We only had a day in Abu Dhabi. Thankfully we were able to see most of the things that we had hoped to see. The main attraction for us was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Ever since the Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur we have been looking forward to seeing more mosques and today did not disappoint. Like all Mosques it is designed to create an ambience of peaceful reflection. The craftsmanship in the use of the marble was impressive. Almost the entire building is covered in white marble. The flowers on the floor are not painted on but rather are inlaid pieces of coloured marble, carefully cut and placed into bespoke grooves in the marble flooring.

The beauty continues on the inside. The two mosques we have seen are both contemporary and still incredible. Julian and I realised we have never seen a modern church that we liked. Do churches have to be old to be wonderful? Does the architecture of churches not translate well into modern styles?

The use of translucent marble, backlit by the sun created some beautiful images. All three of these images have such components incorporated into them that subtlety illuminates the part of the wall. The effect was very beautiful. There is a lot of symbolism in the design of this mosque and I wish I knew more about it.

The use of inlaid marble to create flower patterns on the floor continued inside the Mosque as illustrated by the roses on the left. Think of the hours it must take to make such an image. The two right images show another way of creating flowers from stones. These flowers are carved out of stones and stuck on the wall somehow. They are not marble stones obviously. The 3D effect gives them a tangible substance. There is another photo above near the entrance showing a larger picture of the 3D flowers installation.

Of all the buildings I saw in Abu Dhabi the Etihad Towers are my favourite. I am not sure if it's their shape, the clean futuristic look of their reflective facade, the fact that there are a few of them or maybe it's the way they seem to leaning in to each other, as if they are sharing a confidence of some kind. My fav.

This is another building that deserves special mention. It's the first circular high rise building in the world and looks strangely uplifting when you see it. A little bit like a massive emoticon. I like the grid pattern and the use of only two finishes twhich gives greater emphasis on the fundamental shape.

More impressive buildings from Abu Dhabi. There are plenty of them here. I would like to apologise for the poor quality of the photography but some of them were taken from inside the car. We only had one day in Abu Dhabi and that means there isn't time to try and get of a freeway and compose a decent shot every time you would like to.

Where the Arabian desert meets the sea.