Chapter 10: Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
First, one passes through the shopping mall
10.09.2022 - 10.09.2022 103 °F
Chapter 10; Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
September 10, 2022
I wrote a travel blog entry when I first visited Abu Dhabi on December 26, 2011, saying: I am here for “the primary purpose of seeing Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which boasts eighty white marble domes, the largest of which hovers over the men’s prayer room which can handle, they say, 40,000 worshippers who kneel on the world’s largest hand-made carpet. They spent three billion dollars on this place.”
Now over a decade later, we come to Abu Dhabi—only an hour’s drive from Dubai on a super highway bordered by green trees in the desert—to do work. But B4 has never seen this amazing mosque and our hosts wish to show it off. And show it off they should. It is breathtaking, truly exquisite, a masterpiece. It should be listed with one of the 'wonders of the world' right along with the Taj Mahal.
The underground approach to the mosque itself is a shopping mall (which was not here when I visited before) where you can get a Subway sandwich or a Cinnabon. I found this juxtaposition of such a sacred religious place coupled with a mall so that one may buy souvenirs, shop, and eat before entering or upon leaving the Mosque to be startling at best.
KFC was under construction right next to a Pizza Hut also getting ready to open. Another example of how western much of the UAE has become. Differences for sure, big ones. To coin a phrase i learned here 'same same but different'. I wouldn't want the efforts to be in vain so I bought our new granddaughter a pink camel stuffed animal and was pulled away by you know who when i started to shop the baby clothes store. We need to outfit my girl in the proper clothing before entering which means shopping. The rules for both men and women are strict but certainly more so for females. So there is no confusion, examples of what is allowed and not allowed are clearly posted. We selected my stunning outfit with the help of our Muslim hosts and the shop associate. There was some debate as to if i should select high socks to hide my ankles since my height, or lack there of, was seen as a problem in finding a long Abaya that i would not trip on. I shuddered at the socks paired with the short Abaya along with the special scarf to be worn over my head and neck. Fortunately we found an Abaya that i wouldn't trip on. I might also mention that in 105 degree heat one melts quickly in this outfit. I don't think my dear friend Hope, who is also my stylist, would have selected this particular outfit. As you can see in the pictures, i wouldn't have been a 'Glamour Do' but when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Of course we had to have pictures. One must be careful to do so where and how is permitted. Paul instinctively put his arm around me for a picture. We were quickly told and motioned by the guard - NO TOUCHING! We quickly obeyed.The Rights and Responsibilities of Visitors are clearly outlined as well. There is even a placard indicating what illustrations may not adorn a t-shirt--such as a depiction of an animal. Posted instructions say, "Do not sit or lie down or make any gestures that are disrespectful to the mosque."
Once suitably attired, she could be mistaken for a Star Wars Jawa Trader. The exterior brings to mind the experience one has when first viewing the Indian Taj Mahal or the Pyramids of Egypt. The radiant white of the structure reflects the brightest of sunlight off the glistening, artwork adorned courtyard floors. Without sunglasses, I would be in trouble here. You are struck by the enormous majesty and beauty of the place. Upon closer approach, those courtyards, which are massive, surround an enormous interior. There, massive chandeliers hover between intricately adorned pillars which spring up from a carpeted floor. It is on that floor where male worshippers will unfurl their prayer rugs and prostate themselves during prayers.
Because Friday is now an official 'workday' in Dubai, to accommodate the religious requirement for Muslims of mandatory prayer on Friday afternoon, the agreement across all businesses is that workers are given 2 hours off on Friday from 12:30 to 2:30 so that men can go to prayer (which is only about 15 minutes) and have lunch. The two hours is considered part of the 8 hour work day. In it's efforts to continously modernize, at the beginning of this year Dubai declared the weekend to officially be Saturday and Sunday as we are used to in the US. In this land of many multiple cultures, figuring out what the weekend should be is not so easy. The religious day of worship for the multitude of religions represented here are all different. The Muslim day is Friday, the Jewish day is Saturday, the Christian day is Sunday. There is a great effort here to make everyone happy and show respect for the melting pot that is this population while at the same time being very western in its ways.
Prayers are precisely orchestrated. Take this paragraph as a respectful but primitive description from an unqualified observer. Prayer times and types are listed for the faithful. The Fajr prayer is one of the five mandatory daily prayers of Islam. Fajr is to be performed from dawn but no later than sunrise. Asr is prayed in the afternoon, Maghrib at sunset, Isha at night. Friday prayers are mandatory for males and must be prayed in congregation in a mosque or with other Muslims; business here comes to a halt so those religious requirements can be observed.o accommodate the faithful, mosques are as ubiquitous here as are houses of worship back home—they are everywhere. The Dhuhr prayer is given by the imam (in Sunni Islam the imam is a worship leader but for Shi’a Muslims the imam is the infallible leader of the community, in essence appointed by God, Allah) This outsider cannot accurately relate the intricacies of religious observances whether they be Shabbat at the synagog, Mass at the Catholic Church or the rituals of our other diverse friends and fellows of the many faiths observed by human beings on this earth.
