Our day began with a quick coffee for breakfast and then we set off for our first stop: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque which was a 10 minute drive from our hotel. 

The taxi dropped us off and we walked inside a dome to Souq al Jami’. It was a 10 minute walk to the Tolerance Path and then another 5 minutes to the entrance of the Grand Mosque. 

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque includes 82 domes of different sizes. The domes were inspired by the Moroccan and Mogul Islamic architecture. The largest dome is located at the centre of the main prayer hall and it has a diameter of approximately 32.6m and a height of 84m. The domes have different aayaat of the Qur’an written on them. 

The white marble is the most distinctive feature of the Grand Mosque and the exterior courtyard is inlaid with hundreds of thousands of different types of mosaic marble pieces from Italy, India, Greece, and China. More than 9 million mosaic pieces fill the designs of 3 825 panels measuring 2.1mx2.1m, of which 2 385 panels were designed with white marble and 1 440 panels with colored marble. The flower mosaics were absolutely beautiful. 

The exterior of the Grand Mosque is breathtaking, it has perfect symmetry and honestly was one of the most beautiful mosques I’ve ever seen in my life. We walked to our leisure outside but it was blistering hot. I could not stop admiring the beauty of this Mosque. 

We then went inside the Mosque and the relief that came with the AC was lovely. You walk through the Al Noor Foyer which is an entry way where the walls are filled with the most beautiful designs of flowers. The dome in this area has aayaat from Surah Rahmaan written on it. 

We then walked a bit further and reached the inside of the Mosque which has stunning chandeliers everywhere. This brought us to the end of our tour of the Grand Mosque. We then took a buggy back to the entrance and walked through the Souq again. 

The Souq has loads of shops and takeaways so we ended up getting Papa John’s pizza which was based on my baby cousin’s (he may be 12 but he’ll always be my baby cousin) recommendation. The pizza was really good and they serve it with a garlic butter sauce. 

I had a fully packed day so we had no time to chill, we then caught our next taxi to Qasr al Watan Presidential Palace. You first go through scanners and then you take a bus to the Palace. They mentioned that 53 football fields can fit in the Palace grounds. 

The outside of the Palace is beautiful but nothing compares to what was waiting for us inside. The guard opened up a majestic door to the Great Hall which is filled with chandeliers, mirrors, artwork and it resulted in us being mind blown. It looked exactly like a scene from an Indian movie and not just any movie, a Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie. 

The Great Hall incorporates Qasr al Watan’s three signature colours: blue, white and yellow. The blue represents the waters of the Arabian Gulf, the white stands for purity, while the yellow is inspired by the color of the desert sands.

There are many zones you can visit in the Palace. Our first stop was the Media Room which was really cool. 

Then we just wandered around the Great Hall. The opulence. The majesty. The beauty. Wow. I couldn’t stop taking it all in. 

Next we visited the Presidential Banquet zone which is reserved for state banquets and can hold 300 guests. Entertaining guests is the heart of Arab culture and they aim to make sure that things are easy for visitors. 

We then saw the Presidential Gifts zone. We were really excited to see an elephant from SA. The chandeliers in this room were stunning. 

After this, we saw the Spirit of Collaboration zone. 

Our next stop reminded me of Beauty and the Beast because it was the Qasr al Watan library. My grandfather would’ve loved it. 

We spent some more time admiring the Palace and then we caught the bus back to the entrance and then a taxi to Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre to get some relief from the heat. 

We walked around here but were not really impressed. We found an Indian restaurant and decided to have lunch here. Indian food slaps differently when you’re overseas. 

After stopping at a Lulu Supermarket and getting some Mini Melts ice cream, we caught another taxi to the Louvre Abu Dhabi. 

The Louvre Abu Dhabi has 12 exhibitions sections in the Dome. There were different quotes on all the windows which I absolutely loved. 

My favourite parts of the Louvre Abu Dhabi was the set of Romanesque columns, the Sacred Texts pieces, the Black Hole and the Cosmographies pieces. It was a really cool experience to even see masters like Picasso. 

The outside of the dome was so cool. We saw the prettiest views of Abu Dhabi during golden hour. After spending a bit of time exploring the outside, we caught a buggy and the guy took us on a ride around the Louvre so we could catch the sunset. 

After praying maghrib, we caught a taxi to Yas Mall which was about 20 minutes away. By this time, we were really hungry and so we decided to have PF Chang’s for supper. We ordered the dynamite shrimp (10/10), kung pao chicken (8/10) and sushi (7/10), however my siblings would disagree with ratings because they went to buy Popeye’s burgers straight after. 

I didn’t realise that everyone was serious when they said we would be going to Yas Mall to see not to shop. I wish the Rand was a bit stronger so I could actually buy stuff. 

We walked around for a bit and then headed back to our hotel so we could rest before our early morning flight the next morning. 

I think it’s safe to say that I absolutely loved Abu Dhabi. I loved being in a Muslim country where the food is halaal, it’s rich with culture and beauty and the people are hospitable and welcoming. UAE, I will be coming back for you. 

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