S vaki putnik koji dolazi u Abu Dabi trebalo bi da poseti Ve- liku džamiju šeika Zajeda, koja vam na ulazu u grad že- li dobrodošlicu u prestonicu Ujedi- njenih Arapskih Emirata. Za ujedinitelja Emirata ona je bi- la jedan od retkih snova koje nije us- peo da ostvari za života. Umro je tri godine pre nego što je 2007, nakon 11 godina, koliko je trajala izgradnja, otvorila svoja mermerna vrata. Nije bilo u planu da postane najveća tu- ristička atrakcija Abu Dabija, ali je privukla milione koji dolaze iz celog sveta da se dive toj lepoti. Napravljena u celosti od najlep- šeg belog mermera iz Italije, Make- donije, Grčke, Indije i Kine, sva u dra- gom i poludragom kamenju, obojena sedefom, osma je po veličini džamija na svetu (može da primi 41.000 ver- nika), a svakako jedna od najlepših. Pomalo oslikava Zajedovu opčinje- nost Tadž Mahalom, ali je u celosti F or any traveller coming to Abu Dhabi, a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a must, with it standing at the entrance to the city, welcoming you to the UAE capital. For the unifier of the Emirates this was one of the few dreams that he wasn’t able to see realised during his life. He died three years before it opened its marble doors in 2007, 11 years after construction began. It wasn’t planned to be the biggest tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi, but its beauty attracts millions, who vis- it every day from all over the world. Made entirely of white marble from Italy, Macedonia, Greece, In- dia and China, all in precious and semi-precious stones, painted the colour of mother of pearl, it is the world’s eighth biggest mosque (able to accommodate 41,000 worshippers) and certainly one of the most beau- tiful. To an extent it reflects Sheikh Zayed’s fascination with the Taj Ma- hal, but in its entirety it is a reflection of his desire to leave behind for his fellow citizens a place of prayer that in everything represents an idyllic picture of paradise on Earth. Islam doesn’t allow representa- tions of people or animals and so the
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