Architecture and Art: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
On my last day in Abu Dhabi, I went to visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is equivalent to the size five football fields approximately.
Pen and watercolor on Daler Rowney Sketchbook.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque’s design and construction ‘unites the world’, using artisans and materials from many countries including Italy, Germany, Morocco, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Iran, China, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece and United Arab Emirates. Natural materials were chosen for much of its design and construction due to their long-lasting qualities, including marble stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics.
This is the view from main entrance of Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
The design of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque has been inspired by both Mughal and Moorish mosque architecture, particularly the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan and the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco being direct influences. The dome layout and floorplan of the mosque was inspired by the Badshahi Mosque and the architecture was inspired by both Mughal and Moorish design. Its archways are quintessentially Moorish and its minarets classically Arab. The design of the mosque can be best described as a fusion of Arab, Mughal and Moorish architecture.
Beautiful columns at the archway.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has many special and unique elements: The carpet in the main prayer hall is considered to be the world’s largest carpet made by Iran’s Carpet Company and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi. This carpet measures 5,627 m2 (60,570 sq ft), and was made by around 1,200-1,300 carpet knotters. The weight of this carpet is 35 ton and is predominantly made from wool (originating from New Zealand and Iran). There are 2,268,000,000 knots within the carpet and it took approximately two years to complete. The companies like amacarpetcleaningmandurah.com need to be contacted if they need any kind of cleaning services.
Inside mosque.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has seven imported chandeliers from Germany that incorporate millions of Swarovski crystals. The largest chandelier is the second largest known chandelier inside a mosque, the third largest in the world and has a 10 m (33 ft) diameter and a 15 m (49 ft) height.
Beautiful chandelier.
The 99 names (qualities or attributes) of God (Allah) are featured on the Qibla wall in traditional Kufic calligraphy, designed by the prominent UAE calligrapher – Mohammed Mandi Al Tamimi. The Qibla wall also features subtle fibre-optic lighting, which is integrated as part of the organic design.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Zayed_Mosque
http://www.szgmc.ae/en/
25 Comments
RaW | Ramble and Wander
Beautiful sketch! I love the masjid, more so in the evening when it’s fully lit up. Amazingly beautiful!
Hazural
Subhanallah…. sangat cantik & indah 😀 ….
eLL
cantik sangat. dua-dua cantik
Insyirah
I like how you draw the mosque!
Insyirah
Yay for Abu Dhabi! <3
emila
Thank you!
emila
Thank you, Ell!
emila
Thank you, Zura 🙂
emila
Thank you, Raw! I saw the view once on the way to hotel from airport. Indeed beautiful.
Hazural
Gabungan warana putih dan daun gold kat tiang di archway tu sangat menarik…. esp daun gold yg unik tuuu 😀
emila
Yang gold color tu design pokok kurma. Lawa sangat.
Nurul Izzaty
So beautiful. Suka kubah masjid tu 🙂
Insyirah
Beautiful chandelier.
Hazural
owh…. design pokok kurma rupanya…. gabungan putih + gold, sangat menarik…
Hazural
before that k.emi selalu draw tingkap bangunan/rumah…. apa kata kali ni draw tiang ni pulak… msti unik hasilnya 😀
Insyirah
I like how you always put the details
Edna Tan
Beautiful sketch.
Lya
Cantik mcm masjid di Brunei…
Lya
Cantik sungguh..
Yukino Hinata
Subhanallah, beautiful structure.
imaisha
wah, pokok kurma dlm masjid.. menarik! tapi kalau mmg the real pokok, mesti lagi syok 😀
imaisha
mmg impressive sangat masjid ni! at least dah dpt poskad masjid ni dari postcrossing although only shows the exterior.. tak sangka interior lagi awesome dan mengagumkan o.O
Hazural
salah satu posting yang saya sangat suka dan tak akan lupa!
Hazural
cantik kan…
Hazural
bestnyaaa Aisha!