Visitors to Abu Dhabi can now explore the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at any time of the day.
The mosque has launched night tours targeted at travellers in transit who have limited time in the capital but wish to visit the landmark at their convenience.
During what are being called the mosque's new Sura Evening Cultural Tours, participants “will discover hidden gems within the mosque that they may have never seen before, such as witnessing the maintenance and cleaning works,” reads a message on the attraction's website.
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More than 60,000 worshippers attend Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to mark Laylat Al Qadr. All photos: Wam -
This is the largest number of worshippers hosted by the grand mosque since its opening, said news agency Wam -
Laylat Al Qadr — or the Night of Power — has a special significance in Islam. It is one of the odd-numbered nights during the last 10 days of Ramadan in which the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed -
Many Muslims are keen to spend the last 10 nights of the holy month in worship, prayer and acts of kindness -
The reward for any good deed or act of worship conducted on that night is counted as more than 1,000 months of doing it
The night tours also come with multimedia guide devices, available in 14 international languages, including options for the visually impaired and the deaf. The tours are available for groups of up to 20 people and cost Dh20 per visitor.
Visiting the mosque during regular opening hours, from 9am to 9.30pm, is still free of charge, although pre-registration is required.
Completed in 2007, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest of its kind in the UAE, spreading across 22,000 square metres. It can host more than 40,000 worshippers at once. Besides its religious significance, it highlights the legacy of the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and commemorates his values, memory, qualities and contributions to humanity.
One of the UAE's most popular sites, more than 3 million tourists and residents visited the mosque during the first six months of 2023 – a 127 per cent in increase on the previous year.
The mosque has also hosted many visits from heads of states and official foreign delegations. In 2007, the then Prince Charles and Camilla toured the site and in 2010 the late Queen Elizabeth II visited and paid her respects at the tomb of Sheikh Zayed. Prince Charles made the trip again in 2016.
