Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi has been ranked by travellers as one of the world’s favourite landmarks. This architectural work of art is the third largest mosque in the world. 

Despite the number of people there, and there were many, the space was truly serene. And even though one may expect that a predominantly white structure would feel a bit sterile, it was in fact the opposite, whereby the beautiful white marble used in the mosque emanated warmth and depth. In particular, the inlaid flowers winding across the white marble courtyard was just spectacular.

Additional facts about this mosque include: a capacity for 40,000 worshippers; 82, 24-karat-gold-tipped domes; the main dome is the largest in the world; there  are over a 1,000 columns in the courtyard; and the gilded chandeliers are 24 carat gold.

Getting to be at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at "golden hour" transformed what was already beautiful into even more spectacular! All that glitters is indeed golden.

Louvre,  Abu Dhabi

The marketing  slogan of the newly opened Louvre Abu Dhabi is “get ready to see humanity in a new light”. The museum officially opened on November 8th 2017 and I had an admission ticket for November 12th. 

It is reported that the construction of the new Louvre cost about €600 million. Add onto that, a contractual fee paid by the UAE to the Government of France of approximately €450 million for association with the Louvre name, then another €700 million in exchange for art loans and special exhibitions.That's a lot of euros!

There are 12 exhibitions that guide you from prehistory to contemporary art, curated with the objective to "bridge the gap between Eastern and Western art". My personal favourites were seeing “The Young Emir Studying” and "Napoleon Bonaparte, Crossing the Alps".

But truth be told, the majority of my time was spent taking photos of the rays of light passing through star shaped lattice work of the exterior done. The museum was designed by Jean Nouvel, and the complex pattern of the dome is a geometric design with a repeating pattern in various sizes and angles through 8 layers. As the time passes, so does the sun, resulting in almost 8000 twinkling stars. Named the “rain of light” but according to Nouvel is meant to represent "rays of sunlight passing through date palm fronds in an oasis."

It was mesmerizing watching the light move across the interior of the dome, casting drops of light on the space below. In itself, art.