Largest carpet, biggest chandelier, largest Dome... these are some of the delightful things you can see at the newly opened Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
The mosque has achieved three entries into the Guinness Book of World Records its 80-billion-rial, 35 ton, single-piece carpet measures 7,119 square meters and was made by around 1,200 weavers, 20 technicians and 30 workers. The weight of the carpet is 47 tons – 35 tons of wool and 12 tons of cotton. There are a staggering 2,268,000 knots within the carpet, which took hundreds of artisans in Iran 12 months to weave into the piece of art that it is.
The biggest of the seven Swarovski crystal encrusted chandeliers featured in the mosque also enters the Guinness Book of Records. The breath-taking chandelier has a 10 meter diameter, a 15 meter height and is stainless steel plated in 24 carat gold. Over one million crystals were used in all seven chandeliers.
There are a total of 82 domes within the mosque, the outer shell of the main dome is 32.8 metres in diameter and has a height of 70 metres. This is the largest of its kind in the world, contributing to the three world record that the mosque has achieved.
The mosque, which opened to visitors on 21 January 2008, was initiated by the late President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, fondly thought of as the father of the UAE. As one enters the capital city, the mosque stands as a symbol of the warm hospitality and traditions of Abu Dhabi.
A total of 40,960 worshippers can be accommodated at one time, 7,126 in the main prayer hall, 1,960 in the open prayer hall, 980 female worshippers in the open prayer hall, 22,729 worshippers in the open Sahan Area, 682 in the main prayer hall entrance and 784 in the mosque main hall entrances.
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque will be open for guided educational tours commencing at 10am to 11.30am Sunday to Thursday (i.e. 60-90 mins). For more information and pre-registration contact the Sheikh Zayed Mosque Tour Team at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

The Smallest Hotel in the world with a big name “Grand Hotel de Kromme Raake”

Somewhere in a little town called, Eenrum in the Groningen province of Holland lives the smallest hotel in the world, three cafés, a candle maker and a mustard museum.
This former grocery shop is the ideal venue to rekindle, start or spice up any relationship. It does not get any cosier than a one-room hotel with a state-of-art bathroom, a no fuss kitchen, retro-style bedroom and lounge. Guests are welcomed with the cutest long white nightshirts with nightcaps to match.

I would not have credited the name Henk Vonhoff, provincial governor of Groningen with romance but the guy opened the smallest hotel in the world in 1989 ceremoniously and the hotel got two listings in the Guinness Book of Records as being not only the smallest hotel in the world but also for pouring the biggest Beaujolais in the world! How about that for a “double-dutch” eh?

Today, the hotel is open to anyone who can get a booking but with celebrities rushing in to get their names in there, you need to book early to enjoy the comforts of this romantic alcove bedroom, with built in television and all the modern day comforts.

Discover the Smallest Tea Room - Groningen Province of Holland

Welcome to Museum De Theefabriek in Groningen - Holland.
This is the museum where the Dutch teach you about the origins of tea and how to drink tea. A tour around the museum includes lessons about the plucking, weighing, withering, rolling and sorting wet... to the powers of tea.
Nevertheless, the most exciting hidden secret about this museum is the cute little tea room tucked up in its attic. This is the smallest tea room where you can experience "Thé-à-deux" with the tastiest cakes. Anyone who has failed in the art of proposing can visit the Theefabriek where they can be assured of a ‘yes’ response simply because there is nowhere to run to except to say "yes" to your proposer in this rather romantic confined space. I guess it is rather safe to say ‘yes’ so that you can enjoy a tête-à-tête with your guest.
It is not all about the tea room in the attic at the Theefabriek, the museum also has a larger tea room which is a favourite destination choice for corporate incentives, meetings and other activities.