{"id":225,"date":"2015-11-06T16:41:41","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T16:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happychanter.com\/?p=225"},"modified":"2015-11-16T08:49:01","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T08:49:01","slug":"abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/","title":{"rendered":"Abu Dhabi Part 2: Opulence"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_242\" aria-labelledby=\"figcaption_attachment_242\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 412px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"242\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-24-03-38-03-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"552,280\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445683083&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Lovely photo captured by the lovely Cait&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-242\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031.jpg\" alt=\"Lovely photo captured by the lovely Cait\" width=\"412\" height=\"209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031.jpg 552w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-24-03.38.031-300x152.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_242\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lovely photo captured by the lovely Cait<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">With a full day of activities planned, we woke up bright and early and headed over to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.szgmc.ae\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque<\/a>. \u201cGrand\u201d doesn&#8217;t\u00a0even begin to describe the opulence\u00a0of this building. &#8220;Immense&#8221; would be closer to the mark. Visible from many areas of the city, it stands out as the white marble jewel of the city. Even at night, spectacular blue lighting, which (incredibly) varies each night to coincide with the phases of the moon, draws the eye to the imposing domes. And that&#8217;s just the exterior.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"228\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-38-02\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3157,1775\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445506682&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00029214139643587&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-228\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.38.02\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.38.02-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_230\" aria-labelledby=\"figcaption_attachment_230\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 576px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"230\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-36-16\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1781,3167\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445506576&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00024137098720734&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16-576x1024.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-230 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.36.16\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.36.16.jpg 1781w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_230\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Each of the columns are intricately hand-painted<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"229\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-42-36\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1836,3264\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445506956&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;50&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00025406504065041&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36-576x1024.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-229\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.42.36\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.42.36.jpg 1836w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As you can see above, I&#8217;m rocking the traditional Muslim <em>abaya<\/em>. While Western clothing styles are generally tolerated in the city,\u00a0in the mosque women are required to cover their hair and wear long loose clothing before entering. Abayas such as the one I&#8217;m sporting are provided to any women who are not already dressed appropriately. That&#8217;s fair enough, right?\u00a0I ask because it reminded me of a university field trip and tour I attended in\u00a0the East London Mosque last year. While that\u00a0mosque wasn&#8217;t quite as strictly traditional as here in the Middle East,\u00a0us girls were still requested\u00a0to at least cover our hair. During prayer time, when we were allowed to view the prayer room from a gallery above until our guides returned from their prayers, somebody mentioned that some of the girls sitting by the window, and\u00a0therefore visible to the men praying below, had their scarves around their neck rather than over their heads. I watched as they were asked to cover their hair, per Muslim custom, in a Muslim place of worship to which we had been invited. They did cover up, but with some eye-rolling and tutting (from some, not all).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is a real\u00a0privilege\u00a0to be invited to witness someone else\u2019s religious or spiritual practice, and treating with disdain a request to honour their customs\u00a0is simply disrespectful. There are obviously ongoing debates in some circles about the clothing expectations and other rights of Muslim women, but whatever side of the fence you sit on in that respect, when you are invited to someone else\u2019s house,\u00a0it is just good\u00a0manners to respect their tradition\u00a0and throw a scarf over your head. In the much more conservative spiritual centre\u00a0of Abu Dhabi,\u00a0yes it is completely fair for us to abide by their rules when accepting the invitation to visit their\u00a0sacred space.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Not that the invitation isn&#8217;t\u00a0offered enthusiastically, as the architecture and design of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque\u00a0is clearly intended to be viewed and admired. Intricate artwork adorning every wall and column, stunning chandeliers, an immense 5700m\u00b2 carpet which was hand-knotted by 1200 artisans. One of the largest mosques in the world, the sheer scale and beauty of the place leaves you stunned and speechless.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"232\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-45-27\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1836,3264\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445507127&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27-576x1024.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-232\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.45.27\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.45.27.jpg 1836w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"237\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-58-59\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1827,2595\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445507939&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59-721x1024.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-237\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59-721x1024.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.58.59\" width=\"721\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59-721x1024.jpg 721w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.58.59.jpg 1827w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_238\" aria-labelledby=\"figcaption_attachment_238\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 1024px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"238\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-46-18\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3058,1836\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445507178&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18-1024x615.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-238 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.46.18\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18-1024x615.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.46.18-300x180.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_238\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I couldn&#8217;t get enough of these chandeliers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"243\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-56-37\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3264,1836\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445507797&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-243\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.56.37\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.56.37-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_236\" aria-labelledby=\"figcaption_attachment_236\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 1024px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"236\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/2015-10-22-09-48-55\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"3264,1836\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;GT-I9195&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1445507335&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;3.7&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;250&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.03030303030303&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi mosque\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-236 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"2015-10-22 09.48.55\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2015-10-22-09.48.55-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"figcaption_attachment_236\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The world&#8217;s largest hand-knotted carpet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As\u00a0we\u00a0had <a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/11\/abu-dhabi-part-3-adventure\/\" target=\"_blank\">further adventures<\/a> scheduled for that afternoon, we unfortunately didn&#8217;t have time to take in a guided tour of the mosque, or even to stay for very long. But the short time we spent there was surely sufficient\u00a0to admire and truly appreciate the vision and effort that went into creating this incredible\u00a0site. I have my doubts about the\u00a0necessity of all these grandiose bells and whistles in a place of worship, but there is nevertheless a genuine air of sanctity in this space.\u00a0While I generally chant <em><strong>nam myoho renge kyo<\/strong><\/em> in solitude, spiritual practice in a group adds such a wonderful energy to the air, so I can only imagine how simply phenomenal\u00a0it must be to be joined by 40,000 fellow believers to pray in such a beautiful and sublime\u00a0sanctuary.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/signature-small.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"116\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/26\/story-so-far\/signature-small\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/signature-small.png\" data-orig-size=\"118,74\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\u00a9HappyChanter signature small\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/signature-small.png\" class=\"size-full wp-image-116 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/signature-small.png\" alt=\"signature small\" width=\"118\" height=\"74\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With a full day of activities planned, we woke up bright and early and headed over to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. \u201cGrand\u201d doesn&#8217;t\u00a0even begin to describe the opulence\u00a0of this building. &#8220;Immense&#8221; would be closer to the mark. Visible from many areas of the city, it stands out as the white marble jewel of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[32,36,26,35,34,31],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-architecture","tag-beauty","tag-mosque","tag-opulence","tag-travel"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Abu Dhabi Part 2: Opulence - Happy Chanter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/06\/abu-dhabi-part-2-opulence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abu Dhabi Part 2: Opulence - Happy Chanter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With a full day of activities planned, we woke up bright and early and headed over to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. \u201cGrand\u201d doesn&#8217;t\u00a0even begin to describe the opulence\u00a0of this building. &#8220;Immense&#8221; would be closer to the mark. 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Going from Dublin to Thailand is a looong journey, and as my lovely friend Cait lives in Abu Dhabi, it made sense to take a long transfer there and visit her for a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Travel&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Travel","link":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/category\/travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\u00a9HappyChanter Abu Dhabi Emirates Palace","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/DSCN0239.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":287,"url":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/12\/abu-dhabi-part-4-indulgence\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":1},"title":"Abu Dhabi Part 4: Indulgence","author":"Jessica","date":"12 November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For the last post in this series,\u00a0but most definitely not least, we turn to\u00a0Friday brunch, by all accounts a \"must do\" tradition when visiting Abu Dhabi or Dubai. 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I know, I can\u2019t believe it either! Time really does fly\u2026 Apart from finally managing to get my Abu Dhabi trip all written up and posted, it might seem to you that I've been sitting back, taking it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\u00a9HappyChanter give yourself a break","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Screenshot-2015-11-25-12.37.02.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":422,"url":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2016\/01\/19\/koh-lanta-my-lanta-living-in-paradise\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":4},"title":"Koh Lanta, My Lanta &#8211; Living In Paradise","author":"Jessica","date":"19 January 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As\u00a0my\u00a0time in Ko Lanta draws to close (for now at least), I realised I've been holding back a bit from you guys. I've talked a little bit before about how difficult it can be to really open up and put myself out there publicly through a blog. This is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\u00a9HappyChanter Ko Lanta","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/2016-01-11-16.02.16.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33,"url":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/08\/the-first-step\/","url_meta":{"origin":225,"position":5},"title":"The First Step","author":"Jessica","date":"8 July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I had a little epiphany last night. Little epiphanies are not unusual in my little over-thinking head,\u00a0as you'll come to know if you stick with me. Last night's epiphany concerned this blog and this very post. For it had struck me that since that little ditty of a \"First Post\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"feelthefear","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happychanter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/feelthefear-300x296.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":306,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions\/306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happychanter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}