R. Doug Wicker — Author

The interior views of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are stunning, and there is much here to capture the interest of any photographer. Last Wednesday I showed you the largest handmade rug in the world, with over 2.25 billion hand-tied knots. I also showed you the third largest chandelier in the world, which also happens to be the second largest found in any mosque. Today I’ll show you more views of the rug and other chandeliers, as well as many other decorations throughout the mosque.

Let’s begin by taking a look at those intricate relief floral designs made of semi-precious stone:

Not only do these designs decorate the columns along the colonnade, but they are also found inside mosque on the marble walls. Here you’ll find jasper, lapis lazuli, what appears to be red aventurine (flower below), and nephrite jade:

You will also find hand-painted tilework here in Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque:

Let’s zoom in for a closeup of the brightly colored glasswork on one of those impressive chandeliers:

Last week I neglected to mention an interesting detail regarding the orientation of the Qibla wall, which houses the mihrab niche. Qibla refers to the direction of Mecca, and in mosques the Qibla wall houses the mihrab niche from which the imam leads the service. So, when the faithful face the Qibla wall, mihrab, and imam, they are automatically properly aligned toward Mecca for prayer.

To refresh your memory from last Wednesday, here are the Qibla wall and mihrab:

For today I will leave you with one last look at the main prayer hall here at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The chandelier in the middle is the third largest in the world, and second largest in any mosque:

For additional information on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque see:

● Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
● Mosques
● Domes
● Minarets
● Qibla
● Imam
● Mihrab
● Prayer halls
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Today we’re heading inside the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. If you thought the exterior was impressive, what until you see today’s photographs. We’ll start with the entrance hall, which leads into the main prayer hall. In the entrance hall you’ll find more marble, walls once again decorated in floral designs using semi-precious stone, and a seriously impressive chandelier.

The chandelier you see in the image above is one of seven imported from Faustiq of Munich (see below). And it’s not even the most impressive, but we’ll get to that in a moment. At any rate, not knowing there was an even more impressive chandelier inside the main prayer room, I hung around and zoomed in on this chandelier as well as the dome from which it is suspended:

Again, the floral patterns adorning the marble walls kept drawing my attention as well:

Now, while the entryway left quite the impression, it didn’t even begin to hint at what awaited us beyond. Behold the main prayer hall of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque:

So, you thought that entryway chandelier was impressive? This next chandelier hangs in the main prayer hall. It is the second largest in any mosque, and the third largest chandelier in the world:

This behemoth is 49 feet/15 meters tall and stretches 33 feet/10 meters across. Time to take a closer look at this wonder:

Even more impressive once you consider the statistics is the carpet that covers the prayer hall. This carpet is 60,570 sq ft/5,627 m². It took around 1,200 to 1,300 artisans two years to tie the 2.268 billion knots that went into making this 35-ton piece of wool from New Zealand and Iran.

At the far end of the prayer hall is the mihrab (see link below), a niche in the wall from which the imam leads services. This plaque explains all that, but as you look at it note the intricate design of the aforementioned carpet:

I’ll leave you today with this final image of the mihrab:

For additional information on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque see:

● Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
● Mosques
● Domes
● Minarets
● Prayer halls
● Mihrabs
● Imams
● Faustiq Crystal Chandeliers
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)