Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi introduces entry fee for visitors

Dubai: Visitors to Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque must now pay an entry fee, with UAE Emirates ID holders charged Dh5 and tourists Dh10.

The mosque remains free to enter for worshippers. Visitors aged over 60, children under three and people of determination can also access the vast complex without paying an entry fee.

Tickets can be booked through the official Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre website, with visitors able to make reservations up to one month before their planned visit.

The mosque is open to visitors from 9am to 8.30pm from Saturday to Thursday. On Fridays, visiting hours are from 9am to 11.30am and then from 2.30pm to 8.30pm.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre also offers free cultural tours lasting between 30 and 45 minutes.

The tours explore the mosque’s cultural role in promoting coexistence and tolerance, as well as the history behind its construction.

Tours are held from Monday to Sunday at 11am, 1pm and 5pm. On Fridays, tours are available at 11am and 5pm.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque welcomed more than 3.12 million guests during the first six months of 2026.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre said 3,127,607 people visited or used the mosque and its facilities during the six-month period.

The total included 1,841,305 worshippers and people attending iftar, along with 1,241,808 visitors from different nationalities.

Friday prayers attracted 98,469 worshippers, while 229,139 people attended daily prayers. A further 533,687 people prayed at the mosque during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.

International visitors made up 78 per cent of the mosque’s total visitors, highlighting its growing presence as a global cultural tourism destination.

Visitors from Asia represented the largest share at 52 per cent, followed by Europe at 31 per cent and North America at 10 per cent. Africa and South America each accounted for 3 per cent, while Australia represented 1 per cent. India was the largest source market, making up 21 per cent of visitors, followed by China at 10 per cent, Russia at 8 per cent, the United States at 7 per cent and Germany at 4 per cent.

The Philippines, the UK, France, Poland and Pakistan each accounted for 3 per cent of visitors.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the UAE and was envisioned by the country’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as a place promoting peace, tolerance and diversity.

The mosque features 82 white marble domes, more than 1,000 columns, large crystal chandeliers and the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet.

Construction began in 1996 and was completed in 2007, with the mosque opening in December that year.