The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the one item that you should absolutely visit in Abu Dhabi, even if it is not as well known as Dubai when it comes to tourist destinations. However, there is at least one thing that you should definitely see here.
Like the name says, it’s very big and grand, and every year millions of people go there. The fact that it makes me think of the Taj Mahal in India is a good thing.
It will tell you how to get there and everything else you need to know before you go!
History Of The Grand Mosque
The Grand Mosque was constructed between the years 1996 and 2007, and it was named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the individual who was responsible for the establishment of the United Arab Emirates.
This mosque is the largest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is also among the largest mosques in the world. It is located in Abu Dhabi. There was a staggering cost of 545 million dollars ($2 billion dirhams) for the construction.
There were artisans brought in from a wide variety of countries, such as Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
Visiting The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
It’s pretty simple and easy to go to the mosque. At the entry, there is a short security and X-ray process, but it’s not a big deal.
If you’d rather not walk to the front of the mosque after security, you can take a free golf buggy ride. This is especially helpful on hot days.
You can also take a free one-hour tour with a guide if you’d like to learn more about the mosque as you walk around it.
Fees and hours
Saturday through Thursday, 9 AM to 10 PM
Friday from 4:30 PM to 10 PM
No fees to get in.
Clothes Code
At Sheik Zayed, there are strict rules about what women can and cannot wear because it is a working Muslim mosque.
Men have to cover their shoulders and knees.
Women have to cover their heads with a hat and wear long sleeves and pants.
For free, extra clothes to cover up can be given to you in either case. Other guy in our tour group had to wear a big white robe because his knees were showing. I could wear shorts that went below the knees, but that wasn’t okay.
Besides that, you’ll have to take off your shoes when you get to the mosque.
There’s no need to worry about your feet because the white marble floor is clean and stays cool in the sun.
Inside the mosque
You can walk around the square and gardens of the mosque and then go inside the main building. Once more, this is free.
There are a few things inside that really stand out from the rest of the fancy and complicated stuff.
The carpet is one of these. It is the biggest Persian carpet in the world. It’s 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) and weighs 35 tons.
The other is a huge chandelier from Munich, Germany, that is the third biggest in the world and has thousands of Swarovski crystals in it.
How to Reach the Mosque
From Abu Dhabi
Just a short distance from the city center, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque is situated in Abu Dhabi.
The most efficient method of transportation to the mosque from Abu Dhabi is to take a vehicle with Uber or Careem. The journey will be completed in approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
From Dubai
It takes about 130 kilometers (80 miles) or 1.5 hours to drive from Dubai to the mosque.
A cab (Uber or Careem) will take you there, but it will cost at least 185 AED ($50 USD) to go one way. Not really cheap. You could also take a shared bus trip from Dubai.
Instead of going from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, most people will probably stay in Dubai and visit Abu Dhabi from there. This is because Dubai is more touristy and usually a better place to stay.
You could rent a car and drive yourself to the mosque, but sometimes it’s even cheaper to just go on a group tour. Driving is pretty safe in the UAE, and the roads are good.
Tours of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in one day
I took an online tour through Klook that took me to Abu Dhabi from Dubai. They have a shared bus trip to Abu Dhabi that lasts all day and starts and ends at your hotel for free in Dubai.
The tour turned out to be very good. One of the main stops on the tour was the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. We had a lot of time to look around the whole mosque grounds and some other cool places in Abu Dhabi.
There were other people on the tour, but that didn’t worry me because there would be a lot of tourists at the mosque anyway.
The trip lasts for eight hours. It’s a great deal for people traveling alone!
The best time to go
The mosque is best seen in the morning or evening, when it is quieter and fewer people are there.
This is very important in the UAE because it can get very, very hot there in the summer! At noon in the middle of summer, it can get as hot as 42 C (108 F).
The mosque is lit up at night, which makes for some cool and unique pictures. One good thing about going in the evening is that you can stay.
