand cut for a precise fit.

The Qibla wall—the most important religious location within the mosque—faces Mecca. The wall is inscribed with the 99 qualities of Allah, each scrolled in traditional Kufic calligraphy.

If you gaze at the Qibla wall, you will note a gently illuminated floral and vine design surrounding the 99 attributes. This detail is achieved using a fiber optic system located behind the design.

A sky-high view reveals the impressive size and structural layout of the mosque and its surrounding gardens and arcades. 

As a main place of worship, the mosque must be able to hold an enormous amount of people, and it can. Would you believe that over 40,000 people can visit the mosque at one time?

A bird’s eye view allows you to see numerous Moroccan-style domes—82 to be precise— of various sizes found atop all areas of the mosque. The largest dome measures 85 meters in height and 32.8 meters in diameter. It is the largest mosque dome in the world.

Seen from above, the courtyard appears to be a vast open space of gleaming white, surrounded by a winding floral design.

But if you were to take a closer look at ground level, you’d discover that the courtyard is actually one gigantic marble mosaic, considered by many to be the largest in the world at approximately 17,000 square meters.

The sweeping floral mosaic you see lining the edges of the main courtyard were specially designed for the mosque by artist and designer Kevin Dean, who studied at the Royal College of Art in Great Britain. 

Dean chose to feature an assortment of flowers that are native to the area, such as tulips, lilies, roses, and irises.

Row after row of columns line the interior of the walls surrounding the courtyard. The repeating open Moorish archways and domed ceilings create a feeling of spaciousness that draws your eyes upward and then down the arcades.

As you walk along the entrance arcades in the evening, be sure to stop and admire the rectangular reflecting pools that line the courtyard. The calm waters reflect the illuminated archway columns, creating a striking image of white and gold on the water’s dark surface.

You might be able to count all 96 columns inside of the main prayer hall, but you would most certainly lose track if you tried counting the columns in the exterior courtyard. There are a staggering 1,048 columns in all.

Each column is covered with pure white marble tiles—approximately 20,000 in all—and decorated with an inlaid winding floral motif of hand-cut semi-precious stones.