The Sheikh Mohammed Centre tour
Emirati hosts explaining prayer and Islam and taking any question without awkwardness.
ZI Jony — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan — CC BY 2.0 · ianpudsey — CC BY 3.0 · Pmk58 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Dubai's best-known and most photographed mosque, and the only one in the emirate that opens to non-Muslims on organised daily tours. It was built in 1979 in the Egyptian Fatimid manner: two minarets, a cluster of domes, pale sandstone and dense carved ornament across the façade. Not old, then, but built well enough to look it, and without question the finest thing on Jumeirah Road. What sets it apart is not the building but the programme. The Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding runs tours inside most mornings except Friday, in which Emirati hosts explain prayer, ablution and the pillars of Islam and take any question without awkwardness. The centre's motto is «open doors, open minds», and it is aimed squarely at non-Muslim visitors. The tour usually includes dates and Arabic coffee and runs about an hour; book on site or in advance. The mosque is at its best at night when the façade is lit — the shot everyone knows. For Muslims it is open for prayer like any mosque, with no tour and no ticket.
Emirati hosts explaining prayer and Islam and taking any question without awkwardness.
Floodlighting brings out the carved ornament — Dubai's best-known shot after the Burj.
Served as part of the tour, and part of its purpose rather than an add-on.
Jumeirah Road, Dubai
It is better to, especially in the winter season when groups fill. Arriving half an hour early usually suffices in quieter months. Times change in Ramadan and at Eid, so check before going.
Clothing covering shoulders and knees for everyone, and a head covering for women. The centre lends abayas and headscarves at the door to anyone who arrives unprepared, so it is not worth worrying about.
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