I finally made it to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque—the most exquisite mosque I’ve ever visited. I had not expected to be dazzled, but I was.

What impressed me first was the striking white of the mosque and its grand scale. Next, it was the gorgeous floral motifs and overwhelmingly feminine style. Meanwhile, the various architectural accents—domes, columns and archways—were amazing, too.  

The mosque, which opened in 2007 in Abu Dhabi, was the vision of Sheikh Zayed, the founding father and first ruler of the United Arab Emirates. The tomb of Sheikh Zayed is located nearby the mosque.

The Design

The mosque is one of the largest in the world and accommodates over 40,000 worshippers. Stunning white with gold accents, the mosque is surrounding by reflective pools and features 1000 columns and 82 domes.

A fusion of Arab, Moorish, and Mughal elements, the design of the mosque was directly influenced by mosques in Morocco and Pakistan, as well as the Taj Mahal in India. 

More than 3,000 people took part in the building of the mosque, which included artisans and materials from many countries, including Italy, Morocco, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia, Iran, Greece, UK, Germany, New Zealand, and the UAE.

The archways are quintessentially Moorish.

The Courtyard

The courtyard is massive and the floral design in the marble floor is not only spectacular, but also the largest example of a marble mosaic in the world.

The four minarets, placed in the four corners of the courtyard, are classically Arab in design.

The Garden Foyer

Before entering the prayer area, one passes through the garden foyer, which echoes the flower motifs of the courtyard.

Main Prayer Hall

The Main Prayer Hall, which can accommodate 7,000 worshippers, is the heart of the mosque.

The Qibla Wall (direction wall) features the 99 names of God written in Kufic calligraphy and designed by an Emirati calligrapher.

The prayer niche is made of gold leaf. 

The Carpet

Inside the hall is the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet. Made of wool, the carpet is Iranian designed and made. It was crafted by 1,200 women and took two years to complete. The lines marked in the carpet tell the worshippers where to line up.

The Women’s Prayer Hall

Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful women’s prayer area I’ve ever seen. Built to accommodate 1,500 women, the area is spacious and bright.

The ceiling, which was designed in Morocco, is made to match the carpet, which was designed in Malaysia. The two patterns mirror each other.  

The mosque also houses a library with classic books on Islamic subjects relating to science, calligraphy, art, and civilization. The collection features a broad range of languages and includes rare and historic publications. Click here to find out more about the Sheikh Zayed Mosque Library.

Visiting the mosque

Opening hours and tour times vary slightly throughout the year. Currently, the mosque is open to visitors daily from 9:00am to 10:00pm and Fridays from 4:30pm to 10pm. I advise morning or evening visits during the hot months.

I highly recommend the guided tours. Our tour guide Khadija was very knowledgeable and well-spoken. Free tours are currently given daily at 10:00am, 11:00am and 5:00pm. Additional tours on Saturday are 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Friday tours are 5:00pm and 7:00pm. See website for up-to-date visiting hours and tour schedule.

What to wear

Of course, women must cover their hair. The mosque offers unique abayas for female visitors. The abaya comes with an attached hood with a tie. You can select either a long abaya (floor length) or short (shin-length), depending on what you are wearing underneath.

Alternatively, you can wear your own modest clothing: a loose-fitting tunic over a long skirt or wide-leg trousers (what I wore).

Men must be modest, too—long trousers and shirt with sleeves. See the website sidebar for more information on mosque manners.

Did you know?

In Abu Dhabi, there is only one muatheen—that is, the man who calls the worshipers to prayer five times per day.  Yes, just one. His athan (call to prayer) is not recorded, but is projected live from all mosques in Abu Dhabi.

Question: Have you been to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque? What were your impressions?

Oh, how I had been waiting and counting the days. Finally, the day arrived: my food tour with Frying Pan Adventures.

We were eight eager participants with six North African eateries to explore. Our enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable tour guide was Arva Ahmed, who writes the ‘Food Obsession’ column in The National newspaper. Arva is also the food explorer behind the popular blog I Live in a Frying Pan, its tagline: “sizzling up hole-in-the-wall ethnic eats of Old Dubai.”

And that’s what we came to explore—the hole-in-the-wall secrets in Deira, more specifically HorAl Anz East, an old Dubai neighborhood with an enclave of North African shops & eateries. Here are the highlights from our tour:

Our First Stop: Egypt

The tour began at an Egyptian place called Al Amour, a humble restaurant brimming with hungry Egyptians and offering a brisk takeout business.

Our starter was Egyptian falafel made from fava beans (broad beans)—a type of falafel I had only heard of but never tasted. Naturally, Egyptians believe their falafel is superior to the usual kind made of chickpeas. I was eager to find out.

This ancient Egyptian falafel—called ta’amiya—is larger, flatter and topped with sesame seeds. I must admit it was just as delicious as the chickpea version—even more moist and seasoned perfectly. 

Next, we ate koshari, a popular street-food snack in Cairo, made of rice and macaroni, which one generously tops with lentils, chickpeas, lots of red sauce and even more fried onions.

At first, the look of this “fusion” comfort carb dish didn’t appeal to me, but I ended up inhaling a plate of it. And we still had 5 more eateries to go!

Next Stop: Tunisia

At the next restaurant, Taste Tunisia, we sampled brik, a crisp pastry and a Tunisian specialty. Made out of paper-thin ‘warqa,’ this pastry is stuffed with a variety of fillings.

We sampled brik stuffed with egg—runny egg to be precise. I ignored the mental alarm bells warning me of salmonella and dug in. It was not the time to be a fussy eater.  

My Favorite Stop: Morocco

Next was my favorite, a Moroccan restaurant called Tajeen Alfassi. With only three tables, it was truly a hole-in-the-wall, but it did kinda feel like Morocco.

The staff was friendly and gracious as they welcomed us into the kitchen.

I ate one of my absolute favorite Moroccan dishes—bastilla, a Moroccan pie from the city of Fez, stuffed with chicken or pigeon, flavored with almonds and garnished with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Yes, it’s true—savory and sweet together. Fortunately for me, Arva ordered the chicken bastilla and not pigeon. (I do have limits.)

I have tried this exact dish around Dubai at high-end Moroccan restaurants, and the bastilla served at this hole-in-the-wall was just as good in taste and presentation. I plan to find my way back by heading to back to Hor Al Anz East and calling their number: 04 297 8287. (Since there are no proper addresses in Dubai, we locate places by obtaining some vague directions over the phone.)

Of course, we also tried a few dishes cooked in a tajine, a half-glazed earthenware dish with a pointed, conical lid. Dishes prepared in a tajine are delightfully aromatic and flavorsome. This place had their tajines displayed up front.

We tried the Lamb Tajine with Prunes, as well as the Tajine of Kofta with Egg (below).

We finished this lovely stop with some Moroccan mint tea, the most minty I’ve ever had, the tea glasses overflowing with mint leaves.

Most Memorable: Ethiopia

This next stop was truly an adventure. The sign outside the Ethiopian Restaurant Al Habasha commanded us to “Eat today. Diet tomorrow.” 

Inside the first thing we saw were traditional hand-woven colorful wicker things that I quickly learned were the communal dining tables. Each mesob has a conical lid that is removed before the food is served.

On our mesob, we were served injera, the flatbread of Ethiopia, topped with doro watt, an onion-based chicken stew seasoned with berere, a traditional spice mix. Arva explained that this dish is a special occasion dish and also the national dish of Ethiopia.

As we ate this bread/stew combination communally and with our hands, I was impressed by the eager willingness of my tour mates (more adventuresome that I).  

Meanwhile, I glanced around at the other eaters in the restaurant, which was nearly full on that Thursday evening. I suspected we were the only non-Ethiopians in the place. I also became aware of the many, many subgroups and subcultures in Dubai, many of whom are seeking a taste of home on their weekend off.

We finished off our stop with some very strong Ethiopian coffee.

While I can’t say I found the Ethiopian doro watt stew tasty, I did find this stop the most memorable, a scene I won’t forget anytime soon.

For Something Sweet: Morocco

Enough with the savory! Next we headed to a roastery and sweet shop selling all sorts of Arab sweets and nuts.

We were there for one thing: Moroccan pastry. My favorite was the corne de gazelle (gazelle hoofs), filled with almond paste, shaped into crescent “hooves” and topped with powdered sugar. Not the best I’ve tried, but they were still yummy. 

Finally: Back to Egypt

We ended our tour back at Al Amour, a different branch of the restaurant where we started. It was 11:00pm and the place was packed. We had to wait for plastic chairs to sit on.

The specialty here is feteer meshaltet, an Egyptian pastry stuffed with a variety of fillings and baked in a wood-fired oven. First, the baker tosses and twirls the dough.

We were there to try a sweet pastry filled with Kraft processed cheese (in other words, a lowbrow fatayer “dessert”). As we waited on the sidewalk, some of us balked at the idea of processed cheese. Finally, we brought the sticky pastry to our lips, and we all agreed it was pretty good. To read a more detailed description of this Egyptian street food, see Arva’s food obsession column.

Other Stops on the Way:

In between these six stops, Arva couldn’t resist pulling us into an Omani sweet shop, an Iraqi fish restaurant, and a Moroccan dry goods shop. We also observed a tiny Iranian bakery (below).  In case you’re wondering, those large brown slabs hanging on the wall are bread. The baker sliced up some bread for us to try.

Frying Pan Food Adventures

Arva offers multiple tours per week. Tour themes include “Arabian Foodie Pilgrimage” and “Little India on a Plate.” To find out specifics, visit Frying Pan Adventures, where you can book a tour online.  Also, read reviews of Frying Pan Food Adventures on Trip Advisor, as well as in The Telegraph.

To see Arva in action, click on the video below. In this clip from Dubai One, Arva (in orange) visits Al Habasha Ethiopian restaurant and then tries some Moroccan specialties, including my beloved bastilla.

The North African tour cost 350 dirhams ($95) and is loaded with Arva’s vast culinary knowledge and expertise. Plus, all the logistics are taken care of, including transportation to and from the Mall of the Emirates. More importantly, a tour like this gets one out of the mall and into the overlooked neighborhoods. Now I’m wondering which tour to try next: Indian or Arabian?

Question: Have you tasted these foods before? Or had your own food adventure?  

In my last post I wrote about our trip to Muscat, Oman. What I didn’t mention was where we stayed—Al Bustan Palace.

We had stayed in this hotel once before, exactly nine years ago. Since then, the hotel was closed for several years for renovation and refurbishment. Now managed by the Ritz-Carlton, the hotel was sure to be classy. I looked forward to seeing the changes, as well as experiencing a bit of extravagance and amenity.

Al Bustan Palace was originally built as a venue for the GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) to hold their 1985 summit. More palace than hotel, Al Bustan has won its share of awards as the best hotel in the Middle East. Also, the fort-like hotel exemplifies Muscat’s architectural requirements of Arabesque patterns, arches, and domes.

If you visit Muscat, it’s worth staying at Al Bustan Palace—or at least coming for dinner to view the grand and stunning domed lobby, seven stories high.

When we stayed here before, the interior design was pretty, but its Arabian theme was overly colorful and ornate by today’s standards. Now the room design is subdued with neutral colors and understated patterns.

It’s also worth strolling the grounds—all newly updated and improved, along with the infinity pool and beach area.

The hotel is located on a private cove with a wide open beach offering snorkeling and dolphin-watching boat rides. Yes, dolphins.

This Omani coffee man offered me dates and Arabic coffee every day (as was his job). Each time I had coffee with him, he asked me more about myself.

The coffee man asked me where I was from, where my husband was from, how many children we had, etc. When he found out I lived in Dubai, he asked which was better—Dubai or Muscat. I gave a vague answer about each city being unique. He insisted I choose the best city. Finally, I told him Muscat was better because of its traditional and natural beauty. At last, he was satisfied.

The next day, I tried to pick up our conversation where we left off. Instead, he started from the beginning: where I was from and which I like better, Dubai or Muscat… I wondered, perhaps all us Western women look the same to him?

At any rate, the coffee and dates were fitting, and the hotel was lovely, a perfect anniversary getaway.

Question: Have you been to Al Bustan Palace?