We arrived early this morning in Abu Dhabi. By 9, Papa and I took a taxi to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. The mosque was built from 1996 to 2007. It is the largest mosque in the UAE. The building complex covers an area larger than 30 acres. It is quite impressive, built of gleaming white marble. The main prayer hall will hold 7000, and the building will accommodate 40,000 worshippers in total.
We taxied from the mosque to Emirates Palace Hotel, impressive from any standard. Across the street is the Etihad Towers, a complex of iconic towers in the amazing Abu Dhabi skyline. Across the bay is the Presidential Palace. While riding in the taxi, the driver told us the UAE has “zero crime.” When we got back to the ship, I looked it up online, and sure enough, According to the Violent Crime Index, “UAE has the lowest violent crime rate in the world.” We were more drawn to Abu Dhabi than to Dubai. Both are incredible collections of expensive architecture on the Arabian Sea.
