R. Doug Wicker — Author

Today we hang a right at the Great Hall and head into the east wing, although the Great Hall is so stunning that many of today’s photos will peering back into that area. I hope it doesn’t get too monotonous for you. Let’s start with a review of the layout of Qasr Al Watan Palace to help you get your bearings:

The Great Hall is represented above by the number 2. The east wing is to the right and contains points of interest 6, 7, and 8. We’ll be looking at these today and Wednesday. But before you get there, you’ll pass by area 1, “A Memory From The Palace.” This area contains the palace’s media room. You can also have taken here a photographic “memory” of yourself, which you will then be able to purchase as you exit.

Leaving this area behind and heading into the east wing, make sure to look back for some stunning views of the Great Hall:

The ceilings in the Great Hall (information link below) are so tall that I had to orient my camera into portrait mode and utilize my most extreme wide angle setting to record a full appreciation of the immense height:

I don’t know how tall the flat portion of the ceiling is, but that dome in the center rises to 197 feet/60 meters. And although it looks quite small in these photos because of the gargantuan scale of the hall, at 121 feet/37 meters across there is nothing small about it. In this next image of the dome, you can see a smaller dome at the top of the image. There are four of these smaller Great Hall domes, with each anchoring a corner of the ceiling.

As you walk into the east wing, you’ll see an impressively large circular metal sculpture. Here, for a price, you can step inside and pay to have a photograph taken.

While the ceiling above the Great Hall is impressive, that doesn’t mean you should skip looking overhead in the side wings:

On Wednesday we’ll continue deeper into the east wing to witness some of the cultural treasures residing there.

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan Palace Great Hall
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

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