We spent today in and near Amman, the capital and largest city of Jordan.

There is evidence of habitation here dating back to 8000 BC. The name of Amman has changed over time. It was called Rabbat Ammon by the Ammonites, Philadelphia by the Romans, and later Amman. It is also referred to as the white city, due to the fact that the buildings are nearly all built with the same stone. The city was originally built on 7 hills, but has now expanded to at least 19. Each area is known by the name of its hill or valley. Today Amman has a population of over 4 million.

View of Amman…you can see why it is the white city.

We headed out to see the Amman Citadel which is located on top of Jebel Al Qala’a, one of the 7 hills of Amman. This area has remains of buildings from the Romans, Umayyads, and Byzantines, but there is evidence of habitation here back to the neolithic era. 

View of Amman from the citadel.

Citadel site

The Temple of Hercules is a Roman temple from the 2nd century. Only part is standing today, much of it damaged from a large earthquake in the 8th century. There are partial remains of a colossal statue of Hercules which is estimated to have been 39 feet tall.

Temple of Hercules

The remaining parts of the colossal statue of Hercules. There is part of a hand and an elbow.

The Byzantine church dates back to around 550 AD. Parts of the Temple of Hercules were used to build this church.

Byzantine church. You can see the reused columns from the Temple of Hercules.

The Umayyad Palace was built in the first half of the 8th century. There is a monumental gateway, which has been restored. There are residences, although this was not used full-time and was likely mostly administrative. It is thought that the caliph and his family used the residences when they came from their capital in Damascus to Amman. There is a mosque associated with the palace, although it has not been restored.

Umayyad Palace: the restored monumental gateway.

The Citadel also houses the Jordan Archaeological Museum. This has items from the prehistoric era to the 15th century. It is a small museum, but is worthwhile. We were originally scheduled to also visit the Jordan Museum, but it is not open on Fridays during Ramadan.

Neolithic statue with figurines of animals.

I think this pre-bronze age bull in a bowl is adorable. Looks a bit like a highland cow.

Bronze age alabaster jars

This is a replical of the Mesha Stele which was erected in the 9th century BC by King Mesha of Moab. The original was damaged and put back together. It currently is in the Louvre. It is one of the only records of the history of Jordan at that time and is also notable as a record of the Moabite language. The inscription was to dedicate a sanctuary to the local god, Chemosh.

Part of a plaster painted Neolithic floor. Approximately 9800 years old.

Didn’t catch who/when this is.

An androgenous idol. It may have had inlaid eyes. Inscription says “the goddess of Hayan son of Nybt.”

Just liked this one.

Iron age figurines.

Lamp with a man holding a sword.

Byzantine lamps

We then went over to the Roman Amphitheater. This is right under the Citadel. It was built in the 2nd century and could hold 6000. They still actively use it for events.

view of the amphitheater from the citadel

Entrance to the amphitheater.

Panorama of the inside of the amphitheater.

We stopped by a pastry shop across from the theater. I don’t know that they were actually open, but our guide got us in and bought us a variety of pastries.

Enas, our guide, ordering sweets.

Next was a short driving tour of the city and then we headed out of Amman to Iraq al-Amir and Qasr al-Abd.

There are multiple painted buildings like this in Amman.

This painting is supposed to represent Jordan: a man in modern clothes but wearing traditional head covering who is carrying history.

Countryside on our drive. It is green here right now because the rainy season is at its end. (apologies for the wonky-colored iphone through tinted car windows pictures)

The houses have these huge water containers that they keep on the roof. They can refill them once a week. They usually keep their empty ones in the basement, according to Enas.

This poor goat was tied up under a recently butchered one. Gotta be stressful!

Iraq-al-Amir means cliff or caves of the prince (I found both referenced). These caves were inhabited pre-Bronze age. They were also in use during the Roman and Byzantine years. There’s a church cave, but it is under renovation and cannot be visited right now. These caves are up pretty high…I can’t imagine how they used to get up to them. 

One of the many caves.

View of the countryside from the caves.

Nearby is Qasr al-Abd, meaning castle of the servant. This was built in the 2nd century BC by an Ammonite Tobiad prince. The Tobiads were a Jewish dynastic family. The building originally was surrounded by an artificial lake. This was part of a large family estate. It had 2 floors, but the upper floor was never completed. The building was decorated with animals, of which 2 lions remain. The historian Josephus wrote about this family and their estate.

Qsar al-Abd

Inside

One of the lions.

Goat hanging out with rubble from the building.

Looking through the back side of the building.

After returning to Amman we relaxed until sunset and then went for dinner. It appears that during Ramadan all of the restaurants are serving buffet dinners instead of ordering off the menu. We were told this is to make it easier for the chef who has to prepare a large amount of food for people who are all basically going to arrive at the same time.

The Abdali mall. There is an indoor and outdoor portion. We came here for dinner.