Embajade del Reino Hachemita de Jordania

What to See in Jordan

Amman

Umm Jimal Aqaba Madaba Jarash Ajloun Petra

AMMAN

Amman is the capital of modern day Jordan and houses almost half of the country's population. It is a pleasant city and a vibrant place with its own history, culture and monuments. Built around several hills and no more than five hours drive from anywhere, it is a convenient base for your tour. However, do spend time in Amman and experience the sounds, smells and sites of one of the oldest cities in the world.

Wander through the streets of Downtown Amman and absorb the hustle and bustle that makes the city so buzzing with life. There is certainly no dearth of shops and stalls to purchase exotic treasures and souvenirs nor is any trip to Amman complete unless you've stopped at a maqha (café) for a quick game of backgammon or have savoured the sweets and mezzah (appetizers) of traditional Arab cuisine.

Downtown Amman is where you'll find cheap accommodation which is good since all the main the sites are only a stone's throw away. Just East of Downtown is the large Roman Amphitheatre built into a hillside in the 2nd century AD and which seats 6000 people. Within the theatre located at one side of the stage, there is the small Folklore museum which displays various aspects of Jordanian culture past and present. On the other side of the stage is the Jordanian Museum of Popular Tradition. Here you will find among other things beautiful collections of Palestinian and Jordanian embroidery as well as charming mosaics from 4th to 6th century Jordan churches.

JERASH - A BRIEF HISTORY

In a remote, quiet valley among the mountains of Gilead lie the ruins of Jerash, at one time a city of the Decapolis, and the only one of that powerful league through whose streets and monuments we can wander and see them as they were in its heyday, untouched except by the hand of time. Greater cities, such as Gadara and Philadelphia, have vanished almost without trace, but the remoteness of Jerash has saved it from being used as a stone quarry for nearby towns and villages, and it is one of the most complete examples of a provincial Roman city to be seen anywhere. The setting adds greatly to the charm of the place, lying as it does in a valley running rougly north and south and with a perennial stream running through the centre of it. The banks of the stream are covered in walnut and poplar trees, which look green and cool even in the heat of summer, when the surface of the surrounding hills is reduced to a harsh brown aridity. On the south the hills draw away on either side, and the village of Sweileh can be seen on the far skyline.

The site now lies on a modern highway that links Amman with the northern boundary of the Kingdom towards Syria; the drive takes 40 minutes from Amman at a leisurely speed. As one approaches, it is after a corner of the highway that he is suddenly faced with a wonderful view of the ruins with the Triumphal Arch in the foreground. On the other side of the highway lies the modern town of Jerash.

The history of Jerash goes back to prehistoric times, and on the slopes east of the Triumphal Arch can be found flint implements which show that here was the site of the Neolithic settlement. Outside the walls to the north was a small Early Bronze Age village about 2500 B.C., and on the hilltops above are remains of dolmens of a slightly earlier period. There are now no traces of occupation during the rest of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, but had there been settlements anywhere within the area of the Roman city they would certainly have disappeared or become buried during the course of its construction. There are many Iron Age settlements in the vicinity, and it is unlikely that a place with so fine a water supply as that of Jerash would have remained unoccupied.