Grand Husseini Mosque

Grand Husseini Mosque tickets and tours: which one to book

There is nothing to book for the Grand Husseini Mosque. No ticket for it is sold online, there is no entry fee, and it is an active Friday mosque rather than a visitor attraction. Non-Muslims are not always admitted to the prayer hall; access depends on the attendants at the door, and it is often simplest to admire the facade and courtyard from the plaza in front, then ask politely outside prayer times whether you may look inside. Almost everyone sees it on foot, because it stands in the middle of downtown Amman, at the junction of the busy market streets near the Roman Nymphaeum.

Walking tours of the old city, whether self-guided or with a local guide, normally pause in the plaza outside before continuing to the souks, the Roman Theatre and up the hill to the Citadel. A guided walk is useful here for the story of how the city grew from a cluster of Circassian villages in the 1880s into a capital, which the mosque reflects. Food tours of downtown also tend to pass by, since some of Amman's best-known falafel and sweet shops are around the corner. Day trips from Amman to Jerash, Petra or the Dead Sea do not usually stop. The page lists any GetYourGuide tours whose route passes the mosque.

Visiting Grand Husseini Mosque: what to see and how to behave

The Grand Husseini Mosque is the oldest mosque site in Amman. A large congregational mosque stood here in the early Islamic period, probably under the Umayyads, built in the valley among the ruins of Roman Philadelphia and possibly on the site of an earlier church. Medieval travellers described it as a fine building near the markets with a mosaic floor. What you see now is a 20th century reconstruction: in 1924 Emir Abdullah I, the founder of modern Jordan, had the old structure pulled down and rebuilt, naming it after his father, Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the leader of the Arab Revolt. It has been rebuilt and enlarged several times since. The building is faced in pink and cream stone, with two slender minarets in an Ottoman manner and a broad arcaded front facing a small square.

The square is the real heart of downtown: men gather after prayers, pigeons crowd the paving, vendors sell bread, coffee and prayer beads, and the market lanes radiate out on every side. On Fridays the mosque spills its congregation onto the street, and it has long been a starting point for political rallies, which are best watched from a distance. Dress conservatively even for a look from the outside, and avoid photographing worshippers at close range. If you are allowed in, take off your shoes, keep to the back of the hall and leave before the call to prayer. The mosque is a ten-minute walk from the Roman Theatre and the downtown taxi ranks.

Grand Husseini Mosque: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The mosque is open from before dawn until after the night prayer, but it is a place of worship first, and any visit by non-Muslims should be kept to the gaps between the five daily prayers. Avoid Friday from late morning until early afternoon, when the noon prayer and sermon fill the hall and the surrounding streets are closed to traffic. Mid-morning on a weekday is a good time to see the square at its busiest without a prayer under way, while the hour before sunset gives warm light on the stone and a lively evening market.

Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the most comfortable seasons for walking downtown; summer afternoons are hot and the area is quieter in the heat. During Ramadan the square is calm by day and comes alive after the evening meal, with stalls open late. Allow 20 to 30 minutes for the mosque and the square. Combine it with the Roman Theatre, the Nymphaeum, the gold and spice souks and the climb to the Citadel and the Temple of Hercules.