King Khalid International Airport

The King Khalid International Airport {{airport codes|RUH|OERK}} (Arabic: ???? ????? ???? ?????? or Matar el malik khalid ad dowali) is located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.It was the largest airport in the world by ground area (225 km) until King Fahd International Airport was completed in 1999, becoming the largest airport in the world. This area houses all the airport main facilities and installations including the terminals, mosque, the control tower and two parallel runways each 4200 meters long. It is the gateway to the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its heartland, is the national air transport center. It has been constructed to meet the increasing international and local air transport requirements for Riyadh region.

The Mosque

The design of KKIA Mosque is one of the most distinct landmarks in the airport by virtue of

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its Islamic architecture.

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In terms of statistics, its size alone is impressive. It can accommodate 5,000 worshipers

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inside and another 5,000 in the plaza outside.

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In terms of aesthetics, its carved marble bonds, stained glass windows and skylights,

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intricate ceramic tile patterns, and carved wooden doors and size make it a showplace of

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traditional Islamic art forms. Its location in the center of the passenger terminal

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establishes it as the most important structure on the airport and makes it the first sight

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visitors see as they leave the arrival area.

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The dome is 33 meters in diameter and towers 40 meters above the arrivals level roadway,

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higher than all of the other structures in the passenger complex with the exception of the

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control tower and minaret.

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A two-meter-high band of clerestory glass separates the dome from the mosque roof and gives

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the impression from outside that the dome is floating above the roof. Inside, shafts of

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sunlight filter through tinted glass and illuminate the interior with a soft amber and blue

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light that spread tranquility.

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To reach the mock plaza, a visitor walks up a wide ceremonial stairway in the direction of

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Makkah. The 46 steps are 60 meters wide at the bottom, tapering to 42 meters at the top.

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Escalators are also available to reach the plaza level, one at each side of the stairway.

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First time visitors to Riyadh will long remember the sight of the huge dome looming over

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them as they walk up the steps to the plaza area. The dome and lower roof are clad with

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buff-colored triangular ceramic tiles, attached to steel beams. Inside, 1008 bronze panels

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are fitted into the dome, above a ring of decorative mosaic tiles inscribed with passages

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from the Koran.

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The dome is held up by a network of steel columns and trusses, braced by the lower roof.

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From the center of the dome, a chandelier is suspended above the mosque floor. Ninety-six

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tinted glass light cones are fitted to a bronze hoop 13 meters in diameter to bathe the

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prayer area in soft light after darkness falls.

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In the northeast corner of the mosque plaza, a minaret rises 39 meters above the plaza

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level. A spiral stairway inside the minaret provides access to loudspeakers that broadcast

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the daily five times call prayers.

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There are 5030 square meters of floor space on the main floor of the mosque and another 765

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square meters on the mezzanine floor. A Koranic library off of the main mosque floor has 50

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square meters of user space and the same amount for storage space. The library, private

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offices and lavatories are located along the southeast on southwest walls.

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