Marhaba! I would like to dedicate this blog post to another major emirate in the UAE which is called Abu Dhabi. Much to people’s surprise, Abu Dhabi is actually larger than Dubai. And it is also the capital city of the UAE. Abu Dhabi directly translates as “the father of the gazelle.” From a tour in the heritage museum- we learned that Abu Dhabi was founded by a few nomads who followed a gazelle in search of water.
This map shows where Abu Dhabi is located compared to the other emirates(particularly Dubai & Sharjah). www.abudhabiinformati
There are lots of things to do in Abu Dhabi. Lots of tourist attractions and cultural activities. One of the main reasons why we went to Abu Dhabi was for Ferrari World and The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Ferrari World:
This is a semi-indoor theme park which houses the fastest roller coaster and the biggest roller coaster loop. Both are things we did. We had to wear googles and a head covering(over the one I usually wear) to protect against the speed!
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque:
This mosque is one of the biggest Mosque’s in the world! It was built by Sheikh Zayed- the former ruler of the UAE.
Some cool statistics we learned from our tour:
-It has the largest one piece rug
-It can hold more than 40,000 worshippers
-It also has the largest chandelier
-It took over a decade to build it
-The evening lighting system depends on the moon phases
All visitors have to wear mosque appropriate attire. Meaning women have to cover their hair, and men must wear pants below the knee. This picture below summarizes what is and is not allowed.
The international exchange office took us on a tour there- here are some pictures!
