Sacred places in United Arab Emirates: temples, churches, shrines and mosques

IPlaces Written

All 5 pages now have an English version.

By tradition

By region

Islam · Abu Dhabi · 1996Sheikh Zayed Grand MosqueSheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Grand Mosque Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed Mosque, جامع الشيخ زايد الكبير

The largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates, begun on 5 November 1996 and opened for prayer during Eid al-Adha in December 2007, clad in white Sivec marble with 82 domes and four minarets rising about 107 meters. Its main prayer hall houses the world's largest hand-knotted carpet and seven Swarovski crystal chandeliers.

Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Street, Abu Dhabi

Directions View on map Read its own page ›

Photo: Marko Kudjerski from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · Emirate of Abu Dhabi · Nhà thờ đầu tiên bên bờ biển Corniche đặt viên đá đầu tiên năm 1963 và khánh thành ngày 19 tháng 2 năm 1965 trên khu đất do Quốc vương Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan ban tặng; di dời về khu Al Mushrif và cung hiến Nhà thờ chính tòa hiện tại ngày 25 tháng 2 năm 1983 thời Giám mục Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli OFMCapSt. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu DhabiCathedral of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA), Saint Joseph's Catholic Cathedral in Al Mushrif

The mother church and episcopal seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (serving the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen), entrusted to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin since its original 1965 foundation on the Abu Dhabi Corniche, rebuilt in the Al Mushrif district in 1983, and visited by Pope Francis on February 5, 2019 during the first papal journey to the Arabian Peninsula.

Cathedral of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA) and Historic Papal Pilgrimage Site of Pope Francis (February 5, 2019)Street 19, Al Mushrif District, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Directions View on map Read its own page ›

Photo: Clintonrebeiro, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Hinduism · Emirate of Abu Dhabi · Đức Pramukh Swami Maharaj tiên tri năm 1997; Thái tử Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan hiến tặng 27 mẫu đất tại Abu Mureikha năm 2015 và 2019; lễ đặt đá móng ngày 20 tháng 4 năm 2019; chính thức thánh hiến (Murti Pratishtha) ngày 14 tháng 2 năm 2024 bởi Đức Mahant Swami MaharajBAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu DhabiBAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Abu Dhabi, Traditional Stone Hindu Temple at Abu Mureikha

The first traditional hand-carved stone Hindu temple in the Middle East, built on 27 acres of land in Abu Mureikha generously gifted by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and consecrated on February 14, 2024 by His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, featuring seven pink-sandstone Shikharas honoring the seven Emirates of the UAE and housing seven pan-Indian shrines without a single rod of structural steel.

First Traditional Hand-Carved Stone Hindu Mandir (Nagara Shilpa Shastra) in the Middle East and Landmark of Interfaith Harmony in the UAEP6, Abu Mureikha (off Exit 366, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Road E11), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Directions View on map Read its own page ›

Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Islam · Emirate of Fujairah · Khoảng giữa thế kỷ 15 (niên đại khảo cổ bằng đồng vị phóng xạ carbon-14 của Đại học Sydney năm 1997 tới 1998 xác định từ năm 1450 tới 1670); trùng tu bảo tồn năm 2001 tới 2003 bởi Cục Cổ vật và Di sản Fujairah cùng Quỹ Di sản DubaiAl Bidyah MosqueAl Badiyah Mosque, Historic Four-Domed Mud-and-Stone Mosque of Fujairah, Oldest Mosque in the UAE

The oldest extant and continuously functioning mosque in the United Arab Emirates, nestled at the foot of a watchtower-crowned rocky hill in the coastal village of Al Bidyah in the Emirate of Fujairah, dated by University of Sydney radiocarbon analysis to the mid-fifteenth century and celebrated for its timber-free stone-and-mud construction featuring a single central pillar supporting four stepped helical domes.

Oldest Active Mosque in the United Arab Emirates and UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List Site (inscribed 2012, Ref. 5665)Rugaylat Road (E99), Al Bidyah Village, 35 km north of Fujairah City, Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

Directions View on map Read its own page ›

Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Islam · Emirate of Dubai · Khởi công năm 1976 và hoàn thành năm 1979 dưới sự bảo trợ và hiến tặng của cố Quốc vương Dubai Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum; mở cửa đón du khách quốc tế theo chương trình Open Doors, Open Minds từ năm 1998Jumeirah MosqueMasjid Jumeirah, Thánh đường Đá trắng Fatimid Jumeirah, Biểu tượng Cửa mở Tâm trí mở (Open Doors, Open Minds) của Dubai

Thánh đường Hồi giáo biểu tượng của thành phố Dubai được cố Quốc vương Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum khởi dựng năm 1976 và khánh thành năm 1979 bằng đá trắng chạm khắc theo phong cách Fatimid thời Trung cổ với một mái vòm trung tâm và hai ngọn tháp minaret đôi, nổi tiếng với hình ảnh trên tờ tiền 500 Dirham UAE.

Di tích Kiến trúc Biểu tượng của Tiểu vương quốc Dubai (in trên tờ tiền giấy 500 Dirham UAE) và Trung tâm Giao lưu Văn hóa Sheikh Mohammed (SMCCU)Jumeirah Beach Road (D94), Jumeirah 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Directions View on map Read its own page ›

Photo: scottgunn, Phạm vi công cộng, Wikimedia Commons

IIHelp Us Build This

This library is open and free, and it records its own progress in public. Three things you can help with today:

Name a place we missedA founding temple, a church, a mosque, a shrine the table above does not have. Send the name, the province, and one line on why it belongs.
Send a photograph with an open licenceNothing is published without both the photographer and the licence. Your own photograph with your permission, or an openly licensed one, are both welcome.
Report an errorA wrong date, a wrong original name, a wrong lineage, a wrong address. A library that is wrong once is not trusted again, so corrections are very welcome.

Write to thayungkhiem@gmail.com

IIILog

24/10/2026Completed three major initiatives on the same day: (1) Verified primary international sources and published the remaining 199 full English editions across 192 countries and territories, officially completing Stage D with 100% bilingual Vietnamese and English coverage across the entire library. (2) Visually verified and published 35 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for 22 sites in Vietnam and 13 international sanctuaries. (3) Authored 100 new bilingual sacred place monographs with real photographs for Stage C across 25 countries and territories (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and Mexico), expanding each from 1 to 5 places and bringing the library to 761 sacred places.
24/09/2026In the Main Hall, completed 3D ritual offerings for all 19 faiths with authentic gestures, offerings and proportions, alongside the milestone counter toward one billion heartfelt offerings. In the Places section, completed articles and openly licensed photographs for 30 second-batch sites across the 10 priority countries (bringing each to 5 places, including the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam as the library's first Jewish site) and authored the first 30 Stage A articles across 30 additional countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas (including Bulguksa, the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Masjid al-Haram, St Peter's Basilica and Guadalupe).

‹ Previous countryCabo Verde All countries Next country ›Cameroon

?Quick Questions

Why are there no opening hours or ticket prices

Because they change constantly. A library that is wrong once about a practical detail loses its standing on everything else. Check with the place itself before you travel.

Where do the images come from

From Wikimedia Commons under open licences, each credited to its photographer, or photographed by UK MASTER ACADEMY. No image is published without both its author and its licence.

How were these places chosen

Four tests: it is officially listed as a heritage site, it belongs to a tradition this library covers, its site and orientation can be read in feng shui terms, and an openly licensed photograph exists.

Why is my country still grey

The library opens one country at a time, beginning with the countries that have the most readers, and within each country with its most significant places. A grey country is simply one whose turn has not come. Suggestions are welcome through the page of Master Ưng Khiêm.

IPlaces Written

IIHelp Us Build This

IIILog

?Quick Questions

›Read Next