The Largest Rug In The World In Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque Abu Dhabi
Officially, the largest rug in the world is now located in the Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
The three biggest rugs ever woven are:
- Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque Rug in Abu Dhab (featured in this post)
- The Carpet of Wonder Muscat Oman (click the hyper link to learn more)
- Commissioned by Amin Mosque in Muscat, Oman *featured in this post)
The Massive Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque Rug
Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two neighboring Emirati cities, are used to luxury and the finer things in life. They are both constantly competing for and debuting the biggest, most luxurious and newest things. Just a few of their recent additions include roller coasters, shopping malls and skyscrapers.
Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan, the first president and founder of the Emirates and the leader of Abu Dhabi, made plans for a spectacular mosque in his city. Sadly, only three years after he died, the project was completed and the newly built Sheikh Zayed mosque was as extravagant as ever. A majority of the photographs that have been taken of the mosque are of the minarets and domes, however, the most spectacular part about the building, in our opinion, has got to be the massive Persian carpet, which became known as the official largest in the world!

While the mosque was being built, Abu Dhabi’s government sought out artistic commissions from all over the world which incorporated and included creative ceramic, gold, crystal, stone and marble work from many different countries. The construction of the mosque was quite the undertaking and took more than 10 years, 38 contracting companies and 3,000 workers to complete.

Iran, in recognition of the rich carpet weaving history in the Middle East, contributed a large carpet woven by hand for the main prayer room of the mosque. Given the impressive size of the mosque, which spans over 30 acres, this fine classic carpet was far from ordinary.

Over 1,200 weavers from the Khorasan Province used 38 tons of wool and cotton to weave the newly titled largest rug in the world. Under the direction of a popular Iranian artist, Ali Khaliqi, it took a little over a year to complete just the drafting of the rug design. The oversized carpet was unveiled in 2007 for the mosque’s grand opening. It features 2.2 billion hand-tied, individual rug knots, weighs 12 tons, and covers 60,546 square feet.

Every detail in the massive carpet was executed as well as it was designed. The color that’s most prominent in this carpet is green which is significant for three different reasons. Green was a favorite color of Sheikh Zayed’s, it’s one of the colors in the Islamic flag, and it symbolized desert life. The perimeter of the largest rug in the world is a yellow beige color which represents the color of sand. Some visitors who stood on the massive rug believed they could feel a seam underneath, signifying that it was not entirely or truly one singularly spectacular large piece.

But this was not a mistake or an oversight of any kind. During the last phase, and the weavers sheared the rug and left raised lines on purpose. These raised surfaces lines were added as a way to help escort worshipers into well ordered rows during the actual prayer times. This carpet, the largest rug in the world, is a triumph of both craftsmanship and design.
Now that we know what the biggest rug in world, here is the third largest Persian rug in the world
It took 400 skilled weavers and almost a year and a half of work for the masterpiece to be created. Commissioned by Amin Mosque in Muscat, Oman, the third largest Persian rug in the world was finally unveiled at Tehran’s International Fairground to great fanfare this year.
Glowing with vibrant color and exceptional detail, the 3.2 million dollar rug is a feat of contemporary craftsmanship. But its design, rooted in a tradition over 2,500 years ago, still holds the romance of its antique counterparts.

“It’s very traditional,” says Omri Schwartz of Nazmiyal Antique Rugs . “This carpet resembles the designs of the famous Ardabil carpet.”
Dating back to the 1530’s, the Ardabil carpet was originally made for the shrine of Shaykh Safi al- Din Ardabili, a spiritual figure from Northern Iran. The Ardabil design is composed of a medallion surrounded by a ring of oval shapes, similar to the style woven throughout Iran’s new carpet. Commissioned by the country of Oman, this rug will also have a spiritual home in the Amin Mosque in Muscat.

The unveiling of the third largest Persian rug in the world marks a momentous moment for Iranians. Iran is home to an estimated 1.2 billion weavers. Since ancient times, the tradition of carpet weaving has been a significant aspect of the Iranian culture.

Aside from oil, Iran relies on carpet exports as a means of income. More than five million square meters of carpet are sold each year both domestically and internationally. The country takes pride in the distinguished work, a manifestation that they will never be lost.
By: Yasaman Vojdani

Here are some of the largest rugs in our collection:








This rug blog about the largest rug in the world, the Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Mosque and third biggest Persian Rug in the worldwide published by Nazmiyal Antique Rugs in NYC.