Historic Amman

Today we decided to venture out to the downtown area of the city.  There are lots of shops and restaurants, many of which were closed for the Eid holiday, but the historic ruins were open so we decided to check them out.

Greater Amman is really a very young city, as it historically was just a small settlement.  While it has some history to it, many Ammanis tend to think of themselves as originating someplace else before coming to settle here.  The most monumental attractions here in Amman are the Roman Theatre and the Umayyad Palace.

Amman went through many name changes through its history.  During the Bronze Age (1800 BC) the hill now called Jabal Al Qal’a was fortified for the first time. According to Genesis, the area was inhabited by giants before the arrival of the Ammonites in 13^th century BC, who were named as descendants (along with the Moabites) of the drunken seduction of Lot by his two daughters.  By 1200 BC, the citadel on Jabal Al Qal’a had been renamed Rabbath Ammon.  Around 1000 BC there was some misunderstanding with King David (he sent some messengers with condolences for the death of the Ammonite King, but the Ammonites believed them to be spies and disgraced them and sent them back).  Needless to say King David was pretty insulted and sent his entire army to Rabbath Ammon.  Without going into even more detail, let’s just say that the fighting went back and forth for a bit and culminated in King David eventually traveling to Rabbath and throwing the surviving Ammonites into slavery.  Feuds between neighbors simmered for centuries and lucrative trade routes went right through Ammon.  Jeremiah warned in the 6^th century BC that war would be heard against Rabbath Ammon and that the city would become a desolate heap.  After Alexander the Great conquered the region in 332 BC, his successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus rebuilt the city and named it Philadelphia, the “city of brotherly love.”  And here is where I end my history lesson for you because I have gotten to my point.

Bill and I were destined to live here.  I mean how many times have I said that I would love to move back to Philadelphia?  Little did I know that request was going to take me half way around the world and in the middle of the desert, but I guess I shouldn’t complain, I’m back living in Philadelphia.

  

As for the history – well the Romans entered the picture and it was a small outpost until 1921 when Emir Abdullah chose Amman to be the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan.

So there’s the history.  I have to say the sites are really quite amazing and beautiful.

The Roman Theatre is steep and of course as soon as we went inside it Samuel was up the steps to the top as fast as he could.  The theatre, as you may have guessed, served as the centerpiece of Philadelphia.  It was built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and could seat about 6,000 people.

I beat you all to the top!

Once we were done there we popped into the car and drove up the hill to see Jabal Al Qal’a (Citadel Hill).  The view of the city is really beautiful.  It holds the remains of Umayyad Palace and the Temple of Hercules.  Of course it was a beautiful day and while we were on the hill the call to prayer started.  I have to say it was actually quite peaceful and serene, only to be interrupted by Mariel, who at this point had decided that she was hot and thirsty.  She is not made for the sun.  We may have a long two years ahead of us.  We also had a view of the world’s tallest flagpole.  Samuel loves that little piece of trivia and it may have been a bigger highlight for him than the fact that some of the pieces of history we were looking at were over thousands of years old.

 The view from the Roman Theatre up to the Citadel

 The view from the top of the Citadel

 The world's tallest flag pole.

Lunchtime had come and gone and the calls for water from both kids were becoming more frequent so we decided to call it a day and find some food.  We ended up at what is claimed in my guidebook, The Rough Guide to Jordan, as the best pizza in the city, Pizza Reef.  All I can say is that mine was delicious!  It was a great way to end the day.

Love to all,

J in Jordan

P.S. In case you were wondering, yes we were loaned a GPS from a co-worker and it’s pretty much the only way we were able to get to where we wanted to go today.  I told Bill when we got home today that this morning I was feeling like I kind of knew the layout of the city, only to realize that I really don’t have a clue! Tomorrow is another day and we’ll keep exploring.

I just thought this was funny.  Definition of a dirty car.