Abu Dhabi

Saturday am...another roadtrip! This time, to Abu Dhabi, another emirate! Our day started off a little rough...

Tired Suzanne (which means a little crabby...just a little) rushing around to get ready, Jon's eye turning fire engine red (having terrible problems with his right contact), Fayth being a little sassy (what else is new), and Tom and RA thinking to themselves...oh, SH*&, this is going to be a "train wreck" of a day!! Our first stop, the gas station on the edge of Dubai for a soda for (you know who) and snacks, coffee, and water for the rest of us. Well, the disaster continued...Jon's supersized soda...whole thing spilled on the floor of our car! Just glad I didn't do it...I was already in enough trouble for being "crabby!" Well, it all went "UPHILL" from there!!

Our drive in was a pleasant one and totally different from the previous day. It's very green, lush, and has a Palm Springs feeling to it except you are still totally in the desert! Abu Dhabi is the capitol of the emirates and is actually an island. It is known for having a fantastic array of tranquil beaches, lush oases, sun soaked islands and awe-inspiring deserts! This is where culture and traditions come together to create a visitor experience like no other.

We headed to the emirate for a tour of the Sheike Zayed Grand Mosque. The mosque is the UAE's most imposing religious and national landmark. It is arguably one of the most important architectural treasures of contemporary UAE society-and one of the most beautiful in the world. Initiated by the last president HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is fondly thought of as "The Father of UAE" and is laid to rest in the mosque grounds. The mosque was built in 7 years by 7000 workers and features materials & suppliers from all over the globe: Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, Turkey, Iran, China, Greece, and the UAE.

All I can say is "OH, my goodness!" This will be a NEW pit stop to any future visitors. We just couldn't believe our eyes. It is still under construction but looks like it will be completed very shortly. I am going to list a few amazing features:

1. 1096 columns in it exterior and 96 columns in the main prayer hall.

2. 20,000 handmade marble panels encrusted with semi-precious stones including lapis, lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell, and mother of pearl. Breath taking...just breath taking!!

3. 7,874 square metres around the mosque of artificial lakes.

4. Floral marble and mosaics pavers that take up 17,000 square metres in the courtyard.

5. Interior walls which have decorative 24 carat goldglass mosaic features.

6. The main prayer room houses the world's largest hand-woven Persian carpet, 7119 square metres.

7. Seven 24-carat gold plated chandeliers which are imported from Germany. All designed with thousands of Swarovski crystals.

8. The largest chandelier, which hangs from the main dome of the mosque, is considered the biggest in the world and weighs 8-9 tons. I LOVED this!!

9. The mosque can accommodate up to 40,960 worshippers from its prayer halls and courtyard.

10. The mosque features 80 domes all decorated with white marble! (You will see a man on a ladder cleaning ONE dome)

Again, it is just amazing. The pictures speak louder than words.

As you will see, RuthAnne and I had to wear a full covering abaya to enter the site. We "secretively" laughed that we looked like this on Halloween. We don't know how the ladies do it...we were soaking wet & sweating to death & it's "winter here"...and yes, they always wear full clothes under them. All of us removed our shoes and were able to head inside and see the main prayer area. You will notice no chairs...It is part of the Islamic religion to sit, kneel, and stand on the carpeted floor to worship. Also, the "star-like" clock features the various times that the muslims are suppose to pray for the day. It rotates through three languages, with one of them being english.

We ended our day in Abu Dhabi by driving by the Emirates Palace, the most expensive hotel ever built in the world, costing the Abu Dhabi government roughly 3billion US. Unfortunately, it was the kick-off and first annual Formula One Racing weekend in Abu Dhabi and we were not able to go inside the Palace. However; we got to do a "drive by" and see four helicopters dropping off "important people" for the event! It is a beautiful hotel, that we have been in before, and its interior decor is all marble and gold!

Finally, we headed home to "reality"...our cute two bedroom apartment and kicked off our Halloween celebration, trick-or-treating, and small party!