King Abdula II Mosque

There is no need for an alarm clock on Jordan, as the call to prayer started at 4:45 this morning. It is live singing over speakers, so the sound carried throughout the area. The mosque that is less than 50 meters from my hotel is called King Abdula II- the most famous mosque in Amman.

I went to see it from the outside at 7am (there was no sleeping after the prayer calls, as they are repeated several times over the next 30 minutes). To my surprise, I was invited into the mosque. It wasn’t set to open to the public until 8am, so I was the only one there. I had to wear a full length black dress with long sleeves and a hood to be allowed to go inside. The inside was even more stunning than the exterior. I got a tour around the mosque and into many of the rooms inside it. Note- wear flip flops when going into a mosque, I had to take off my shoes 4 times!

The mosque is massive! There are two separate prayer sections- one for men and another for women. Construction started in 1982 and took 7 years to finish- that should give you an idea of the sheer size of the building! Even more impressive than the size of the building is the details. Every surface is covered in rich colored paint or fabric.

Take a look at the inside of the roof…