Rich giudes

07/02/2022

Luxury in 24 Hours: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
I recently spent 24 hours in Abu Dhabi before heading to Dubai for a few days, and with not a lot of time in the city I thought I’d tell you all about what I got up to. I’d had a busy few weeks in New York and London, so wanted to use Abu Dhabi to relax as well as see the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and new Louvre Abu Dhabi.

What to wear in Abu Dhabi
When visiting Abu Dhabi it’s important you stay respectful with your choice of clothing, as it is a Muslim country. Some places you visit, such as the Grand Mosque, require you to cover your shoulders, knees, and your hair with a headscarf. The dresses below are all perfect for the requirements! Simply click on each image to go to the product page and purchase or view other similar style dresses. Trousers are also suitable and totally fine, I just always wear dresses because they’re so easy to pack!

Superga Cotu Classic 2750 canvas trainers in grey Fashion Union Plus button front midi shirt dress in gingham-Pink Boohoo exclusive broderie midi shirt dress in white Wednesday's Girl midi shirt dress in check-Navy Gilli floral maxi dress with ruffle detail-Multi Y.A.S Petite stripe square neck tiered midi dress-Multi Fashion Union Plus midi fitted shirt dress in blue floral-Multi


Spending 24 hours in Abu Dhabi

I arrived Wednesday morning and had had a long flight, so checked in to the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, then chilled out by the pool with my book and had a nap. I wasn’t feeling very well as I was unknowingly in the early stages of my second pregnancy (which sadly ended a couple of weeks later the same heartbreaking way as the first – miscarriage SUCKS), so I was completely exhausted, so spent most of the day lazing around the hotel drinking fresh watermelon juice, and managed to eat part of a delicious caesar salad! In the evening though I was determined to push through the jetlag and exhaustion and go to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque for sunset.
Before visiting the mosque I needed to freshen up, and the bathtub in my room was insanely deep so naturally I had to test it out. I was so relaxed I fell asleep though, and woke up in a panic wondering how I didn’t drown myself. Does anyone else have that ‘sh*t I could have drowned’ panic when they wake up from a nap in the bath!?




With the sun slowly dipping in the sky, I got a taxi across the road to the mosque (like Dubai, Abu Dhabi is impossible to walk around), and after changing into one of their Abaya’s I joined the last tour of the day. Timing your visit with a tour is well worth doing as they’re free and I learnt so much! It was really fascinating, and it also allows you to enter half of the mosque that visitors aren’t allowed to wander freely in.
The mosque was finished in 2007, and is large enough to fit almost 41,000 worshippers! The carpet in the main prayer hall is the World’s largest carpet, and took over two years to complete. Apparently they had to ship it into the country from Iran on a military aircraft!! I’ll be doing a separate post soon on visiting the Sheikh Zayad Mosque, as I have hundreds of photos that couldn’t fit into this post and didn’t want to over-fill this one.
As we walked out of the main prayer hall the sunset prayer call began, and it was mesmerizing. Hearing the call to prayer just gives me all the feels. I have no idea what the words are or what they’re saying, but they just sound so beautiful. The tour finished and we were allowed to wander around the public areas of the mosque. The light at night was stunning, but I planned to go back the next morning to see it again in the daylight. I’m actually really glad I did this as the light was completely different.

I headed back to the hotel and decided to try out Barfly by Buddha Bar for dinner. As I was travelling alone I didn’t want a typical restaurant where I would feel lonely, so opted for somewhere with more of a bar/nightlife atmosphere. I definitely made the right choice – I had a lovely dinner with some incredible food (although it consisted of everything you’re not supposed to have whilst pregnant – sushi, sashimi, and alcohol), right on the water beside the canal. Also, it turned out it was ladies night, so I got 50% off my bill and bottomless prosecco (which I didn’t even make full use of – I managed two sips of my glass before feeling sick).

07/02/2022

Visiting The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
Visiting the Sheikh Zayed Mosque was one of my main reasons for visiting Abu Dhabi, and I even chose to stay in a hotel opposite the mosque! It’s one of the World’s most beautiful mosques, and was built in 2007 and holds over 41,000 worshippers at any one time.

The mosque is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who commissioned the mosque and sadly passed away before its completion. You can actually see the mausoleum of Sheikh Zayed, as it’s located beside the mosque on the side that you can only access while on one of the free tours.

I visited about an hour before sunset on a Wednesday, and then again at around 11am the following morning. Both times I wore maxi dresses and a scarf, but they still insisted I wear an Abaya as you could still see my wrists and ankles. There are brown and blue ones, personally I thought the blue was the most flattering, haha. Brown is not my colour!

You also have to pass through a security check point, and you’re not allowed to take any food or drinks or ci******es inside, and you must leave your shoes once you’re past security, just outside the mosque entrance (you’ll see all the shoes – you can’t miss them).

The mosque is free to enter and open to anyone and everyone, Muslim or not, from 9am-10pm Saturday-Thursday. Fridays are the Islamic holy day, so are closed to visitors in the morning (it’s still open to worshippers), and it reopens for non-worshipping visitors at 4:30pm.

Also it’s important to note that visitors aren’t able to visit the mosque on Fridays during the holy month of Ramadan, and from Saturday – Thursday it’s open from 9am-2pm. So make sure you check the dates of Ramadan before you go as they change every year!
The tours generally run at 10am, 11am, and 5pm, and you must join one of these free tours to see certain parts of the mosque. It’s well worth doing – I learnt so much and found it so fascinating! You can also ask any questions that you want and the guides are very willing to answer. I’d recommend arriving at 4:30pm for Golden Hour, go to the 5pm tour, and then you can hear the sunset call to prayer (thanks for the tip, Aftab!).
Warning: This is a photo heavy post!

One of my favourite learnings from the tour is that there are seven crystal chandeliers inside the mosque, all made by Faustig in Germany. Each one represents one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and each one weighs a different weight, as the weight of each one represents the size of each Emirate. The largest chandelier in the mosque is the third largest in the world, and each one is made up of millions of Swarovski crystals!

The carpet inside the mosque is the largest single piece of carpet in the world, and had to be shipped in from Iran on a military aircraft carrier. It measures over 60,000ft, weighs over 35 tons, and took two years to complete!

After the tour we walked back outside to hear the call to prayer. The call to prayer always makes me feel so peaceful and relaxed. I wandered around the mosque while it continued, lost in my thoughts and blissfully happy that I was finally visiting this spectacular place of worship. I’m such a sucker for beautiful religious sites (the outrageously decorative European Catholic churches are my faveee), so the mosque made me a very happy girl.

07/02/2022

07/02/2022

07/02/2022