What can be built on petrodollars?

How did it happen that from the poor Arab principalities in the Persian Gulf a prosperous United Arab Emirates formed, often shocking the world with luxurious buildings and richest people? The key merit of this beloved ruler of the UAE is Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan al-Nahyan. He united six disparate principalities into one country, achieved independence from Great Britain, and with the help of the money raised for oil, created a rich and prosperous state.

To understand the scale of the UAE’s transformation, it’s worth saying that the exact date of Sheikh Zayed’s birth is still not known - either 1916, or 1918. In those days, the Bedouins simply did not record the birth dates of their children. This is hard to believe, given that today's medicine in the Emirates is one of the foremost.

So here. Grateful descendants decided to thank the ruler and built a fantastic mosque in his honor. It is difficult to pick up epithets to explain how luxurious and beautiful she is. This is undoubtedly one of the most impressive buildings in the UAE.

The exact cost of construction is kept secret. The guide said that this is a grateful gift, the value of which is inappropriate to talk about. However, according to various estimates, the figure ranges from half a billion dollars to 600 million euros.

A few details: the world's largest carpet in a mosque, hand-woven in Iran, cost $ 8,500,000, and a 15-meter Swarovski chandelier cost about 9,000,000.

The sheikh himself is buried on the right side of the mosque, and from the day of death over the grave 24 hours a day they read the Quran ...

The mosque is able to simultaneously accommodate 40 thousand believers, but on one of the holidays of Ramadan, a figure of 55 thousand people was recorded.

At the entrance you need to go through the frame, and the entrance for men and women is separate.

Beauty begins already at the approaches to the building. Lush lawn, beautiful marble and perfect cleanliness.

The mosque is surrounded by artificial lakes and canals with an area of more than 7800 square meters. meters.

Very beautiful!

Sheikh Zayed Mosque is open to non-Muslim tourists (of course, subject to certain rules). There are guided tours for groups.

I noticed a lost boy who was calmed down by a guard and promised to find his parents. In general, when a family has two dozen children, losing one is not surprising.

We go inside. The walls, floors and ceilings of the mosque are made of 28 types of marble (white, pink, green, brown, etc.).

The walls are inlaid with gold, mother of pearl, pearls and gems.

Women walk strictly with their heads covered.

Although Chinese tourists in their own way see hats.

Some do not steam at all and put towels from the hotel on their heads.

At the entrance to the mosque you need to take off your shoes.

Hours with the time of prayers.

Most of the walls are decorated with patterns of ceramics and semiprecious stones.

We go into the main hall.

The first thing that catches your eye is a luxurious chandelier. There are seven of them in the central hall. They are covered with the finest sheets of gold and decorated with Swarovski crystals. The largest chandelier is 10 meters in diameter, 15 meters in height, and 12 tons in weight.

Walls, columns, ceilings - everywhere complex patterns.

The walls have a fiber optic backlight designed to not distract the faithful from prayer.

Smaller chandeliers, but no less impressive in their appearance.

Everywhere shelves with a quran. By the way, under the feet of the same Iranian carpet. Its area exceeds 5.5 thousand square meters. meters, and the weight is almost 50 tons. Over a thousand weavers who used about 35 tons of wool and 12 tons of cotton worked on a unique carpet for two years.

A mosque is not only a religious building, but also a cultural center. In the tower, located on the north side, there is a library where a huge collection of books (both modern and ancient) is dedicated to science, culture, art and calligraphy.

In a word, Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the place from which you should start your acquaintance with the United Arab Emirates. Highly recommend to visit.