Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to launch virtual cultural tours

The remote visits will take place twice a week in English and Arabic, and private experiences are also available

As guests cannot visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in person, it is launching bi-weekly virtual tours in English and Arabic. Victor Besa / The National

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre is launching remote cultural tours of the Abu Dhabi mosque, allowing visitors experience the holy building virtually amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

"SZGMC launched remote cultural tours at the mosque, keeping with its status as a leading global cultural destination that annually receives more than six million visitors from all around the world," the centre wrote on Instagram.

"This is in line with the precautionary measures taken in the UAE to protect the community, after the spread of the novel coronavirus."

The live broadcasts will be aired every Tuesday and Saturday at 11am (UAE time) through its Instagram page. The Tuesday sessions take place in Arabic, and in English on Saturdays for visitors around the world.

The centre will also offer government and private institutions private remote cultural tours, which they can register for through the website.

This Ramadan, the Grand Mosque is holding its taraweeh prayers live for Muslims to watch at home, as they will be unable to visit the mosque. The prayers are live on the mosque's website and YouTube channel. Visitors can set a reminder to tune in, via the video link.

Using Google Maps, guests are already able to explore the mosque virtually with the Street View function, seeing user-generated footage captured since January 2017.

By moving the yellow figure, you can go from room to room to see different photos taken by guests of the mosque. However, with the new Instagram tours, you will be given a cultural explanation of each space.

Access the Google Street View here, or alternatively search for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque on Google Maps, and move the yellow figure into the mosque, to get a Street View access.

Virtual tours run at 11am every Tuesday (Arabic) and Saturday (English); more information is available at www.szgmc.gov.ae/en

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Read more: 

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