Amman
Description
Amman is the capital and most populous city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political and cultural centre. Situated in north-central Jordan, Amman is the administrative centre of the Amman Governorate. The city has a population of 4,007,526 and a land area of 1,680 square kilometres (648.7 square miles). Today, Amman is considered to be among the most modernized Arab cities.
The first known settlement near Amman, a Neolithic farming town near the Ain Ghazal Spring in the hills to the northeast of the modern city, dates from over 9,000 years ago. This was one of the largest such towns discovered in the region, three times bigger than contemporary Jericho.
Around 1800 BC, during the Bronze Age, the hill now known as Jabal Al Qal’a, which overlooks the central valley of Amman, was fortified for the first time. By 1200 BC, the citadel on Jabal Al Qal’a had been renamed Rabbath Ammon (Great City of the Ammonites) and was capital of an amply defended area which extended from the Zarqa to the Mujib rivers.
After Alexander the Great conquered the region in 332 BC, his successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus rebuilt Rabbah and named it Philadelphia, the “city of brotherly love”. Turmoil reigned following the Seleucid takeover in 218 BC until the Romans restored order by creating the province of Syria in 63 BC. Philadelphia was at its zenith as the southernmost of the great Decapolis cities, and benefited greatly from improved trade and communications along the Via Nova Traiana, completed in 114 AD by Emperor Trajan to link Bosra, the provincial capital, with the Red Sea. The Romans completely re-planned Philadelphia and constructed grand public buildings, among them two theatres, a nymphaeum, a temple to Hercules and a huge forum, all of which survive.
In Byzantine times, Philadelphia was a regional center when the Arabs conquered it in 635; the city’s name reverted to Amman under the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty.
When the Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921, Emir Abdullah chose Amman to be its capital.
Today, the seven hills of Amman are an enchanting mixture of ancient and modern. It’s a friendly city with unexpected charm and is humming with cafés, galleries, shops and the remains of civilizations and ages long past.
The greatest charm of Amman, however, is found in the hospitality of its residents. Visitors to Amman—and the rest of Jordan, for that matter—are continually surprised by the genuine warmth with which they are greeted. "Welcome in Jordan" is a phrase visitor will not soon forget.
Amman’s main attractions are:
Roman Amphitheatre
The Roman Theater dominates the heart of downtown and was the centerpiece of Roman Philadelphia. It is considered one of the largest in the Middle East. Cut into a depression in the hillside, the theater itself is impressively huge, and the view definitely repays the steep climb to the top. The structure was built between 169 and 177 AD, during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, for an audience of almost six thousand, and is still occasionally filled today for concerts. Standing on the stage or in the orchestra – the semicircle in front of the stage – you can get a sense of the ingenuity of the theatre’s design: the south-facing stage is flooded with sun throughout the day, while virtually every spectator remains undazzled and in cool shadow. To discover the incredible acoustics, stand in the middle of the orchestra and say something toward the seating area, and your normal speaking voice will suddenly gain a penetrating echo; step off that spot and there’s no echo.
The Folklore and Popular Traditions Museum
Within the Roman theatre, to the sides of the stage, are two small museums, housed in vaults beneath the auditorium. On the right as you walk in, the Folklore Museum displays mannequins engaged in traditional crafts and a reconstruction of an old-fashioned living-room. The more worthwhile Jordanian Museum of Popular Traditions, opposite, enlivens the theme of traditional clothing, jewelry and customs by rooting it firmly in the present-day life of ordinary people. The vaulted rooms are full of examples of national dress, with detailed notes and occasional photographs to set them in context. Other exhibits include pieces of antique Bedouin jewelry and a fascinating range of stones used in healing.
Jordan Museum
This sleek building houses the world-class national archeological collection. It is home to, among other finds, the oldest human statues in the world, roughly 9,500 years old, discovered at Ain Ghazal near Amman; the mysterious Tulaylat al-Ghassul mural, the earliest-known painting of human figures in costume, engaged in some kind of ritual procession 4000 years ago; a room devoted to Bedouin culture; Bronze Age displays crowned by an exquisite wooden box from Pella, inlaid in ivory (from a species of Middle Eastern elephant now extinct) with a depiction of two Middle Eastern lions (also now extinct) beneath the sun-disc of the Egyptian god Horus; the Nabatean hall, with exquisite sculpture and delicate eggshell-ware pottery featuring a haunting bust of the Syrian rain god Hadad; Roman displays including a charming statue of Apollo and a beautiful marble panel from a Byzantine chancel screen, discovered in Petra. There's also a room devoted to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Citadel (Jabal Al Qal’a)
Jabal Al Qal’a has been a focus for human settlement since the Paleolithic Age, more than 18,000 years ago. Unfortunately, when the Romans moved in to occupy the area, they cleared away whatever they found, including the remains of the Ammonite city of Rabbath Ammon, and chucked it over the side of the hill: Bronze Age, Iron Age and Hellenistic pottery shards have been found mixed up with Roman remains on the slopes below.
Of the remains surviving today, the most impressive is the huge Umayyad Palace complex on the upper terrace of the Citadel, dating from the first half of the eighth century. Part of the palace was built over pre-existing Roman structures, and an entire colonnaded Roman street was incorporated into it. Built around 730, when Amman was a provincial capital, the complex combined the residential quarters of the governor of Amman with administrative offices. It was still in use during the Islamic Abbasid (750–969) and Fatimid (969–1179) periods, although much of the brand-new palace was never rebuilt following a devastating earthquake in 749.
On the middle terrace below and to the south lies the Roman Temple of Hercules, its massive columns dramatically silhouetted against the sky and dates, like the Roman Theatre, from the 2nd century AD.
