Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AMMAN HIGHLIGHTS
Visit the ruins (and museum) of the ancient
Citadel
(
Click here
)
Admire the engineering precision of the
Roman Theatre
(
Click here
)
, Amman's
most spectacular ancient monument
Be one of the first visitors to the
National Museum
(
Click here
)
, set to open in
2012
Stroll
downtown
(
Click here
)
and rub shoulders with Amman's immigrant popu-
lation
See an exhibition at
Darat al-Funun
(
Click here
)
, and sip tea amid the Byzanti-
ne ruins
Have lunch at
Wild Jordan Café
(
Click here
)
and book your nature-reserve ad-
venture with the RSCN at the same time
Have a glass of wine in the
bars and cafes
(
Click here
)
of Shmeisani and Ab-
doun
Queue at
Hashem Restaurant
(
Click here
)
, downtown's legendary felafel eatery
Visit Fuheis (
Click here
)
for lunch in the excellent Zuwwadeh Restaurant and
amble through
Wadi as-Seer
(
Click here
)
History
Despite its ancient lineage, Amman as it appears today is largely a mid-20th century cre-
ation and visitors looking for the quintessential vestiges of a Byzantine Middle East will
have to look quite hard. What they will see instead is a homogeneous, mostly low-rise,
cream-coloured city of weathered concrete buildings, some sparklingly clad in white
marble, others rather grey and in need of a facelift.
That's not to say that Amman is without history. In fact, impressive remnants of a Neo-
lithic settlement from 8500 BC were found in the 1970s at Ain Ghazal in Eastern Amman.
They illustrate a sophisticated culture that produced the world's earliest statues and
carvings from limestone and plaster. Today, you can see some of these finds at the archae-
ological museum (
Click here
)
.
Then there is Jebel al-Qala'a, the present site of the Citadel, and one of the oldest and
most-continuously inhabited parts of the city, established around 1800 BC. Referred to
subsequently in the Old Testament as Rabbath, the city was besieged by King David who
