After Guinan got back from the police station, having sorted out the fender-bender and turned down an invitation from Raji to have coffee (true story), we headed to Abu Dhabi, which is about a 1 hour drive on the highway. We forgot the directions we printed out, and then my data on my phone turned off because apparently the phone service is monopolized here and charges $20.38/MB for global roaming outside of my firm's usual $25 per 100/MB, so when I reached $500, it shut off. So we winged our way to lunch, which was at Sontaya, a Thai restaurant at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island outside of Abu Dhabi. It was fantastic - and because we were at a hotel, we were able to have a drink too. The setting wasn't bad either - overlooking the turquoise waters and sandy beach of the Persian Gulf.
Then we headed to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque (the Grand Mosque), which was completed in 2007 under the direction of Sheikh Zayed and between its indoor prayer rooms and main outdoor courtyard can accommodate 40,000 worshipers. Before we went in, we were stopped because Jen (pictured below) was dressed way too skanky (see arms).
So she had to borrow an abaya (which most westerns have to do when they visit):
Much better.
John and I, as men, were cool and didn't have to cover up.
Every detail of the place is incredible. For example, the main prayer room has a 60,000 square foot carpet that was woven by hand by 1300 carpet knotters. There is also mosaics, marble work, stained glass, word work, stone cutting - all of which is on as grand a scale and as detailed.
After the carpet was installed, they used a machine to shave down rows to subtly show where prayer rugs should line up during massive prayer gatherings, which you can see in this picture running from the bottom left to the top right.
.
Then we headed back to Dubai, where we had to return the rental car. Traffic was heavier on the way back because it was getting to be the end of the working day, and weekends here are Friday-Saturday instead of Saturday-Sunday. We passed by Alexis's office, which is in of the most unique buildings of Abu Dhabi (if not the world): the "coin building."
And we also passed some billboards of Sheikh Zayed, who founded the UAE and also built the Grand Mosque (and is buried outside the Grand Mosque).
Then we headed to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque (the Grand Mosque), which was completed in 2007 under the direction of Sheikh Zayed and between its indoor prayer rooms and main outdoor courtyard can accommodate 40,000 worshipers. Before we went in, we were stopped because Jen (pictured below) was dressed way too skanky (see arms).
Much better.
John and I, as men, were cool and didn't have to cover up.
Every detail of the place is incredible. For example, the main prayer room has a 60,000 square foot carpet that was woven by hand by 1300 carpet knotters. There is also mosaics, marble work, stained glass, word work, stone cutting - all of which is on as grand a scale and as detailed.
After the carpet was installed, they used a machine to shave down rows to subtly show where prayer rugs should line up during massive prayer gatherings, which you can see in this picture running from the bottom left to the top right.
Then we headed back to Dubai, where we had to return the rental car. Traffic was heavier on the way back because it was getting to be the end of the working day, and weekends here are Friday-Saturday instead of Saturday-Sunday. We passed by Alexis's office, which is in of the most unique buildings of Abu Dhabi (if not the world): the "coin building."
And we also passed some billboards of Sheikh Zayed, who founded the UAE and also built the Grand Mosque (and is buried outside the Grand Mosque).
Incredible.
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