The Grand Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

The first time I visited this magnificent architectural wonder was around 1 year ago. I was just visiting Abu Dhabi with a friend, and naturally had to make this stop on our tour of the city. Any time I enter a place of worship, be it a church, a mosque, a temple, I am hit with an overwhelming sense of divine presence that dances through my veins. I usually get the chills, my eyes begin to water, and all the noise and chaos that exist in the external world are muted. I soak myself in the otherworldly energy that permeates every house of God.

This mosque is the 3rd largest in the world, following the mosques in Mecca and Medina (both in Saudi Arabia). I recently learned that the grounds of Sheikh Zayed mosque cover about 30 acres, and the man behind this perfect architectural design was a Syrian man named Yusef Abdelky. There are 82 domes that cover the golden halls and long white corridors. In the evening, as the sun sets, the domes are lit up with an incredible blue-grey-purple light projection that mirrors the phases of the moon.

I do know a few people who actually live in Abu Dhabi and have never taken the time to visit this magnificent sight. I don't understand them at all, as I take every possible opportunity to go out there and wander around this breath taking beauty.