"Amman عمان" a Amman Travel Page by MM212

An ancient city, Amman traces its earliest roots back over five millennia. Although a settlement existed on Jebel al-Qala'a, the Citadel Hill since about 3500 BC, it was not until two millennia later that a great city emerged on the site as the capital of the Ammonite kingdom founded by the Semitic tribe beni Ammon. They named their capital city Rabbat Ammon, which means "house of Ammon". The Ammonite apogee came to end at the hands of the Babylonians in 585 BC sending their city into a period of decline which lasted until after the arrival of Alexander the Great. One of his successors, Ptolemy Philadelphus rebuilt the city in the 3rd century BC and renamed it Philadelphia, after his own name. While changing hands from Ptolemies to Seleucids to Nabateans, Philadelphia resurged as the southernmost city in the Decapolis, the ten regional thriving cities encompassing Damascus and Gerasa. The Romans conquered the city in 30 BC and constructed the many grand Roman monuments surviving to this day. Philadelphia's importance continued into the Byzantine period, when it briefly became the seat of Christian bishops, and lasted until the destructive Persian invasion in the 7th century AD. The Omayyads then displaced the Byzantines and the Persians, restored the city's Semitic name, albeit modified as Amman, and gave it another brief revival, but it all came to an end with the great earthquake of 749 AD.

After nature annihilated the ancient city, Philadelphia and Amman went into oblivion for centuries. It remained a mere settlement of 2000 people through the early 19th century. In 1878, greater life began to return when the fertile valleys between the seven hills of Amman were settled by Circassian emigrants escaping the Russian expansion into the Caucasus region. A few decades later, Amman was put back on the map when the Ottomans made it a stop along the new Hejaz Railway linking Constantinople with Medina. Soon afterwards, the re-born city became the capital of a new state the Trans-Jordan, carved by the British out of the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays, Amman is a large sprawling city of 2 million inhabitants made up of Jordanians, Circassians, Palestinians and more recently also Iraqis.

Due to its fragmented history, Amman's architectural heritage is unlike any city in the Levant. It boasts no mediaeval structures - absolutely nothing between the 8th and 19th centuries - only ancient ruins and modern construction. Thus, visitors must be prepared to find no mediaeval souks to wander or magnificent Mamluke and Ottoman-period mosques to admire, such as those in Aleppo or Cairo. Most visitors see the main sites in a day and then head off to visit the more exciting destinations around Jordan. However, if you are fortunate enough to have friends in Jordan, then they may show you their version of Amman: a modern, liberal, tolerant, safe and fun Middle Eastern city.

My only visit to Amman (and Jordan) thus far has been a 10 hour layover in August 2008. A friend was kind enough to host me during my brief stay and showed me the sites, so I was able to witness both the tourist and the local aspects of the city. I hope to return in the near future, not only to see the rest of Jordan, but also to better experience the city and its local culture.