Dubai helicopter ride downtown skyline view

 

Tourism in the United Arab Emirates is an important part of the Emirati economy. In 2023, the tourism sector employed 809,300 people^[1] and contributed 220 billion dirham to the national gross domestic product (GDP), accounting for 12% of it.^[2] In 2024, the UAE was the 6th destination globally by international tourism receipts according to the World Tourism rankings,^[3] and it ranked 18th globally in the Travel and Tourism Development Index.^[4]

The country's major tourist attractions include the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, and Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and Al Hajar Mountains in Fujairah.^{[5][citation needed]}

History

[edit]

When the country was first formed in 1971 and freed from British control, the country itself did not have any sufficient tourist industry and the economic situation of the newly established nation was weak, despite massive oil wealth. Realizing the need to develop the country, and the awareness of oil limits, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who initiated the foundation of the UAE, envisioned the plan to diversify the country's economy, in which tourism was specifically regarded.^[6] The envision was eventually carried out, and in 1979, Sheikh Zayed opened the country's first-ever hotel, the Metropolitan Hotel Dubai located in Dubai.^[7]

The development of tourism in the United Arab Emirates was heavily linked to the development of tourism in Dubai, which was one of the earliest emirates in the country to open for tourists. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai from 1958 till 1990, realised one day Dubai would run out of oil and started building an economy that would outlast it.^[8] Sheikh Rashid, together with Sheikh Zayed, was the instrumental leaders of leading the country's tourism, having made a joint declaration for the founding of the Emirates.^[9] In 1989 the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Promotion Board was established, to promote Dubai as a luxury destination for the up-tier market and influential business sectors. In January 1997, it was replaced with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).^[10]

Since 2000s, the United Arab Emirates have experienced a significant tourist boom, and increasing life standard and quality made the expenditure on tourism to rise, thus making it more important to the national economy.^[11][12]

Tourist destinations

[edit]

Main article: List of tourist attractions in the United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi

[edit]

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and is the second most popular tourist destination in the country, under the management of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.^[13] This is also the center of Formula One race in the country, the Yas Marina Circuit. Nonetheless, the city is also famous for its landscapes, given its proximity to the Persian Gulf. There are over ten beaches functioning in the city serving for tourist purpose.^[14] The city is popular for its nightlife, more so than the more populous Dubai as it has lesser restriction and regular laws.^[15] Abu Dhabi will become the home of Disneyland Abu Dhabi, the first Disney theme park in the Middle East.^[16]

Dubai

[edit]

Dubai is the most visited city in the United Arab Emirates, the most expensive city in the GCC and one of the most expensive cities in the world.^[17] It is also the home of the two tallest towers in the world, the Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, the latter occupies the top position. Nightlife in the city is also widely promoted.^[18] The city is often seen as a symbol of rapid tourist success in the nation. Its richness encompassed by the rapid development and the mix with the local Arab culture made it a popular destination for tourists to travel. However, lack of general tourism development remains an obstacle which the Emirati authorities have sought to tackle.^[19]

Fujairah shares the Al-Hajar Mountains with Ras Al Khaimah, a major tourist attraction in the country. Outside the Hajar Mountains, the Fujairah Fort, Bitnah Fort, Snoopy Island, Masafi and Al Hayl Castle are also attractive destinations.^[20] Fujairah holds a distinction for having a bull butting culture, a result of Portuguese colonization from 17th century.^[21]

Ras Al Khaimah is known for its natural landscape.^[22] The Al Hajar Mountains, in particular with mount Jebel Jais, the highest mountain of the country, offers views over craggy peaks down to the coastal plain, making this a common spot for photographers, particularly in the late afternoon when the orange-hued rocks glow.^{[citation needed]} The world's longest zipline is also based in Ras Al Khaimah's Jebel Jais. Other include Dhayah Fort and its beach.^[23]

By 2027, Ras Al Khaimah will feature the first integrated resort and casino in the country when Wynn Al Marjan Island opens.^[24][25]

Sharjah is a major commercial center of the UAE. Sharjah is perhaps, among the most traditional tourist center, due to initiative efforts by the emirate's leadership to keep its spirit within the growing modernization. In 1998, Sharjah was awarded the "Cultural Capital of the Arab World" title by UNESCO representing the United Arab Emirates.^[26] Major destinations include the Sharjah Art Museum, Al Noor Mosque, Souk Al Markazi and Sharjah Heritage Area.^[27] A cultural heritage project, Heart of Sharjah, has been undertaken to preserve and restore the old town of Sharjah and return it to its 1950s state.^[28]

Yearly tourist arrivals in millions^[29]

Country	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
India	1,224,349	2,855,096	2,778,160	2,511,933	2,080,380	1,881,489
Oman	634,879	2,814,152	2,172,910	1,928,292	2,021,958	1,716,930
Saudi Arabia	512,875	1,897,471	1,993,646	1,876,316	1,921,916	1,662,435
Pakistan	418,973	840,222	819,683	763,396	767,724	671,847
United Kingdom	418,385	1,367,997	1,365,160	1,452,455	1,460,328	1,394,118
Russia	335,016	866,857	800,253	610,427	304,295	269,493
Germany	253,973	827,837	792,303	767,048	764,715	726,957
Egypt	238,226	357,084	328,049	297,658	302,560	301,952
United States	208,800	757,353	747,691	741,473	735,147	758,875
France	188,476	444,657	403,945	353,726	337,847	335,024
China	175,297	998,278	844,005	766,972	529,103	445,109
Italy	106,088	312,493	291,944	281,176	286,806	281,251
Philippines	104,438	378,423	375,938	379,754	365,749	322,297
Kuwait	98,576	378,109	399,795	463,708	492,360	489,425
Nigeria	79,630	250,568	172,476	128,676	145,725	162,086
Kazakhstan	78,072	164,219	140,801	93,968	89,723	85,625
Ukraine	73,819	154,001	123,221	83,670	77,397	70,154
Jordan	71,707	165,852	165,821	173,465	176,794	176,971
Canada	66,003	200,321	189,915	202,461	214,492	210,620
Bangladesh	63,674	158,108	132,931	31,350	31,529	39,179
Australia	63,371	297,709	305,320	331,450	353,390	389,702
Netherlands	61,432	170,484	170,018	169,829	163,662	171,496
Iraq	58,278	119,440	103,939	90,554	82,954	85,986
Spain	52,803	139,312	118,470	116,395	117,154	113,574
Bahrain	52,385	207,855	206,723	220,601	235,598	218,046
Iran	51,822	294,955	317,968	499,614	492,100	475,269
Lebanon	50,620	124,672	123,001	129,575	135,516	147,201
Indonesia	44,073	81,179	60,303	56,499	54,734	55,601
Poland	40,691	111,945	106,888	112,254	80,647	66,054
Afghanistan	39,784	75,721	44,777	34,181	28,659	51,984
South Korea	37,716	160,427	151,194	160,106	130,978	103,219
Belgium	36,619	87,110	78,870	74,983	73,775	71,379
Sweden	36,085	106,434	113,888	122,558	119,435	113,522
Romania	35,111	87,816	78,860	67,453	61,309	57,315
Brazil	34,655	105,141	85,822	78,312	54,362	59,950
Switzerland	34,111	120,623	121,675	121,399	108,782	110,785
Sri Lanka	33,539	102,200	90,455	85,474	84,013	77,295
Syria	31,972	69,876	49,979	48,270	60,212	67,943
South Africa	30,479	118,638	112,635	103,886	91,168	100,262
Turkey	29,930	86,077	87,322	97,302	97,464	94,448
Nepal	28,581	54,386	60,836	56,322	47,588	28,910
Uzbekistan	28,141	50,514	35,363	33,981	31,351	31,413
Algeria	28,120	97,693	76,211	58,397	58,356	46,767
Austria	27,630	78,751	74,857	72,779	72,587	79,293
Ireland	27,105	88,675	89,341	94,229	92,991	87,268
Japan	26,987	113,299	107,612	97,834	83,664	82,575
Uganda	24,748	60,780	49,272	41,721	35,059	30,010
Denmark	24,608	67,969	67,562	70,777	70,255	65,819
Morocco	22,537	66,526	57,229	50,818	45,708	40,170
Czech Republic	20,479	80,207	80,257	77,055	64,614	53,454

• Visa policy of the United Arab Emirates
• List of museums in the United Arab Emirates

• Travel & Tourism – United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E.

"Sheikh Zayed Mosque" redirects here. For other uses, see Sheikh Zayed Mosque (disambiguation).

Location within the Middle East

Show map of Middle East

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
جَامِع ٱلشَّيْخ زَايِد ٱلْكَبِيْر‎
View of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque from the courtyard, 2018
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Location
Location	Abu Dhabi
Country	United Arab Emirates
Location within the UAE Show map of United Arab Emirates

Coordinates 24°24′43.2″N 54°28′26.4″E / 24.412000°N 54.474000°E / 24.412000; 54.474000ArchitectureArchitectYusef AbdelkiStyleIslamicGroundbreaking1996Completed2007Construction costDhs2 billion (US$545 million)SpecificationsCapacity41,000+Length420 m (1,380 ft)Width290 m (950 ft)Dome82 domes of 7 different sizesDome height (outer)85 m (279 ft)Dome dia. (outer)32.2 m (106 ft)Minaret4Minaret height104 m (341 ft)Website

مركز جامع الشيخ زايد الكبير‎

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (Arabic: جَامِع ٱلشَّيْخ زَايِد ٱلْكَبِيْر Jāmiʿ Aš-Šaykh Zāyid Al-Kabīr) is a mosque located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.^[1] It is the country's largest mosque, and is the key place of worship for daily Islamic prayers. There is a smaller replica of this mosque in Surakarta, a city in Indonesia.^[2]

The Grand Mosque was constructed between 1994 and 2007 and was inaugurated in December 2007.^[3] The building complex measures approximately 290 by 420 m (950 by 1,380 ft), covering an area of more than 12 hectares (30 acres), excluding exterior landscaping and vehicle parking. The main axis of the building is rotated about 12° south of true west, aligning it in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The project was launched by the late president of the U.A.E., Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure that would unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with the historical and modern values of architecture and art.^[4] In 2004, Sheikh Zayed died and was buried in the courtyard of the mosque.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center (SZGMC) offices are located in the west minarets. SZGMC manages the day-to-day operations and serves as a center of learning and discovery through its educational cultural activities and visitor programs. The library, located in the northeast minaret, serves the community with classic books and publications addressing a range of Islamic subjects: sciences, civilization, calligraphy, the arts, and coins, including some rare publications. The collection comprises material in a broad range of languages, including Arabic, English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Korean. For two years running, it was voted the world's second favourite landmark by TripAdvisor.^[5]

The Grand Mosque has been a significant destination for visiting foreign leaders during official state visits to the UAE. Notable visitors include Elizabeth II,^[6] the then US Vice President Joe Biden^[7] and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.^[8]

The mosque was built under the guidance and supervision of Sheikh Zayed, who was buried here after his death in 2004. It features 82 domes, more than 1,000 columns, 24-carat-gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand-knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the largest chandeliers. The mosque was designed under the management of the Syrian architect Youssef Abdelke, and three other architectural designers from Syria who completed the design and worked on developing it, Basem Barghouti, Moataz Al-Halabi, and Imad Malas.^[9]

The mosque's architect Yusef Abdelki took inspiration from a number of sources: the Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria, designed by Mario Rossi in the 1920s;^[10] the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan;^[11] and other references of Persian, Mughal, and Indo-Islamic architecture. The dome layout and floorplan of the mosque was inspired by the Badshahi Mosque. Its archways are quintessentially Moorish, and its minarets classically Arab.

In a joint-venture between Italian contractors Impregilo and Rizzani de Eccher, more than 3,000 workers and 38 sub-contracting companies were conscripted in its construction. The mosque was completed under a second contract by a Joint Venture between ACC and Six Construct (part of Belgian company BESIX Group) between 2004 and 2007.^[12][13][14] Natural materials were chosen for much of its design and construction due to their long-lasting qualities, including marble stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. Artisans and materials came from many countries including Syria, especially from Damascus and Aleppo, and some other countries such as India, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, China, United Kingdom, New Zealand, North Macedonia and the U.A.E.^{[citation needed]} The intricate flower mosaics decorating the courtyard was designed by the British artist Kevin Dean, who embraced Sheikh Zayed’s passionate vision to create a mosque that unites the world, as he chose flowers from the Middle East, such as Tulips, Lilys, and Irises. As inlays of colored marble form exuberant floral patterns that curl and twist gracefully from the edges towards the center adorn the courtyard. While the rest of the Sahan was inlaid with thousands of small pieces of white marble.

The mosque is large enough to accommodate over 40,100 worshippers, while the main prayer hall can hold over 7,000. There are two smaller prayer halls, with a capacity of 1,500 each, one of which is the women's prayer hall.^[1]

There are four minarets on the four corners of the courtyard which rise about 107 m (351 ft) in height. The courtyard, with its floral design, measures about 17,000 m² (180,000 sq ft), and is considered to be the largest example of marble mosaic in the world.^[1] The exterior and interior are adorned with white marble, giving the mosque a serene and majestic appearance. The marble is inlaid with precious stones like lapis lazuli, carnelian, amethyst, abalone shell, and mother of pearl.

Marble used in the construction included:

• Sivec from Prilep, North Macedonia was used on the external cladding (115,119 m² (1,239,130 sq ft) of cladding has been used on the mosque, including the minarets)
• Lasa from Laas, South Tyrol, Italy was used in the internal elevations
• Makrana from Makrana, India was used in the annexes and offices
• Acquabianca and Bianco P from Italy
• East White and Ming Green from China^[1]

To compare, the King Faisal Mosque of Sharjah, formerly the largest mosque in Sharjah^[15] and country, measures 10,000–12,000 m² (110,000–130,000 sq ft).^[16][17]

The carpet in the hall is considered by many ^{[by whom?]} to be the world's largest carpet made by Iran's Carpet Company and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi.^[18] It measures 5,627 m² (60,570 sq ft), and was made by around 1,200-1,300 carpet knotters. The weight of this carpet is 35 ton and is predominantly made from wool (originating from New Zealand and Iran). There are 2,268,000,000 knots within the carpet and it took approximately two years to complete.^[1]

The Grand Mosque has seven imported chandeliers from the company Faustig in Munich, Germany that incorporate millions of Swarovski crystals. The largest chandelier is the second largest known chandelier inside a mosque, the third largest in the world,^{[clarification needed]} and has a 10 m (33 ft) diameter and a 15 m (49 ft) height.^[1]

The pools along the arcades reflect the mosque's columns, which become illuminated at night. The unique lighting system was designed by lighting architects Speirs and Major Associates to reflect the phases of the moon. Beautiful bluish gray clouds are projected in lights onto the external walls and get brighter and darker according to the phase of the moon.^[19]

The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are clad with marble and inlaid with mother of pearl, one of the few places where one can see this craftsmanship.^{[citation needed]}

The 99 names (qualities or attributes) of God (Allah) are featured on the Qibla wall in traditional Kufic calligraphy, designed by the prominent UAE calligrapher — Mohammed Mandi Al Tamimi. The Qibla wall also features subtle fibre-optic lighting, which is integrated as part of the organic design.

In total, three calligraphy styles — Naskhi, Thuluth and Kufic — are used throughout the mosque and were drafted by Mohammed Mandi Al Tamimi of the UAE, Farouk Haddad of Syria and Mohammed Allam of Jordan.^[1]

• 
  View from Wahat Al Karama
• 
  Exterior
• 
  Water mirror and columns
• 
  Inner courtyard with minaret
• 
  Interior of the main prayer hall
• 
  The mosque in 2022
• 
  The mosque at night
• 
  Outside of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (left)
• 
  Mosque walkway
• 
  Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque At Night

• List of mosques in the United Arab Emirates
• List of cultural property of national significance in the United Arab Emirates
  • Qasr Al Watan
  • The Founder's Memorial
• Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
• Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Fujairah
• Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's Mosque in Stockholm, Sweden
• Emir Abdelkader Mosque

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sheikh Zayed Mosque.

• The Official Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center website
• The Official Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority website
• Shah, Pino (2020-03-14). Rood, Carrie (compiler) (ed.). Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: Heaven's Waiting Room. Vol. 1 (of World Heritage Series). Pharr, Texas, the U.S.A.: ArtByPino.com. ISBN 978-0-9979-9844-3. Retrieved 2020-07-09.