See the world's largest Persian carpet...check

See the world's largest chandelier...check.

Hello All,

Made some progress on my "things to see before I die" bucket list by seeing the world's largest Persian carpet and the world's largest chandelier.  Of note, I check both boxes making only one stop...The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, better known as Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi.

The rug weighs 75,000 lbs, took 1200 weavers almost 2 years to complete, has over 2.2 BILLION hand made knots, and reportedly cost $8.5 million.  Size?  60,546 sq ft.  This carpet is bigger then a football field which measures 57,600 sq ft (including end zones).  Pretty impressive.

The claim of the world's largest chandelier could not be verified using the internet but...measures over 33 feet in diameter and 45 feet in height.  It appears to be the "third largest chandelier" in the world.  It too was impressive but "see the world's third largest chandelier" is not on my list.

Turns out that the world's largest chandelier is in Doha, Qatar and measures 41 feet wide and 19 feet tall.  Don't have any trips to Doha on the calendar but people from the command go there on a fairly regular basis.  I'll see if I can jump on one of those trips.

Abu Dhabi was pretty nice and much bigger then Muscat, Oman.  It is a big modern looking city with lots of hussle and bustle.  Abu Dhabi is the location of UAE's central government so there are lots of government agencies located in the city.  They attract a fair number of tourist but I think Dubai has the edge with the vacation seeking types.

The hotel, The Beach Rotana, was very nice and one of two approved by the US embassy.  It was also connected to a 3 story mall.

We met every day at the UAE Armed Forces Officers' Club.  This is a bit misleading because the AFOC is really a very big hotel/conference center complete with gyms, pools, sports fields, pistol range and restaurants.

The best part of the day was lunch.  The cafeteria, if you could call it that, was AWESOME!  It featured an international buffet with soup, salad, and desert bar.  Other stations featured Asian (including sushi), tradition Arab fare, Indian section, and a European section.  All the food was delicious.  I limited myself to small portions but when you sample 20 small portions, you end up pretty full.  I couldn't stop because everything was so good.  I tasted few things I never had before but stuck with the sushi, duck, lamb, and beef for the most part.

I have a funny story about locking myself out on the balcony of my room one morning.  I'll save that for when I see you.

Until then,
Michael