Our Jordan adventure occurred just a few weeks before the royal wedding of Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and Saudi national Rajwa Al Saif. Many banners and flags adorned the country to celebrate the upcoming nuptials. 

We spent a bit of time getting acquainted with the city of Amman, home to 4 million inhabitants. Like the Italian city of Rome, Jordan’s capital was originally established across 7 hills and now spreads over a much larger area.  We got quite a bit of exercise walking from place to place in the historical section of the City of Stairs. 

The King Abdullah I Mosque, affectionately called the Blue Mosque by locals, took almost 10 years to complete. It was built in the 1980s by the late King Hussein as a memorial to his grandfather. The complex can accommodate up to 10,000 worshippers at a time, with 7,000 inside and 3,000 in the courtyard. 

One morning we climbed the L-shaped hill of the Amman Citadel. This archeological site, inhabited starting in 1800 BC, offers visitors a look at both partially constructed and somewhat deteriorated historical buildings. Most of still-visible structures are from 1st-century Roman, 3rd-century Byzantine, and 7th-century Umayyad periods. The citadel is a great place for photographing the largest city in Jordan. From the hilltop we easily saw why Amman is sometimes called the White Pigeon.  

Emperor Antoninus Pius built the Roman Theater in the 2nd century AD in Philadelphia, the ancient name of Amman. Up to 6,000 viewers on three tiers watched sacrifices, sword or animal wrestling, plus musical and drama performances. Senators sat on the lower tier, citizens occupied the middle tier, and the third tier was reserved for poor people, foreigners, slaves, and women. The theater is still used today for cultural activities, such as the Amman International Book Fair, the Amman Marathon prize ceremony, and a variety of musical concerts. 

Out and about in Amman

Less than an hour north of Amman stands the Jerash Archeological Site. The city originates in the 2nd century and development continued over the next 400 years. Archeologists believe that Gerasa, the city’s original name, is one of the best-preserved Roman towns in the world. Its nickname is Pompeii of the Middle East.

After exploring the Jerash Archeological Site, we went to see a few of the desert castles used by crusaders over several centuries. The fortified palaces and lodges we visited were about 80 kilometers east of Amman. 

Very little remains from the original structure of Qasr Araq, built the Romans in 300 AD along the important Wadi Sirhad trade route and near a large lake. A major portion of the fortress we saw was constructed from black basalt in the mid 13th century. The Turks gained control of the site in the 16th century. Qasr Araq’s most famous resident was British archaeologist and military officer T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), who lived in the castle during the Arab Revolt from the Turks in 1917. 

Not too far from Qasr Araq stands the beautiful and well-preserved 8th century desert castle Quseir Amra. It was built by Yazid bin Abd al-Malik, probably to serve as a hunting lodge for him and his guests. The UNESCO World Heritage Site includes large, colorful frescoes, some of which feature animals, hunting scenes, and inscriptions in Greek and Arabic.