Sandy Iggy in the world's 3rd largest mosque

 

While mosque sightseeing (aka mosque hopping) is common to Sandy Iggy, only recently she has visited the largest mosque in the UAE and incidentally the third largest mosque in the world --- Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. 

Otherwise known as the "Grand Mosque" is named after the founder and first president of UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. His remains is buried in the same compound and is off-limits to photo-taking.

Footwears must be removed before entering the main prayer hall.

The security officers were so strict especially to those in the main hall; Sandy Iggy managed to pose quickly. Notice the Iranian carpet, the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world.

Here's a prayer clock which provides the details of prayer timings at a given day.

The counterpart of Christians'/Catholics' altar and pulpit. The Arabic calligraphy details the 99 qualities/names of Allah.

One of the gold-plated chandeliers in the main prayer hall.

The largest chandelier in the world hangs at the main dome. 

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque deserves to be visited over and again even for non-Muslims. It is a great deal to appreciate the UAE culture and learn about Islam as there are free guided tours everyday.

[Click here for more photos.]

Miss Iggy in Emirates Palace

Sandy Iggy paid a visit to Emirates Palace post-Eid to check the Saadiyat (i.e. arabic term that means "a place that provides enlightenment") Museum exhibit; however, photo taking was not allowed but she's got bunch of interesting peeks for you.

That's a carpet on the wall showing the entirety of Emirates Palace.

Here's Sandy Iggy in the lobby which is really grand, the right photo showing a portion of the ceiling.

Above is the ceiling up close. Beautifully intricate.

Tried a camelcinno for the first time. Well, it tasted like... a capuccino, sweeter version. And of course, there goes the psyche of taking in a camel's milk which can make you more alert and observant of one's self as if you would transform into something foreign. Hahaha.

Moving to the other side, Sandy Iggy tried the gold vending machine which is itself gold plated. But "tried" meant not buying anything because the camelcinno costed a fortune, hahaha, but just tried navigating the (touch)screen.

The gold rates are said to be automatically updated since it's linked to the dealer's system. 

It is reported that currently there are 20 gold vending machines installed worldwide.

Sandy Iggy posed by the hallway going to Sayad Restaurant (themed like you are dining underwater). Portions of the ceiling and walls are gold plated as well.

Emirates Palace is especially beaming at night (more photos here). The dome changes its colors every now and then. Lots of date palm trees within the area.

Sandy Iggy is really enjoying UAE's winter nowadays and recently did a concert marathon (performers Britney Spears, The Cult, Incubus and Sir Paul McCartney) as part of the F1 after-race concerts.

Sandy Iggy's first Ramadan

Hello everyone! Sandy Iggy's been so quiet lately because she had to go through a 'make over'. While she's protected from the sandstorm and Gulf's heat, she forgot that she's not immune to the waterdrops. Anyway, she's back!

Ramadan started on 1st of August and Sandy Iggy's taking it reasonably, i.e. no eating and drinking whenever she's outside the house, except if it coincides with the iftar to break the fast (dinner after the sun did set). Hence, she's taking biggie-monster meals before going out. :) On the other hand, she's enjoying the made-up Ramadan tents in the malls.

By coincidence, some pieces of Arabic fabric have so much similarity with the Iggy dolls' clothing. While we're not going to discuss in this post (though it's tempting) who copied who, this wonderful coincidence is bridging Sandy Iggy's homesickness to her homeland.

Even the camel's 'clothing line' matched hers!

Ramadan is a serene and happy occasion. To a certain extent, it's a combination of the observance of fasting during Holy Week and the cheerful air during Christmas.

Here's a trivia: did you know that Year 2011 as we know it is otherwise referred to by Muslims as Year 1432? That's because Islamic Year is counted from the date Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Madina (in Saudi Arabia).

Ramadan Kareem to our Muslim readers!

Sandy Iggy's mosque-hoppping

If there's such a thing as mosque-hopping, Sandy Iggy just did that. "Hopping" though didn't mean that she went in any of these interesting structures. Right after getting out of Saint Joseph Church, there's a neighbor mosque in Kaniza corner.

The succeeding photos were taken in the next 15 minutes or so. And guess what? Those were like (just) 20% of what she managed to catch in such timeframe.

While it's not too obvious in other mosques, notice the megaphones in each which are instrumental to the five times call to prayer in a day. In Sandy Iggy's homeland, she remembers the church bell's ringing to signal a time of the day.

The last photo was taken at distant hour just to show how more appealing the mosques are at night. How strange that when something's abundant in our area, we tend to ignore it. Maybe, it's time to put an official album of the UAE mosques (there probably are hundreds in the Emirate of the Abu Dhabi alone!), all of the seven emirates. And of course, it's about time to send a postcard-like Sandy Iggy by the mosque shot to her lovely sisters. :)

Sandy Iggy loves Corniche

Sandy Iggy avoids the outdoors lately because of the occasional sandstorm in the UAE. That's a signos that summer is approaching. While it doesn't hurt that much like in its neighbouring countries, it is best to always be armed by sunglasses and other protection. But Sandy Iggy misses the Corniche already. Gladly, the weather cooperated and granted that one fine day for the photowalk with her sisters.

Corniche is a favorite of those who are fond of solitary and joint walks anytime of the day. At the back is one of the usual informational campaigns about the activities happening in Abu Dhabi. Surprisingly, it has no English translation. We've gotten used to seeing documentation of almost everything in Arabic with an automatic translation, side by side. (Even the subtitles in the cinemas which come in Arabic and French for English movies.)

(That interesting architecture is a restroom.)

There are not too many billboards (yet) in the emirate. They normally pertain to government project announcements and information related to the royal family. That corner as you see in the photo is reserved for the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, the first  president of the UAE. (Even non-Emiratis regard him highly because of  his selfless approach to governance in the past, even before and after the discovery of oil in the UAE.) Lately, the shift to billboard advertising seems to have started and so far being tolerated by the government.

This fountain area is actually a part of the underpass. I haven't tried going down though.

The tourists doing a whirlwind trip in Abu Dhabi frequent this side of the Corniche because it is near to the Heritage Village, Marina Mall, and Emirates Palace.

That's the skyline of downtown Abu Dhabi.

That's a distinct roofing style of the restaurants near the beach.  And ooops, Sandy Iggy had to stop. A young lady wanted to give her a flower.

Sandy Iggy posed by the Corniche Beach. The flower came in perfect timing.

On her way out, she was startled... ran... and climbed! There was a barker!

Doggie: Sorry, I scared you. I wanted to know if you're human or not.

Sandy Iggy: Have you not met a doll before?

Doggie: I had. But I got confused because you have a baby. I didn't know dolls can have babies. 

Sandy Iggy: Hahahaha! Of course, that's possible. 

After an interesting conversation, she found herself laying on the bed of... flowers. Errr, Sandy Iggy is not sure what kind of flowers are these.

There is an abundance of not so familiar flowers in the UAE. But these are not homegrown.

(That's Emirates Palace at the back where Sandy Iggy must head next. Captured, too, were those fishing and crabbing.)

The government has allocated funds for the maintenance of these plant/flower boxes. It is interesting to note that the flowers being planted change quarterly. Sandy Iggy cannot help but think of the balance in God's provisions. The well of oil and flowers don't come in one place. Life becomes more beautiful because we all need each other.

Sandy Iggy's first Valentine's Day in UAE

Hello everyone! Sandy Iggy is celebrating her first Valentine's day in Abu Dhabi with her new found friends.

And when she's not out and wandering, she's with them in their jovial home in Abu Dhabi.

Happy hearts day to her sisters (especially to Little Miss Firely who's celebrating her birthday today) and all the dear readers of this blog! ♥ ♥ ♥

By the mosque

Sandy Iggy had her first photo by the mosque last weekend. We emphasize the "first" since we can anticipate a collection of snapshots and angles of her with the plenty of mosques in the UAE. This one is beside St. Joseph Church, a Catholic church where Sandy Iggy hears the mass.

In Kaniza area in Abu Dhabi, near the Al Khubairat British School, you will find the catholic, protestant, orthodox churches and a mosque few meters apart from each other. This goes to show the freedom (and respect) of exercise of faith in the lower gulf.

While Sandy Iggy had seen mosques in and out of the UAE, she has never been inside any of these. She looks forward to experiencing the Grand Zayed Mosque where non-Muslims are allowed. Soon.

Marhaba from Abu Dhabi!

Marhaba (that's Hello in Arabic) to everyone especially to the sisterhood! Miss Iggy has finally landed in the sandpit. During her first weekend, she attended a photography workshop. It was an interesting day since she learned a lot of basic techniques from the maestro, Jay Alonzo. He's one of the leading photography workshop instructors from the Philippines, who has been teaching for 14 years now. It's interesting to shoot when there's no auto controls and post-processing in your mind:

And who would have thought that on her first photography workshop, Miss Iggy will be commended for this snapshot-turned-into-artshot? :)

Next week, it'll be about food photography!