Amman – what to see and where to eat

Amman – what to see and where to eat

The first days spent in the capital of Jordan, Amman, are behind us. For various reasons, we spent as many as 4 nights here, but it does not mean that we were only visiting the city all the time. It was from Amman that we went on trips to Jerash and the Dead Sea. We only visited the capital city for one day and we think that it is enough.

Amman is a city of 2 million people located in a very mountainous area (originally it was built like Rome on 7 hills). Despite the long history, unfortunately it does not look its best. Apart from the Ancient Citadel located in Downtown, there are not many traces of history here, and the buildings are very chaotic and simply ugly. The city is very noisy and full of traffic jams. Due to the location, everything is uphill (sometimes very steep), a lot of streets are one-way and often you will have to make up a few kilometers to get to the chosen place, which is very close in straight line. It is not a place where we would like to spend more time, but it is worth spending one day visiting the most important sites in the city.

We started our tour from the ancient Citadel located on the Jabal al Qal’a hill. Unfortunately, due to the earthquake and the Roman invasion, the ancient city was destroyed and today there is not much to see. On the territory of the citadel there are, among others, Jordanian Archaeological Museum, where you can admire many items found in archaeological excavations throughout Jordan. Our kids enjoyed seeing ancient weapons, tools, utensils and jewelry.
The ruins of the Temple of Hercules dominate the citadel. Unfortunately, only 2 large columns have survived to the present day. The others were probably used in the past to build a nearby Byzantine church (now also in ruins). In addition, in the citadel there are remains of the mosque and the Umayyad Palace from the beginning of the 1st century CE.
Visiting the hill took us about 1.5 hours. At the entrance, we were politely accosted by a guide offering his services for 30 JOD. But we must admit that he was not pushy and understood that with children who do not speak English it makes no sense after all. Admission to the Citadel is included in the Jordan Pass, so we don’t even know how much a single ticket costs. Right at the entrance there are toilets and a small café. Parking is free (but not very large, so it may be difficult to find a place, especially if there are a lot of coaches).

After visiting the citadel, we went down the hill to the Hashemite Square, where the Roman Theater is located. Despite the fact that it has been reconstructed without much accuracy, it is undoubtedly the most impressive structure reminding us of the glory days of ancient Amman. The theater was planned for 6,000 people and has fantastic acoustics. Currently, there are 2 small museums in the side parts of the theater: the Jordanian Folklore Museum (where we can see various Bedouin everyday items, musical instruments, weapons, etc.) and the Folk Traditions Museum (with an exhibition devoted to women’s costumes, jewelry and masks). Immediately in front of the entrance to the Theater itself, there is also the Odeon, i.e. a smaller stage with an audience of about 500 people.
On the Hasemite Square, our tired and a bit bored children got a Turkish ice cream (have you seen the movie on Facebook?), and a large portion of fries with sauces, which gave them a new boost of energy for the moment. And we used this energy for a further walk towards Souq al-Sukar, the local market. And there, of course we met the madness typical to the Middle East. Clothes, jewelry, toys and tons of delicious-looking sweets vegetables and fruits. We were content with a tray of Arabian sweets and some fruit for children 🙂 From the Souq, we went further to the center to have a lunch in the oldest restaurant in Amman – Hashem Restaurant. We liked the food a lot, but we need to say it’s a very simple place with falafel, hummus and a few other dishes.

In the afternoon we still had enough energy to stroll the famous Rainbow Street. This street has a large number of elegant villas built by more wealthy Amman citizens, and is a nice change from the chaotic Downtown. There are also many cozy pubs and cafes on Rainbow Street, so it’s worth going there for dinner (we had burgers at Bus Stop, to the delight of the children).

In addition, we also managed to visit the only mosque in Amman open to non-believers, i.e. the King Abdullah I Mosque). The mosque is open to tourists every day from Saturday to Thursday from 8am to 11am and from 12.30pm to 2pm, and admission costs 2 JOD per person (children for free). If you are inappropriately dressed (i.e. you have bare legs, arms and women bare hair), you will get to rent the abayas right at the entrance, which you put on top of your clothes.
The mosque is quite large and has a capacity of 7,000. faithful (plus an additional 3,000 in the courtyard). It has a beautiful blue dome and 2 minarets. If someone has never been to a mosque, they will definitely be impressed, but as we have already visited mosques in Istanbul and Muscat, this one turned out not to be as attractive 🙂

As we spent 4 nights in Amman, we also had the opportunity to have dinner in several other places, mainly in the vicinity of our hotel:
Jordan Heritage Restaurant – traditional Jordanian food in a more elegant form. This is probably our most expensive meal in Amman, but very tasty and on a very atmospheric terrace. Gabriela liked Haliva, ie. puff pastry dumplings with local cheese and potatoes, and Adam and I ate Basbasson, which is tiny pasta that looks like beans with chicken and vegetables in tomato sauce.
Chapters – a small, cozy eatery with delicious Jordanian food. Gabriela decided it was the best dinner in Amman. Children ate Koftach tomato, i.e. minced meat in tomato sauce, Tomasz and I – chicken in lemon-butter sauce with vegetables, traditionally hummus and rommanyeh (eggplant with lentils in pomegranate sauce).

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