Abu Dhabi, July 21: One of the main and latest tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, will remain open to visitors during Ramadan.
The mosque, also known as the White Mosque, is the world’s sixt largest mosque.
According to the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the weekly guided tours are now being adapted to include insights into the activities of the holy month to give visitors an understanding. “Though the mosque receives a greater number of worshippers during Ramadan, we have agreed the tours should continue with our highly trained guides building aspects of the traditions of this special time into their delivery of the experience,” explained Nasser Al Reyami, director of Tourism Standards, ADTA.
Since ADTA’s guided tour of the mosque began 18 months ago, thousands of visitors from over 200 countries have visited the monument.
The one-hour tour takes place from Sunday to Thursday from 10am. On Friday, the mosque is closed to visitors and on Saturdays it is open to public from 10am to 12 noon, but there are no guided tours.
To enter the mosque, men are required to wear long trousers and shirts, while women must wear abaya and hijab, which may be obtained from the mosque’s entrance.
The mosque’s seven, 24-carat gold-plated German chandeliers are all designed with thousands of Swarovski crystals, and the main dome chandelier is considered the world’s largest at 10 metres wide, 15 metres high and weighing 8-9 tonnes.
The four minarets are more than 10 metres tall and look down upon the mosque’s 57 white marble domes.
The building can house up to 40,000 worshippers, many of whom pray on the world’s largest hand-made carpet, which measures 5,627 sq km.
–Agencies–