The Power of the Citadel in Amman

On our city trip we came along the citadel of Amman. It is the heart of the ancient city where nearly all emperors ruled. It is situated just in the old town of Amman on a hill overlooking the other hills on which the city is built.

This hill was already occupied in the Neolithic period and around 1800 BC in the Bronze Age it took place the first fortification. The unearthed parts of the Citadel are Roman and Islamic. Older parts are still undiscovered and waiting for new revelations.

We entered the huge place walking a long way to the Temple of Hercules. The view from this part down on the city and the not so far Roman theater is amazing.

Also, described many times in the Bible it is recorded that King David captured the city in the 10th century BC and let die the husband of his paramour, the Hittite Uriah, just in the battle to get rid of him.

The Temple of Hercules has still two impressive columns standing. It was built during Roman times around 162 – 166 AD. The originally six columns are/were 33 foot tall and the whole structure is larger than any temple in Rome itself. Experts think today the temple was left unfinished.

The Byzantine church doesn’t have anymore much left for imagination. But the columns still reveal which period they were made.

The mosque is seen just looking on the Umayyad palace. It has an odd look with its two windows just like a ghost face looking over a wall.

The palace has a beautiful dome of wood. It is new and the original have been for sure plastered and then painted. But it looks really beautiful this way as well.

The large cistern is located near to the vestibule of the palace. It’s 5 m deep and can hold 1.000 m3 of water. The stairs down into the structure like in many cisterns were for maintenance. The rest of a column (once high enough) was to measure the water level.

The Jordan Archaeological Museum shows some artifacts found in the area. It didn’t dazzle me too much honestly. Some interesting pieces but nothing really special I think.


Amman/Jordan:


For further information:
Jordan Tourism Board


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