Jordan - Amman and the surroundings

        Amman is the capital of Jordan and the largest city of the country. It is built on seven hills. Its ancient roots can be seen anywhere you look, within Roman ruins, historical monuments, and local museums hosting relics from the past. After several environmental degradation and earthquakes, the city importance declined by the mid-6th century and became an abandoned pile of ruins, only sporadically used by bedouins and seasonal farmers. 

        The first and most important attaction we visited here is the Amman Citadel. Out of the seven hills on which Amman was build on, on the highest one stands the Amman Citadel. What makes it so important is the fact that it is the home to the earliest development areas of the Middle Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic Ages and also the Roman and Arabian Islamic Ages. The main structures here are: 

        - The Umayyad Palace which was built somewhere in the first half of the 8th century, and now its in a very ruined state

        - The Roman Temple of Hercules is thought to be the most significant Roman structure in the Citadel. It was built in 162-166 AD, dating from the same period as the Roman Theater in Amman.

        - the Open Cistern "Birka", dating ca. 730 AD, is an uncovered cistern which could collect up to 1370 cubic meters of water. The column in the center measured the water level.

        Inside the Citadel you can find another important attraction which is the Jordan Archaeological Museum. Here you can find artifacts from archaeological sites in Jordan, dating from prehistoric times to the 15th century. It was constructed in 1951 and all the collections are arranged in chronological order, so you can see the evolution of different things, from metal tools to pottery objects, jewels and coins.

        As you come down the hill from the Citadel, you'll come accross the Roman Theatre. It was built in the 2nd century during the Roman period when the city was know as Philadelphia. The Roman Amphitheatre can hold up to 6.000 people.

        Leaving the old town behind, we had a few hours to spare. We used them to make a long walk among the hills of Amman to get to the Royal Automobile Museum. It is a showcase of a rare collection of Jordan's vehicles ranging from Hussein bin Ali's cars (1916) to modern sports cars. It hosts the actual speeder from 2019 Star Wars movie "The Rise of the Skywalker" which was filmed in the scenic Jordanian desert of Wadi Rum. You can admire vehicles from all ages, from cars and motorcycles to submarines and rovers.

        Outside the capital of Amman, at a few kilometers away, a charming city can be found, named Madaba. Madaba is known to be the land of traditional mosaics. At Church of St. George you can find the Map of Madaba which was made out of 1 million and 2 houndred pieces of mosaic. Its construction took 1 year and a half, with 8 hours / day of working.

        Near Madaba, there is Mount Nebo which offers a view over the Holy Land. On very clear days, Bethlehem can be visible from here. According to Biblical tradition. the site is connected to the memory of the place where the Prophet Moses died after having seen the Promised Land. A Memorial Church was built in the second half o the 4th century CE and it houses some of the most beautiful mosaics in Jordan, dating from around 530 CE.