Continuing on our tour we entered yet another inner courtyard which was even larger than the previous one. Again the huge floor area and walls were covered in pure white marble which had been imported from Italy. Someone commented that the Italian masonry agents who procured the contract for this massive building complex would have increased Italy's gross national income. It was mind boggling to comprehend the designing, planning, ordering of materials, hiring of workers and engineers etc that would have taken place even before the first foundations were laid. Four elegant minarets (one in each corner of the courtyard, spiralled towards the heavens with their 22 caret gold trimmings sparking in the sunlight and even more stunning was the colourful marble inlay floral patterned courtyard floor area.
The glare and irridescent whiteness of this courtyard was breathtaking. Many people used this backdrop to take selfies or photo shots of their beloved.
Next we entered a beautiful corridor lined with a portico of inlay marble columns which stretches for several metres and led to an exceptionally ornate reception room. Each column was carved and decorated with more coloured marble pieces and gold trimmings. Looking out from this corridor we could see another tranquil reflection pool.
When we entered the reception room we were again overcome with the beauty, expense and opulence of all that we saw.
How do I describe it? The entire room from the floor to the ceiling is covered in marble. The floor is decorated with inlay colours of a variety of coloured marble that form a special pattern. Most striking though is the perfectly carved 3D flower, vine and leaf designs that decorate the white marble walls. This delicate and imposing wall decoration bear Incredible evidence of the expert skills of the many craftsmen who carried out this creation.
Hanging from the ceiling were four exquisite crystal chandeliers which were encrusted with all kinds of precious stones. They in themselves were a work of art and their value beyond measure.
Then just when we didn't think we could be anymore impressed we came to the inner sanctum - the prayer hall in the centre of the mosque. This massive hall with its many marble collums and high central dome, can accommodate thousands of worshippers at a time. The beautifully patterned carpet had been woven as one carpet. Many women had worked for three years to complete what is the world's largest single hand-woven carpet n the world. It is even bigger than the single hand-woven carpet that graces the Dubai mosque.
Abu Daubi has " one up " on Dubai which claims to the have produced the biggest, tallest, longest, most expensive and impressive wonders of the world to date. Now there's a carpet that challenges Dubai!s claim to fame.
In this prayer hall we admired the four huge sparkling crystal ruby encrusted chandeliers which hung from the hall's high domed ceiling. The chandeliers were beyond description so take a good look at them in the photo . The photo doesn't depict the massive size of this hall because of the its concave photo aspect but you do get an idea of its beauty
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