abu dhabi stop-over

when flying to far away places, very often there is no (affordable) direct flight. so, waiting in airports for the next connecting flight is an unavoidable part of traveling. but having a break for one or two hours between two six-hour flights is usually better than being stuffed into a plane for twelve long-lasting hours. but sometimes, when a stop-over lasts many hours, this break can be veeeery boring.

fortunately at some places, it is quite easy to pass through immigration, leave the airport and visit the nearby city. so we did in abu dhabi during a stop-over on the way from bangkok to muscat in oman. but what can you do in five hours? of course, go down-town, find some decent lunch - much better than any in-flight meal - and then maybe walk around a little bit.

to be honest, i was not very much impressed. ok, there are all these fancy modern skyscrapers and of course many high-quality shopping malls. on the streets... not many people. everybody here seems to go by car even the shortest distance.

but abu dhabi also has the famous sheikh zayed mosque which is the city's most important place for worshipping and for friday prayers. and fortunately, also non muslims are allowd to enter this impressive building complex that can accomodate more than 40.000 worshippers.

everywhere white marble and gold... inside the building, you can find the largest handwooven carpet in the world (5.627 square metres) and also the biggest chandelier in the world.

everything is just outstanding and breathtaking.

yes, way better than sitting inside an airport hall and eating overpriced mediocre airport food.