Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi

Another trip to Abu Dhabi to see the Grand Mosque - this time to show the Broadleys round - and it didn't disappoint. An over zealous security guard tried to stop the women (Tracy mum and I) from walking into the outskirts of the Mosque without our Abayas. He insisted that our husbands must go and get them for us and we were to stay well outside in the scorching heat. I informed him that this being my third visit here I knew better than him and ignored him and carried on. Never did like being told what to do especially by a male (Andrew here - can confirm that). So - we got all dressed up and went off to explore this amazing place. Jaime and Jack wore their own clothing. School heritage day finally came in handy.

Cailin looked gorgeous.

Daddy and Jack looking the part. Both have had haircuts since then...

The 3 youngest cuddling up.

Looking down one of the corridors.

On the way to the Mosque there are some interesting sights. The bridge below was to be completed a long time ago - it is supposed to be a very elegant arched structure when complete. However it has taken years to work out how to get the arch up without it falling over during construction and we think it has gone to court now to work out who is going to front up with the money to pay for all the extra design work and scaffolding. Very funny. That's what happens when designers get too cute.

The building below is by most people called either "the Coin"or "the Lozenge". It is going to be Aldar's headquarters (Aldar is a big Abu Dhabi-based developer that Andrew's company does some work for). Very cool looking but probably not very cost effective.

The bridge and the coin are very close to the mosque. We had lunch with Tracy's old school friend Roy and his wife Nicky and son before we started back. It was a great day out, and the drive was a lot easier than the one back from Jebel Hafeet.