What to see in the Amman Citadel (Jordan)

La visit from Amman It will not be the reason that encourages you to take a trip to Jordan, where other places will be the ones that arouse your main interest.

How to visit the lost city of Petra, Wadi Rum desert, or the remains of the Roman city of Jerash or take a bath in Red Sea or Dead Sea.

But in your passage through Haman, city where your flight will surely arrive, you should take the opportunity to visit the Citadel, archaeological enclave where you can learn about the long history of this territory that we now know as Jordan.

La Citadel It is located at the top of one of the numerous hills along which the capital of Jordan.

Amman is a city where one and a half million people now live, where you will find areas with modern buildings.

But its historic center, whose main enclave is the aforementioned Citadel, shows a conglomerate of low houses arranged on the slopes of the hills.

History of the Citadel of Amman

From the moment you enter the premises of the Citadel you discover the long history of Amman, an enclave that in the iron age was known as Rabbath-Ammon.

This is how you can see it on the large stone plaques where they show the names that the city has had during different periods.

Thus, during the nabataean civilization, from the year 312 BC it was renamed Philadelphia, and there, in 63 BC, arrived the Romans, which were there until 324 AD, when the byzantine civilization.

The city becomes known as Haman in 635 AD, with the arrival of the Omeya, a dynasty after which other civilizations arrived until 1917 when the ottomans They left the current capital of Jordan.

What to see in the Citadel of Amman

Now during your visit to the Amman Citadel you will be able to see remains of a first wall that dates back to the end of the iron age, built to protect this enclave from invasions.

In the time of the Romans, and later, during the occupation Omeya, the wall was expanded to be just over a kilometer and a half in length.

Finally, the citadel wall It was almost completely destroyed after a strong earthquake in 749 AD

Without a doubt, the most emblematic place today in this archaeological enclave of the Citadel is the Hercules Temple, built by the Romans in the year 161 AD

And if you also have the opportunity to be there during sunset, as happened when I visited the Citadel, you will see the greatness that this temple surely had in its time enhanced.

During the walk through the Citadel find viewpoints with excellent panoramic views of the historic center of amman.

From there you will also see the Roman Theatre which is located at the foot of the hill, next to one of the most central and busy streets.

In the Citadel You will also be able to see the remains of the Umayyad palace, which dates back to the years 720-750 AD, whose bronze dome is currently being restored by Spanish archaeologists.

And also those of a byzantine church from the 5th century, with Corinthian columns.

In short, the traces of civilizations that have marked the history of modern Amman.

Photos of the Amman Citadel

Here you have more photos of the Citadel of Amstill in Jordan.