Last updated on 26 January, 2019 at 10:59 am
When you think of Jordan, you mostly think of Petra and the Wadi Rum desert. But Jordan is so much more than that, it’s a mix of history of many civilizations, it’s an exemplary hospitality that seems to be part of their culture and it’s ultimately a simple but excellent food.
Our arrival in Amman
After Dubai and Central Asia, we decided to visit countries with traces of older history, namely Jordan and Egypt.
We went first to Amman, capital of Jordan. After the luxury and spaciousness of Dubai, we had a little slap in the face when we arrived. If the bus trips from the airport to the city center and by taxi to our hotel went well, the incessant horns on the road, the dense and a bit random urbanization and the disastrous state of the entrance of our hotel brought us back to earth in a rather violent and abrupt manner. Fortunately, after a good supper and a relatively quiet night sleep, we changed to backpacker mode again and started enjoying what this city had to offer.
Our visit of Amman
What to see in Amman? Here is our selection and review on some monuments in Amman.
Amman is full of historical traces, mainly of its time under Roman occupation. The Citadel and the amphitheater are the two most striking traces of this era.
The Citadel - Jamal al-Qal'a
On the ciy heights stands on an large surface what remains of the Citadel of Amman, also called Jamal al-Qal’a. The Citadel has traces of occupation dating back to the Neolithic era and is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.
Entrance to the site is via the north side of the hill via Museum Street and costs 3 JOD (4.20 CHF or 3.70 €). A circuit is proposed to visit the Citadel. During our visit, we more or less followed this tour.
The tour begins by climbing towards the Hercules temple. On the way, the view of the surrounding hills is magnificent. You can see the mishmash of houses, so typical of the city of Amman, not really following the standard rules of urbanization. According to us, the centerpiece of the Citadel is precisely this temple of Hercules dating from the second century AD.
At the back of the temple are the remains of the statue of Hercules: three fingers and one elbow. According to its remains, it is estimated to measure 12 m high. This part of the hand is a typical image of the Citadel.
We continue our tour with the remains from the Umayyad period (VIIIth century) spread over the northwestern part of the Citadel. These remains include several buildings around a palace, such as a residence, a mosque, a market square and a Byzantine church.
Once the tour of these buildings is finished, we go back to the temple, on the way, we visit a cave with inside a tomb dating from the beginning of the Bronze Age.
The Roman amphitheater
In the adjacent valley, the Roman amphitheater is still used for entertainment. With 6000 seats, it is the largest in Jordan.
We also attended by chance a wrestling show, surrounded by locals.
Entrance costs 2 JOD per person.
King Hussein Mosque
King Hussein Mosque is the largest mosque in Jordan. Built in 2005 in the west of the city at about 1000 m above sea level, you can see almost the entire city from there.
Having a bit of an overdose of mosque after Uzbekistan, we didn’t go to see this mosque nor the next one.
King Abdullah I mosque
King Abdullah I Mosque is located in downtown Amman, not far from the Citadel. Up to 3000 people can pray there.
It can be visited by wearing long pants for men and covering arms, legs and head for women.
She is famous especially for her beautiful blue mosaic dome.
Rainbow & Boulevard street
These two streets are trendy places in the city.
The Boulevard Street stores are located in arcades where you can walk around for window shopping.
As for the Rainbow Street, it is possible to stop in the many bars, rooftops and restaurants located along this street or next door.
Our visit of the surroundings of Amman
Amman can be used as a starting point for several day trips.
Jerash & Ajouln
At 1h30 north of Amman is Ajloun Castle and not far from there, the Roman complex of Jerash.
Ajloun Castle
Ajloun Castle is a castle used by the Arabs to protect their commercial routes and their families from the Crusaders. Located on the top of a hill, the view is beautiful on all sides. On clear days (rarely), you can see Jerusalem and the Dead Sea from the top of the castle.
The castle can be visited in approximately 1h-1h30 and the entrance costs 3 JOD per person.
Romain complex of Jerash
Jerash’s Roman site is gigantic and in relatively good condition also because some parts were renovated. It is possible to spend several hours walking between the different parts of the site.
In the early afternoon, you can even attend a horse-drawn race in the circus.
Allow yourself at least half a day to enjoy the site. Entrance costs 10 JOD per person.
Getting to Ajloun and Jerash
Both sites can be easily reached by bus from Amman. Buses leave from the Tabarbour bus station (or North Station) and cost a little more than a JOD (1.40 CHF or 1.24 €).
It is easier to take the bus to Ajloun then take the bus to Amman and ask to get off at Jerash.
From Ajloun bus station, take a taxi to the castle. We negotiated the round trip for 4 JOD (5.70 CHF or 5 €). Be sure to negotiate the round trip because often the price offered by the taxi is for a trip only with the optics to make you pay more return! We almost got fucked.
The day can also be done by taxi. A taxi cross at the citadel asked us 35 JOD (49 CHF or 43.3 €) for Jerash and 50 JOD (70 CHF or 62 €) for the combination Ajloun and Jerash. In comparison, both taxis for and from the bus station, bus tickets and taxi to Ajloun cost us less than 16 JOD.
Madaba, Mount Nebo & the site of baptism
After having tackled Roman and medieval history, we focused on Christian history the next day.
Madaba
In Madaba, the main asset is the St. George Orthodox Church, in which there is a mosaic floor being the oldest representation of the Holy Land. This mosaic is also called Map of Madaba and dates from the 6th century.
The entrance fee to the church costs 1 JOD.
Mont Nebo
Mount Nebo is a place of Christian pilgrimage. This would be the place from which Moses would have last observed the holy land. He would have died soon after and buried somewhere in the vicinity.
The site is composed of a modern church built on the basis of an older church. We can still see mosaics of the old church.
The visit takes about two hours and the entrance to the site costs 2 JOD.
Site of the baptism in the Jordan river
A little further away is the place where Christ was baptized in the Jordan. We have not been there but it is also a symbolic high place of Christianity..
To go to Madaba, Mount Nebo and the site of the baptism in the Jordan
The city of Madaba is about 1 hour south of Amman. You can take a bus to Madaba. However, you will need to take a taxi from Madaba to Mount Nebo and the baptism site. The package for the day should be about 20 to 25 JOD (28-35 CHF or 25-31 €) to be confirmed.
It is also possible to take a taxi directly from Amman and do the whole day with it. This is the solution we chose. We took a taxi to Madaba and Mount Nebo (we didn’t go to the baptism site). At the end of the day, he dropped us off at our hotel at the Dead Sea. We negotiated the journey for 38 JOD (54 CHF or 47 €).
What's next for us?
After Mount Nebo or the site of Baptism, the access to the Dead Sea is easy and fast. It’s possible to do a tour Amman-Madaba-Mount Nebo-the Dead Sea Baptism Site-Amman on a single day or to stop at the Dead Sea for a longer time. We took this second solution.
We spent three days resting at the Dead Sea. We went to the Dead Sea Spa Hotel where we took a bath with the mud provided, swimming floating in the sea (and drinking cocktails with a great view). We then continued our Jordanian adventure with one of the 7 new wonders of the world, Petra.
Tips and advices to visit Amman and its surroundings
You will find below tips for Amman and surroundings. For our advice on Jordan as well as to know our complete itinerary, read our dedicated article (coming soon).
How to travel in Amman? Transportation
The best way to get around Amman is to use a taxi. Taxis don’t all play the game. Before boarding, make sure that the taxi has a meter and that it starts when you leave, otherwise get off and change taxi.
The Uber app works very well too. I would advise you to use it to avoid surprises.
Stairs in Amman city
The city is filled with stairs in all directions. On the other hand, you have to be careful, most of them don’t lead anywhere and you’ll soon find yourself having to turn back. The easiest way is to ask locals to help you for directions.
Where to sleep in Amman? Accommodations
The city of Amman is very noisy day and night, it is better to avoid the hotels along the roads.
We first stayed at the Jordan River Hotel, conveniently located, close to the Citadel and not far from a neighborhood with lots of restaurants.
The entrance to the building is reminiscent of a building under construction or ruin… You can choose between rooms with no window and no noise from the road or rooms with windows and noise of the road. We opted for the room a priori quieter. I say a priori because if the first night, we had music until 23h, the second night, we had music all night…
We then went to the Arab Tower Hotel also very well located, a short walk to the Amphitheater with several restaurants and shops nearby. In this hotel, the noise will depend on the room. If your room is on the road side, horns and motor noises will rock your “sleep”. The hotel staff and manager were very professional and moved us to another room at midnight. We had for the rest of the night a room giving to a quiet interior courtyard but smelling smoke, it was the only one free…
The second night, they offered to either stay in this room or try another with less direct access to the road. We preferred the noise to the smell.
The manager told us that he wanted to install double glazed windows in the near future.
Where to eat in Amman? The restaurants
Since breakfast was not included in our first hotel, we had breakfast at Zajal. The All-you-can-eat buffet is famous even if it costs 8 JOD (11 CHF or 10 €) per person.
The knafeh is THE typical dessert. It is a pastry made from puff pastry dipped in syrup, with cheese and butter. And it’s excellent. In Amman, you have to get some at Habib sweets. It’s a small shop serving only that. You will find a queue of 15-20m of local people coming to eat some. We cannot sit in it and everyone eats it on the street. We took two portions and paid 1.40 JOD (2 CHF or 1.70 €).
We also ate at Hashem. In this restaurant, there are no cards, you receive three mezzas, a tomato salad, cucumber and fries. We assume that tea is included but we had another drink. All this for 3 JOD per person (4.20 CHF or 3.70 €)!
For less fussy people, we recommend the Sufra restaurant in the Rainbow Street. The restaurant is quite chic and the dishes are a little more elaborate.
How much are the entrances to monuments in Amman and surroundings?
Here are the entrance fees for the different monuments visited. Note that some entrance fees are included in the Jordan Pass.
- Amman Citadel: 3 JOD
- Roman Amphitheater of Amman: 2 JOD
- Ajloun Castle: 3 JOD
- Roman site of Jerash: 10 JOD
- Church of St. George in Madaba: 1 JOD
- Mount Nebo: 2 JOD
Some links of this page are sponsored. It means that if you use them to do your booking, we will get a small commission without being more expensive for you.