The Grand Mosque

I went with friends yesterday to visit the Grand Mosque - the third largest mosque in the world. It was originally going to be the largest in the world, according to our tour guide, when the President decided that such a large mosque would need a lot of parking spaces (at last, someone in AD has thought of that), so the mosque was downsized to allow sufficient parking for it's visitors. Certainly, we had no trouble at all finding a space or six...

Before entering the mosque, we had to don the black abayas - and trust me, those head scarves are very difficult to wear! Either I was strangling myself with it, or it was sliding off my head - I have no idea how people manage all the time. I was quite relieved to take it off when we left.

The mosque is huge (22,412 sq metres) and ornate - unlike most mosques. Apparently, this mosque was made extravagently in order to attract tourists and allow them the chance to learn about Islam. The design borrowed from styles worldwide, in order to show the international heart of Islam. There were also many different types of marble (about 30, I think) - the most interesting one is that laid in the inner courtyard. This marble stays cold to the touch, regardless of being in direct sunlight in a hot country - it was a most bizzare feeling, cold underfoot, hot everywhere else.

The inside main prayer area was covered by a carpet that weighed 35 tons - apparently the world's largest carpet. It was made in Iran and took 1200 women 2 years to complete. They had to trim it slightly to fit (originally the carpet was 43 tons), which must have really upset those poor women labourers! Not that women get to do their prayers on the carpet - this area was the men's area. The women have a separate prayer area - our guide explained that women prefer to pray away from the men, they feel more comfortable that way. This is because when praying, people stand side by side, all facing towards Mecca, with their feet and shoulders touching their neighbours'.

The floors (where uncarpeted) had flower patterns laid in different marbles, and the walls had patterns in mother of pearl. On the main prayer wall, the different names of God are inscribed in gold (yes, real gold) and then surrounded by pure white gold.

Ladies Prayer Room

Even the ablution areas (for washing before prayers) were laid in marble with gold patterns.

There were many other parts which I can't describe here (turrets, gardens, grave etc.), but I can recommend the Grand Mosque for a visit - it's even free!