The story of King Abdullah I Mosque

Look up at the blue mosaic dome: beneath it, 3,000 worshippers can pray together. Named in honour of King Abdullah I, this mosque in the Abdali area was built between 1982 and 1989. King Hussein laid its foundation stone on 5 June 1982. The prayer hall is a regular octagon, covered entirely by a dome thirty-five metres across and thirty-one metres high, which rests on the outer edges of the hall without any columns.

The complex is also a cultural centre: there is a women's prayer hall for about 500, a conference hall, a library with room for more than twenty thousand books, and a small Islamic museum. One wing of that museum holds items and manuscripts of King Abdullah I, the other Islamic artefacts along with photographs and models of Islamic archaeological sites in Jordan.

Visitors are welcome. Men should wear long trousers and women should cover their heads, arms and legs; a hooded gown is provided free of charge.