Enjoying a nice sleep-in, we met our guide, Sameh, at 10am to head off. Youthful, energetic and very knowledgeable, Sameh was an excellent travel companion, telling us all about the sites and UAE life in an open and genuine way. His willingness to answer any and every question honestly and insightfully - even those questions we never thought we could ask - added a special and enlightening dimension to the day.
The drive to Abu Dhabi takes about an hour and a half, or an hour and 10 minutes if Sameh's at the wheel. Although there is no official border, you can tell the moment you drive into the emirate because its roads become lined with trees and the colour of the road actually changes.
Abu Dhabi's Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque was absolutely breathtaking. Envisioned and initiated by the late Sheikh bin Sultan Al Nayhan, the mosque is designed to blend the beauty of faith with the marvels of modern architecture and art.
To head inside the mosque, El and Beth put on abayas to meet the stricter new dress code that was implemented after a visit by Rihanna that didn't unfold quite as everyone had hoped.
The mosque was opened in 2007 and is the largest mosque in the UAE and 8th largest in the world. The inner courtyard - made of Italian white marble to keep it cool on even the hottest of days - can hold up to 60,000 people during prayer time. The interior of the mosque also boasts the largest single piece of carpet and the biggest chandelier (weighing 12 tonnes) in the world.
Although the mosque holds many records, it is the overall look of the mosque that leaves the most lasting impression. With light coloured walls and floral patterned decor, the mosque managed to beautifully walk a fine line of feeling grand and regal but whimsical and inviting at the same time.
Although we will never know the true cost it took to build the mosque (rumours fluctuate between 700 million to 3 billion), the finished building is a truly lasting legacy.
After an eventful morning at the mosque, we headed over to the Emirates Palace Hotel for lunch at Mezzaluna Restaurant. Luckily we had made a reservation as the hotel was only allowing scheduled guests to enter the premises because of the international film festival being hosted there.
The Emirates Palace Hotel was originally built as a palace for the Sheikh but, after the Sheikh's death, the palace was converted into a hotel as the Sheikh's son felt too wistful to stay there and moved instead to another palace. At a cost of approximately 3 billion to build, the Emirates Palace Hotel is one of the most expensive hotels of all time.
Naturally, the hotel did not disappoint, offering a majestic and gorgeous interior...and the first "gold bar" ATM in existence. We soaked it all in and we enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the patio outside.
After a drive around town and a quick pop in to Ferrari world, an enormous theme park, we headed back to Dubai feeling like we had gotten a great sense of the exceptional UAE capital.
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