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Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and one of the most visited landmarks in the Arab world, drawing several million worshippers and visitors to Abu Dhabi each year. Commissioned by the nation's founding president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who envisioned a structure that would unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with the historical and modern values of architecture and art, the mosque was constructed between 1996 and 2007. Sheikh Zayed is buried in the courtyard adjacent to the building. The complex covers more than 12 hectares and accommodates over 40,000 worshippers, with the main prayer hall holding around 7,000. Its design synthesises Mamluk, Ottoman and Fatimid influences, realised in gleaming white marble that shifts in tone with the changing daylight. The mosque holds several record-setting features, including one of the world's largest hand-knotted carpets, woven by around 1,200 Iranian artisans and covering the main prayer hall, alongside seven imported chandeliers featuring millions of Swarovski crystals. Eighty-two domes of varying sizes crown the structure, and four 107 metre minarets rise at the corners of the main courtyard, whose floor is decorated with an expansive floral mosaic of coloured marble. Reflective pools flank the building, mirroring its columns and arches and amplifying the visual effect at sunset and after dark, when a unique lighting system shifts in phase with the lunar cycle. Visitors are welcomed outside of prayer times, with modest dress required and abayas traditionally provided, and free guided cultural tours explain Islamic practice and the building's symbolism. The mosque operates as both an active place of worship and a centre for cultural understanding, and admission for tourists is free throughout the week except during Fridays reserved for worshippers. A visitor centre beneath the main courtyard houses exhibitions, a library and retail outlets, while the surrounding gardens and reflective pools draw photographers throughout the day and into the floodlit evening hours across the year.