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QURAN RECITATIONS FROM SHEIKH ZAYED GRAND MOSQUE

Surah Al-Baqarah

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NEWS & MEDIA

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Under the Slogan “Peace,” with Prizes Totaling AED 850,000 Spaces of Light Photography Award Extends Submission Period, Welcoming Global Creativity

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has extended the submission deadline for the Spaces of Light Photography Award to December 31, inviting photographers and artists worldwide to participate. The award provides a platform for creators to use photography as a tool for cultural exchange, fostering connections and enhancing understanding across diverse cultures of the world.

This extension aligns with the UAE’s national initiatives, including the World’s Coolest Winter campaign, allowing photographers to capture the mosque through different seasons, thus enhancing the creative scope of submissions. It also grants a second chance for photographers who missed the initial deadline, reinforcing the UAE’s dynamic and thriving artistic landscape.

 

The eighth edition of the award features a diverse array of categories, welcoming both professional and amateur photographers to submit images that capture humanitarian themes and unique, unconventional works. The grand category, titled “Mosques and Masjids,” invites photographers to submit pictures of mosques worldwide.

 

Additional categories include “Technical and General Photography”; “Digital Art”; and “Life at the Mosque,” which is divided into three subcategories: “Narratives,” “Time Lapse,” and “Video Clips.”

 

Valuable Prizes

The Centre offers AED 850,000 in cash prizes for the top three winners in each category, underscoring its commitment to nurturing artistic talent. Interested participants may submit their entries through the official award website at https://photo.szgmc.ae.

 

For updates, follow @spacesoflight and @szgmc_ae on Instagram.

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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre Takes Spaces of Light Photography Award on a Nationwide Mobile Exhibition

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre continues to champion its cultural mission through the eighth season of the prestigious "Spaces of Light" Photography Award. Under the global theme of "Peace," the Centre has launched a mobile exhibition, now stationed at the "Souq Al Jami," adjacent to the Grand Mosque. This exhibition offers visitors from diverse cultures the opportunity to engage with the award’s message of tolerance, coexistence, and peace. 

A Nationwide Tour 

The mobile exhibition has already visited seven prominent locations across the UAE, including the World Media Congress, the National Archives and Library, the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, the Erth Hotel, Manarat Al Saadiyat, 06 Mall, and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Future stops will include other key cultural and educational institutions, encouraging broader public participation in the award. 

Exhibition Highlights 

The traveling mobile exhibition showcases a curated collection of exceptional photographs from previous seasons of the "Spaces of Light" Award. These images convey themes of peace and tolerance, reaffirming the Centre’s belief in the power of visual art to foster intercultural dialogue. The exhibition has garnered significant public interest, featuring 32 breathtaking photographs that capture the architectural splendor of the Grand Mosque and its rich Islamic heritage, illustrating the harmony of cultures through artistic expression. 

Award and Participation 

For this year’s competition, the Centre is offering substantial cash prizes to the top three winners in each category, with a total prize fund of AED 850,000. Photographers and artists are invited to submit their work via the official website https://photo.szgmc.ae/. 

Since its inception, the "Spaces of Light" Photography Award has drawn participation from over 7,419 photographers from more than 70 countries, collectively submitting over 27,000 images. 

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Prime Minister of Solomon Islands visits Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Jeremiah Manele, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, accompanied by Peter Shanel, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Solomon Islands.

During their visit, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and his accompanying delegation toured the halls and external corridors of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, accompanied by Dr. Yousif Al Obaidli, Director-General of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, where they were briefed on the mosque's message of coexistence, tolerance, and openness to others, all of which are rooted in the principles and values established by the UAE’s Founding Father.

They also learned about the significant role played by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre in promoting a tolerant Islamic culture and enhancing cultural communication between various cultures and peoples worldwide, further exploring the history of the grand structure, its aesthetic grandeur, and the exquisite art of Islamic architecture displayed in all its aspects.

At the end of the visit, the guest was presented with a copy of "Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: Lights of Peace". This publication provides a photographic journey through the mosque's architectural splendour, featuring award-winning images from the "Spaces of Light" Photography Award while highlighting the mosque's unique architectural artistry.

 

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HIGHLIGHTS

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

he complimentary guided cultural tours organized by Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre offer an educational, cultural, and interactive experience, making it one of the most popular cultural activities for all age groups! The standard tour duration is approximately 45 minutes and is delivered in Arabic and English by qualified Cultural Tour Specialists at the Centre.

The Chandeliers

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque houses 7 chandeliers that blend in harmony with its unique design and the esthetics of Islamic art and architecture that catch the eye of visitors from all over the world as three huge crystal chandeliers suspend from the three domes inside the main prayer hall , similar in design, with the largest in the middle, in addition to four smaller chandeliers distributed in the VIP foyer, the Floral foyer and the two side foyers of the main hall.

The design is inspired by the date palm tree, where the trunk is the cylindrical part of the chandelier, the fronds are the corresponding parts in a concave shape, and the colored globes are the dates or the fruits of the date palm trees, suggesting the noble values which the UAE society embodies such as authenticity generosity, and giving instilled by the late founding father for generations.

The chandeliers design features Islamic and floral designs, with most of the medallions located underneath ,as a reflection of them on the carpet. For example, look up at one of the chandeliers. See how the circular arabesque design comes to a central point. There, crystals hang like droplets of color, ready to splash onto the medallion design of the carpet below.

The largest chandeliers in the mosque are located in the main hall and are 12 m in diameter, 15.5m in height, with 15,500 LEDs. As for the other smaller versions of the same design, located in the main prayer hall, each weigh 8 tons and are 12.5 m in height and 7 m in diameter, with 9,500 LEDs.

The mosque also includes chandeliers that are 4.5 m in diameter and 6.5 m in height, weighing 2 tons with 1,200 LEDs.

Stainless steel gilded with 24-carat galvanized gold was used to manufacture the chandeliers, The panels of the chandeliers' are inlaid with Swarovski crystals, while the number of green, red, and yellow crystal balls used in the design are about 40 million pieces; which add a unique aesthetic touch to the entire prayer hall.

The Carpet

The main prayer hall houses the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, by Guinness World Records in 2007. The intricate Islamic medallion carpet was hand-knotted by approximately 1,200 artisans and took around 2 years, including 8 months of designing and 12 months of knotting. The rest of the time was spent weaving the pieces together.

It was made in nine separate pieces, flown to Abu Dhabi, and stitched together on-site. The final carpet, which fills the entire Main Prayer Hall, is 5,400 square meters, weighs 35 tons, of which about 70% is made of New Zealand wool and 30% of cotton.

Also, one of the unique features included in the carpet manufacturing is the raised divisions that are not seams. These ridges indicate lines (prayer lines) where worshippers should stand to pray. The indication lines are separate from the design, although worshippers can easily identify the lines in which to stand when the prayers commence. The lines were made by shaving the carpet and leaving those lines elevated, so they decreased the thickness of the carpet to show the 32 elevated lines in the main prayer hall. The design features Islamic and floral designs, with most of the medallions located under the chandeliers as a reflection of them on the carpet.

For example, look up at one of the chandeliers. See how the circular arabesque design comes to a central point. There, crystals hang like droplets of color, ready to splash onto the medallion design of the carpet below. Throughout the Mosque, you will find a design relationship among the chandeliers, carpet, wall elevations, and glasswork.

Overview

The late founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan aspired to build a mosque personifying the moderation of Islam. This vision became a reality with the construction of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world and a prominent landmark in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi. The first considerations to build the Mosque began in the late 1980s, and construction began on November 5th, 1996, and it opened for worship on Eid Al Adha 2007.

The Grand Mosque is a living reference of modern Islamic architecture that combines features and elements from various cultures across the Islamic civilization through its exquisite aesthetic and unique collections that have become the world's focus. While it also reflects the forward-looking vision of the founder, who sought for the Mosque to become a prominent religious and cultural edifice, and a platform that promotes notions of tolerance and cross-cultural communication. A vision also pursued by our leadership and embodied through the Mosque's position as a leading attraction for visitors from all over the world, firmly on the world tourist map.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque attracts millions of visitors from all walks of life who blend in harmony within a framework of noble values that emanate from the tolerant nature of the Islamic religion, and which are an essential part of the principles and values ingrained in Emirati society.

Through offering a system of services and programs that cater to the needs of a broad segment of worshippers and visitors, the Centre has secured its position among the world's top three popular attractions for years in a row, according to TripAdvisor's 'Travellers Choice Awards. Several award forums also recognized the Centre's accomplishments.

The Mosque was built on an elevated land that rises about 10 meters, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, with a total area of more than 555,000 square meters and can accommodate about 55,000 worshippers.

The construction of the grand Mosque took approximately 11 years and its design and construction 'unites the world,' using artisans, craftsmen, and materials from many countries, including Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, Turkey, China, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece and of course the United Arab Emirates. More than 3,000 workers and 38 contraction companies participated in the Mosque construction!