Although this capture was taken when we were leaving, I wanted to post it now to give an idea of the extent of the mosque complex. It was enormous. The sky was certainly different from when we arrived, in the morning, as subsequent images will show.

The sole reason we stopped in Abu Dhabi was to see the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, although we were on a tour of the Gulf States, so it made sense to visit the capital of the United Arab Emirates, anyway.

The 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”)

One of several night captures posted today: