In Pictures: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi reopens to visitors

The Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque in Abu Dhabi which was reopened to visitors starting today. The Ministry of Presidential Affairs, in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, NCEMA, announced the re-opening of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, both in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah as well as the Founder's Memorial in the UAE capital, to visitors from Sunday.

A set of measures have been put in place including limiting the capacity of visitors allowed inside all cultural landmarks.

This is to ensure that the number of visitors is under control during the permitted timings to avoid overcrowding and guarantee social distancing and smooth flow of movement during their tour of the cultural attractions.

Thermal cameras are installed at all entrances of the mosque to detect body temperature where a special room has also been dedicated to isolating visitors, who show high body temperature.

Additionally, the visitors' track has been carefully identified to ensure social distancing, avoid gatherings and guarantee a healthy tour within a safe environment. Remote cultural tours in Arabic and English will be live-streamed on Instagram.

The precautionary measures that have been put in place will be displayed in videos on internal screens and social media platforms particularly Instagram to explain and simplify them to all segments of visitors.

Visitor signage will be in place, communicating the significance of wearing face masks and pursuing other relevant countermeasures taken by the State to cap visitor numbers and ensure social distancing.

In coordination with relevant state departments, the management teams of all cultural landmarks are forging ahead with intensive periodic disinfection measures covering all places to visit, starting from their entrances and including all areas of attractions.

An online booking system for visitors has been launched, through which they can set the date and time of visit. The system can be accessed by visiting the mosque website.

Visitors at the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi as it reopened for visitors with COVID-19 safety precautions . Construction on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was completed in 2007, and the structure is one of the largest, as well as most architecturally astounding mosques in the world.

Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi have been closed since March as part of the government’s pandemic restrictions to help protect public health and safety.

More than 6.6 million people visited the striking mosque last year.