Schiphol remains one of my favourite airports for a variety of reasons. It is spacious and well-planned, offers free wifi access for an hour throughout the airport terminal, has excellent signage (including estimated walking time from one area to another), has lots of spaces for resting, has a free mini version of Rijksmuseum, and has excellent facilities all around, including a meditation centre.
Schiphol’s meditation centre, which caters for all religions, is open from 6:00 to 23:00 hours but is manned from 9:00 to 17:00 hours.
As you approach the entrance, you can see a small office/consultation room on the left. The actual entrance to the meditation centre is on the right.
They have a small collection of reading material inside, including various translations of the Bible and Qur’an.
This corner of the meditation centre seems to have been allotted specifically for Muslims, based on the location of the translations of the Qur’an in the bookshelves as well as prayer mats and various female wear for prayers (telekung and variants thereof)…
…and the unmistakable mark on the floor showing the direction of the qiblah.
On Sundays, there is a church service at 11.00 hours. Alternately there is a Mass, and Anglican service or a Protestant service. In principle, all services are in English.
According to Schiphol’s official website, it is possible for a group to hold its own service at the Meditation Centre during opening hours. The key to the cupboard with liturgical requisites can be obtained from the desk of the KLM Crown Lounge on the second floor, next to the Meditation Centre.
The meditation centre is located at Level 2 of Schiphol Airport once you get past Passport Control, i.e. it’s available for passengers who have already checked in. If I remember correctly, I only saw one meditation centre at Holland Avenue, not far from Rijksmuseum, but when I checked Schiphol’s official website for the location map, the map shows two locations.
For more information, please call +31 (0)20 601 4751 or email Luchthavenpastoraat@schiphol.nl.
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