This was one of the gates into the mosque courtyard, although I think we actually entered from a different one. Obviously many women visiting a mosque would already have an abaya (I certainly did), but they had abayas on hand for tourists (very odd looking, short-ish garments with a hood, but they served the purpose, seen on far right). It was interesting because at the grand mosque in Muscat, non-Muslim women were only required to wear a scarf, but here, an abaya was mandatory. I saw a guard turning a Chinese tourist away, until she went to the visitors’ center and put one on.

I had brought the RX-1 with me as a backup, although I didn't use it much. But Tim took some excellent captures with it. I think I need to bring it along more often, not only for him to use, but because it really is an outstanding camera (just no zoom, which I find frustrating).

The Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque can accommodate up to 40,000 worshippers, has four minarets, more than 80 domes and 1,000 pillars holding it all up. The interior has elements from Turkey, Morocco and the Taj Mahal exhibited in marble, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. It hosts the world’s largest Persian carpet, which took 2.000 artisans two years to complete and seven gold-plated crystal chandeliers. (Summary from Lonely Planet’s “Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula”)

A close-up of the detail on the gate: