Amman

Amman is one of the oldest cities of the world indeed its history spans nine millennia dating back to the Stone Age. It boasts one of the largest Neolithic settlements (c.6500 BC) ever discovered in the Middle East.

Amman was known in the Old Testament as Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites around 1200 BC it was also referred to as the “The city of Waters”.

Amman is the capital of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, more than two million people live on 7 579 km². It is a fantastic city of diversity, ideally situated on a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. Amman is divided in eight circles, being the first one the center of the city. Recent history began in the late 19th Century, when the Ottomans resettled a colony of Circassian emigrants in 1878. 

As the Great Arab Revolt progressed and the State of Transjordan was established, Emir Abdullah Ibn Al-Hussein founder of the Hashermite Kingdom of Jordan made Amman his capital in 1921.  Since then, Amman has grown rapidly into a modern thriving metropolis.

In the commercial heart of the city you will find modern buildings, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques. The downtown area is much older and more traditional with small businesses producing and selling everything from intricate gold and silver jewellery to everyday items. The Amman's market called the "Souk" will give you a true taste of a typical Jordanian shopping experience.

The Citadel

Towering above downtown Amman is the Temple of Hercules and said to have with the Acropolis of Philadelphia, today’s Citadel of Amman.  The L-shaped citadel hill, inhabited at least since the Early Bronze larger than any temple in the Roman Empire’s capital of Rome.  Temple was completed in 166 AD Age, was fortified at various times thereafter, including massive walls of the Middle Bronze Age. These have recently been excavated on the south-east side of the hill. There are only scant architectural remains from these early times, most of what we see today is from the Roman, Byzantine or Umayyad periods, whose monuments overlie what was there before.

With modern buildings and tower blocks it has blended with the remnants of ancient civilizations.  The profusion of gleaming white houses, kebab stalls with roasting meat, and tiny café’s where rich Arabian coffee is sipped in the afternoon sunshine, conjure a mood straight from a thousand and one nights.