Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the country, it is the key place of worship for daily prayers, Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid, it may be visited by more than 41,000 people

Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi

The building was designed by British architect [John Elliott (WATG architects)]in collaboration with Reza Rahmanian (HDC Architects). The design of the hotel is a playful mix of cherished Islamic architectural elements such as balance, geometry, proportions, rhythm and hierarchical emphasis to create a unified whole. The inspired grand dome with elaborate geometrical patterns dominates over 114 smaller domes spread over the building. The colour of the building aims to reflect different shades of sands found in the Arabian Desert. Construction started in December 2001, the interior fit-out works were delivered by Depa Interiors, Abu Dhabi with the hotel opening its gates in February 2005. The construction costs were around 3 billion USD (11.02 billion AED) making it the third most expensive hotel ever built. It is only surpassed by The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Las Vegas (3.9 billion USD) and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (5.5 billion USD)