Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, in Abu Dhabi is by far one of the most beautiful religious structures I have ever seen. I learned a lot about this place on my tour. Built in the late 1990s and opened to visitors in 2207, the Mosque has approximately 1,000 columns in its outer areas which are clad with more than 20,000 marble panels inlaid with semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl. Not to mention a 9.5 ton chandelier! Materials for the building of the mosque came from all over the world, and the inside represents a very ornate floral design. One notable thing about the mosque is the prayer clock (shown below) which changes the times of prayer automatically every day based on the sun's position. Women have to wear an abaya for entry and mine was HUGE, so I tripped often during my visit :)
