Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Dubai Fountain in 'world's most beautiful sights' list

UAE attractions are part of a list of top 20 destinations from around the world

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was designed by Syrian architect Yousef Abdelky and built between 1996 and 2007. Antonie Robertson / The National

Construction of the mosque began in 1996. It took 11 years to build and involved engineers, artisans, workers, architects, design firms and construction companies from across the world. AFP

It was the passion project of the late President Sheikh Zayed, who died in 2004. Antonie Robertson / The National

Present all along was the idea of lunar light because of its significance in Islam. Victor Besa / The National

Light being tested on the actual shell of the mosque. Courtesy Speirs and Major

There are 19,225 lighting fixtures on the mosque. Around the exterior are 600 individual lights. Antonie Robertson / The National

The lighting became fully operational by 2010 and is run by a computer system with a lunar clock and is all set for the next 300 years. Victor Besa / The National

Most of the lights have now been converted to energy-efficient LEDs. Victor Besa / The National

Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and The Dubai Fountain have made it to the Top 20 of the "world's most beautiful sights".

In the list compiled by travel company Kuoni, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque comes in at No 8 globally while the Dubai Fountain is at No 11. No other sights in the Middle East made it to the list.

Kuoni said it compiled the ranking by analysing TripAdvisor data for sights in more than 267 cities around the world. Using the Things to Do section of the TripAdvisor website, the sights in each location that had the largest number of mentions of "beautiful" in their review were ranked as the most beautiful sights for the specific location or city.

Data was compiled from reviews up to the end of June.

Central Park in New York City topped the list, with 22,880 mentions, while the Trevi Fountain in Rome came in second, with 18,283 mentions. The US has the most number of sights in the Top 20 with a total of five, including the Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas, Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and San Antonio River Walk in Texas.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque had 8,831 mentions and The Dubai Fountain had 7,269 mentions.

Launched by the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in the mid-1990s, construction of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was completed in the autumn of 2007. Sheikh Zayed did not live to see the mosque completed, following his death in 2004, but he was buried in a courtyard tomb that was then part of the building site.

The Dubai Fountain, at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, was inaugurated in 2009. Alamy

Officially inaugurated in 2009 along with The Dubai Mall, The Dubai Fountain at the foot of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, has become a popular tourist attraction in its own right. Spanning 274 metres in length, it sprays water 152 metres into the air — the height of a 50-storey building — and has more than 48 songs in its repertoire. On average, there are 13 shows of The Dubai Fountain daily, each at 30-minute intervals starting at 1pm.

Top 20 most beautiful sights around the world

Central Park in New York City tops the 'world's most beautiful sights' list. Reuters

1. Central Park in New York City, USA: 22,880 mentions
2. Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy: 18,283
3. Fountains at Bellagio in Las Vegas, USA: 16,750
4. Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain: 16,158
5. Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France: 12,930
6. Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic: 10,870
7. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa: 9,924
8. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE: 8,831
9. Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada: 8,797
10. Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, USA: 8,742
11. The Dubai Fountain in Dubai, UAE: 7,269
12. Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria: 7,005
13. Parque del Retiro in Madrid, Spain: 6,788
14. Christchurch Botanic Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand: 6,704
15. Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA: 6,580
16. San Antonio River Walk in Texas, USA: 6,028
17. Duomo di Milano in Milan, Italy: 5,997
18. Plaza de Espana in Seville, Spain: 5,916
19. Sydney Harbour in Sydney, Australia: 5,519
20. Grand-Place in Brussels, Belgium: 5,505

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