Amman is an ancient city. It's one of the
oldest yet continually inhabited cities of
the world. Remains have been found through
excavations dating from the stone age (as
early as 7000 BCE). The bible mentions
wars and famous people such as David and
Saul.
Centuries later, the city was renamed
Philadelphia after the Ptolemaic ruler
Philadelphus in the third century BCE.
Philadelphia was taken by the King Herod,
Roman ruler, in 30 BCE. About 614 CE, it was
taken by Persian Sassanians, but by about
635 CE, they were overtaken by the Arabian
armies of Islam. That is when the city
was renamed to Amman. It was a caravan stop
for traders until about 1878 when the
Ottomans emigrated there. Today, it's a
bustling city of over a million people.
Amman consists of 7 hills. The ancient
Citadel (one of the hills), is home to
numerous ruins including Roman, Byzantine
and early Islamic. The main building people
come to see is the al-Qasr, which is "The
Palace" which dates to the Islamic Umayyad
period. Nobody was sure what the building
would have been used for, but there is a
huge gateway and a hall with four vaulted
chambers. A colonnaded street runs through
the complex (see photos below). Near
the Al-Qsar is a small Byzantine basilica
(Scott didn't take photos though), which
dates to the 6th or 7th century. At
the top of the citadel lies what is
thought to be "The Temple of Hercules" (See
photos below). It was build during the reign
of Marcus Aurelius somewhere about 161-180
CE).
There is a small museum on the citadel as
well, which houses artifacts from
Prehistoric times through the renaissance.
Exhibit includes some of the Dead Sea
Scrolls!
Visitors love to photograph the Roman
Amphitheatre which is down below the
Citadel. It was thought to have been built
during the reign of Antoninus Pius, about
138-161 CE, as could contain up to 6
thousand spectators. Two
smaller museums are down near the
amphitheater and house beautiful mosaics
from Jerash. A smaller theater called
"Odeon" is currently being restored (see
photo below). This housed as many as 500
people. It's believed to have been a
venue for musical theatre.
Down from there was the Nymphaeum
(fountain/pool) built in 191 CE. It's still
being excavated, and is off limits I believe
until it's completion (hopefully by the year
2010).
Amman is loaded with mosques, businesses and
people. It's a blend of old and new
and worth visiting.
Left to right: 1) Left side Amphitheatre 2)
Amphitheater Steps 3)
Looking down into Amphitheater 4) Looking
down from Citadel to Amphitheatre 5) Right
side of Amphitheater
Left to right: 1)
Amphitheater
Stage Close Up
2) Outer Walls of Baths 3) Baths 4)
More Baths 5) Bathhouses
Left to
right: 1) Citadel Wall piece 2) Citadel
Walls
3) Colonnade 4) Street Colonnade 5) Column
Close up
Left to
right: 1) Temple of Hercules 2)
Outside Amphitheatre 3) Small theatre
(Odeon) being reconstructed 4) Hercules
Temple 5) Scott at the Temple of
Hercules
Left to
right: 1) City Street seen (shows
modernization/English signs) mixed with
people wearing a mixture of modern clothing
and traditional clothing etc.