Abu Dhabi is part of the United Arab Emirates and is about an hour drive from Dubai.   Uncles Les drove us down there to see the see magnificent Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.  Amanda had to wear a full abayeh – she was covered from head to toe in a black cloth.  The mosque had beautiful domes that were reminiscent of Taj Mahal.  The concept of the mosque was to incorporate design elements from all over world.  It is the 3rd largest in terms of size and 8th largest in terms of capacity.  It also has the worlds biggest carpet, and one of the biggest chandeliers.  I was amazed by the millions of small white tiles that fit together to make the main courtyard area.

After the tour, we met a really nice woman named Robyn from Australia.  She just had just come from Georgia and a lot of extra currency that she wasn’t able to exchange.  I looked up the rate on my phone and bought all of the money off her for USD.  I wanted to give the exact price but I think she was so happy to be able to get rid of it, that she gave me a great deal!

I had carried my tripod all over the mosque which is usually a big no-no in crowded and/or religious buildings.  I kept getting yelled at by guards but it was never for that reason.  The first time it was because I was standing to close too close to Amanda he thought we were holding hands.  The second was because she was in the frame of my camera without her head completely covered ( few hairs were poking out of the front).  The abayah was a bit of a hassle but Amanda said that she was really surprised by how breathable it was.