What if we told you the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is shrouded in a Grand Mystery?
The old adage says fortune favors the bold, but it’ll take more than guts to get to the bottom of this 6-stage Multi-Cache. The key to your success is a tiny treasure, fabled to be just the size of a film canister, hidden deep within the walls of this 30 acre (12 hectare) megastructure. Cryptic messages and symbols stand in your way but, if followed correctly, legend says you’ll be rewarded with timeless joy and, of course, a smiley. Are you up for the challenge?
It’s difficult for those who lay eyes on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to not feel a sense of astonishment. A lustrous beacon emerging from the desert below, this is the largest mosque in all of the United Arab Emirates. The building’s constructed mainly of marble and gold (impressive in both quantity and quality), and it’s decorated with world-class landscaping. Before you’re lost in the magnificence of it all, refer to the cache page where TorstenOK outlines your assignment; you need to locate five unique symbols and decorations within the complex to decode a coordinate puzzle. TorstenOK brings you to these points of interest via waypoints, but only the most observant and meticulous of cachers secure the find.
With numerous (albeit worthy) distractions, from the incredible library, which covers a broad array of subjects and languages, to the daily educational and visitor programs, you might want to commit these five symbols to memory.
You are looking for:
- The number of glass domes in the garden
- The number of rectangular flower boxes in the garden
- The number of gold ornaments at the top of the courtyard’s pillars
- The number of pillars adjacent to the mosque (no gold trim)
- A clock hung outside of the main prayer room
Once you’ve done all that… take a breather! The mosque is enormous, and exploring it could easily take up the better part of your day. But our journey doesn’t end there! With the final tallies complete, you’re ready to input your numbers, solve the puzzle, and make your way to the final location. Again, the container you’re looking for is but a few centimeters in length; forgetting your pen would not only be costly, it could also compromise the assignment.
After opening your mind’s eye and peering into the matrix, you will have the cache in-hand in no time. In your palm lies a mighty key—one which connects us through the power of shared joy and adventure. With another secret unraveled, another smiley logged, there’s a lot to stand proud of. In many ways, the human spirit triumphed today. And what’s more, you have the honor of replacing the cache and paving the way for future triumphs. Well done, fearless geocacher.
Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.
Source: Geocaching