ABU DHABI: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

It is one of the most stunning mosques I have ever seen in my life. The ones I have already seen in Istanbul are amazing, but this one is huge, the second biggest in the world, and so beautiful. Everything was white and gold.
You can hear and see the prayer. Women have to wear hijab, which covers the head and must cover the wrists and ankles. In the entrance women hand out the black shawls for women. Men just need to wear smart clothes and cover their legs.

The majority of the Arab locals wear their traditional dress. The men, usually, a white outfit with a headscarf, called a keffiyeh, and the women the black hijab. We wondered if different levels of society wore different dress, however we were told this was not the case, and the Sheikh’s will wear the same as a man who is not royal.

However, the men’s headscarves may vary depending on the situation. They can chose any keffiyeh they want, but generally men from the UAE will wear a white keffiyeh at a business meeting, wheras the Palestinians will wear a red keffiyeh in a similar situation.

The lady’s outfits look very similar but there are subtle differences; some have different jewelry sewn on, others with different coloured stitching along the edges and many are made by famous brands. Women still love fashion and commonly dress quite extravagantly underneath. They love heels and long hair, which are the only parts you can see when they are wearing their hijab, so they make sure those parts look particularly good. However, it shows they care for themselves and symbolizes that they care for their family.