I met my friendly Sri Lankan driver-for-the-day outside the apartment. Neither of us knew much about Abu Dhabi. I had a guide book and a map I kept misreading, but between that and his buddy, whom he called, we figured out a tentative plan. First and most important destination: The Grand Mosque. (Its full name is "Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque" and it is one of the few open to non-Muslims.) Off we went!

We drove from the border of Oman to the coast of UAE in about 90 minutes. In case there was any question, yep, the interior of this country is a desert! The occasional palm tree, but mostly just sand or dunes along the highway. We did pass the odd rest stop and apparently the only gas station in between the two cities, as it had quite a line. Otherwise, sand. Lots and lots of sand.

Turned out the Grand Mosque was impossible to miss.

The thing is huge! Biggest in the UAE, at least for now, but, according to Wiki, only the 8th biggest in the world.

As we circled the enormous gleaming landmark, I noticed that the parking lot looked empty and was worried it was closed. That would have been a major disappointment. However, as I wandered toward it from where the driver dropped me off, I saw plenty of tourists. People from all over the world were there to have a look. (And I cannot imagine the crowds had the parking lot been full.)

Locating the actual "front" where one procures the proper garments to enter was trickier, especially since some people brought their own attire. I kept thinking I missed the black robe room as I wandered around, but was blocked from entering the mosque proper.

But eventually the Australian woman who was equally confused and I found the main entrance.

The sky was perfectly blue and the sun beat down. I headed toward the entrance and passed by this sign which did not cover my question: what about half-sleeves? Longer than short sleeves, but shorter than long?

I went ahead and opted for the abaya (all black flowy cover wear) which they handed out in a little room off the main entrance. Mainly for the experience. The garment had a hood, but I had brought my own headscarf.

After I was all garmented up, I realized I wanted another photo from the outside but one of the many guards did not let me leave with the black dress on, so inside it was!

You could wear your shoes into the courtyard up until the end where the entrance to the inside was.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the interior of the mosque: it is air conditioned! Granted, this mosque is less than 10 years old, so perhaps this pleasant feature should not have been a surprise.

The chilly air was a relief after the hot sun. Maybe it was psychological, but I felt even hotter wearing the abaya and head scarf.

The locals, of course, think this is "cool" weather. Because they are used to living inside a furnace.

The architecture of the interior was gorgeous. The structure itself, the decorations, the ornamentation, the calligraphy, the marble-inlaid flowers on the floor, the crazy-big carpet. Actually... I totally forgot to pay special attention to the rug. It is supposed to be the largest carpet in the world or such and I knew it was a key feature going in. But, probably distracted by everything else, it completely slipped my mind. Luckily, I can see glimpses of it in the photos.

The only thing which seemed out of place was the main chandelier. It looked like... bubble gum balls? Tacky holiday ornaments? I don't know. The colorful crystals did not match the feel of the rest of the mosque. Decide for yourself:

As I extricated myself from the abaya and put it in a bin, the scarf came undone, too. But a guard reminded me that, apparently, I was supposed to still be wearing the scarf in the arcade, even if the abaya was no longer required. He was patient enough as I stood next to him trying to get the thing on again. (Not sure how people wear these things without them falling off all the time.)

I also wonder if the guards are volunteers? There are a lot of workers here, security personnel, people handing out robes, etc. But this place is completely free to enter. Free. Perhaps the running of the mosque (and its air conditioner) depends on small donations of visitors. Or large ones from wealthy citizens.

The exterior of the mosque is just full of fun shots (there are apparently 80+ domes) and here are but a few.

After I ran out of clever photo ideas, I headed back out to the parking lot. On my way, I met a dude from San Francisco wearing a white robe and a cute rimless hat. We chatted and took each other's photo. My driver was waiting right beyond there and I was glad of the car's air conditioning!

As it was lunchtime, I suggested he just drop me off downtown somewhere. He consulted his friend over the phone and I got dropped off at the mall instead.

But the mall was interesting for a number of reasons.

Another thing I enjoyed was looking at all the Arabic logos! I love seeing familiar logos in different scripts.

I started keeping a list of which major chains had a restaurant in UAE, then toward the end of the trip, I realized it would be shorter to keep track of which didn't. Yeah, everything is here. I ate at a local chain, I believe, called "Dajen" which was pretty decent food and the guy kindly gave me the two mini dolmas I requested on the side despite that the lowest amount you could technically order from the menu was fourteen.

This restaurant also did not want to break a 100 dirham (~$30) bill. Yet the ATM had the gall to give me a 500. Sigh. Small Change Problems. If the food court had more patrons, I would have been more skeptical of their need, but even "Charley's Grilled Subs" where I could order a Philly Cheese Steak (!) was begging for business.

After I had a small soft serve cone for dessert, I headed back down to the ground floor. The mall background music suddenly played the MakeMyTrip's on-hold tune (which I had heard an extra amount of just to make it here.) I cannot escape whatever classical piece this is!

We headed toward the waterfront. My impression of downtown Abu Dhabi was a little like Denver. Tall, 20-story buildings in various pastel shades of glass with shops on the ground floor. Clean and pedestrian friendly, though plenty of traffic!

After reaching the water, we turned onto a finger of beach that held, among another things, the Heritage Center.

I believe the idea here was to recreate a historical village and marketplace (called a "souk") for the guests to wander in. I bought something from one of the stalls that was made in India (ha!) and also enjoyed wandering in the historical "shops" once I a) realized that you did not have to buy anything within, it is mostly a demonstration, and b) they were air conditioned!

There is also a nice (rhyming) dedication to the Father of the United Arab Emirates:

But really, the main reason to visit the heritage center, besides the ducks...

...is the excellent views back to the city.

Perfect weather for an Abu Dhabi excursion. Though I did make my driver stop by a gas station on the way back to pick up a beverage, as I was quite thirsty by that point. Carts and the like selling bottled water were more difficult to come by than I expected. (They are a dime a dozen in Delhi.) I ended up having my first Pocari Sweat in ages. Even better than I remembered.

Next up: Dubai!