Everything to See at the Citadel in Amman

Located high atop one of the seven jebals that make up the capital city of Amman, the ancient citadel is a wondrous sight. Multiple layers of history are present as well as the Archaeological Museum. Here is everything to see at the Citadel in Amman Jordan.

Getting There

If you are located anywhere in the downtown core of the city, you can simply walk up the hillside and view the street art along the way. The walk took me about 20 minutes from the Roman Theatre at a very lazy pace, google maps link here.

Elsewhere in the city? Use a taxi (remember to agree on a price before getting in), or simply use Uber, its more affordable here than many other places I have travelled.

Entrance

If you have previously purchased a Jordan Pass, your entry is included as one of the over 40 attractions. If not, tickets will set you back 3 DR or $6 CAD each. Currently a grand new entrance is being constructed, so for now, locate the gift shop, and the temporary entrance is right beside it.

Temple of Hercules

The first thing to see is this most magnificent structure, the Temple of Hercules. You cannot miss it, having the tallest columns of anything else on the site. Built by the Romans in the middle of the 2^nd century AD, feel free to wander around at your leisure.

Standing beside the massive 10m (33ft) columns is truly awesome. Don’t miss the piece of elbow and three fingers, all that is left from a truly colossal, 12 meter tall statue, of Hercules, that the temple is named after.

Byzantine Church

After an earthquake in the middle of the 4^th century, much of this ancient site was levelled. In 550, the Byzantine Church was constructed just beyond the Temple of Hercules, using the marble from the crumbled temple.

See the central nave and two side isles along with columns and exterior rooms. There is a mosaic floor inside the nave, however it is currently covered for protection.

Umayyad Palace

A beautiful structure to see on the northern side of the hilltop, behind the museum, is the Umayyad Palace complex. Built on top of Roman ruins, the first building to note was constructed during the 8^th century and consists of a restored dome entrance. Here was the reception hall and governors’ residence.

Beside this is a massive cistern, one of my favourite things to see at the Citadel. It measures a whopping 17.5m diameter and 5m deep and fed the baths and latrines for the entire complex.

The remainder of the palace is in ruins, the result of another tremendous earthquake. Visitors can explore all of the individual rooms, walk through doorways and reach the far side for spectacular views of the city.

The Jordan Archaeological Museum

Built in 1951, this museum is old school and doesn’t look like it has been updated since that date. Housed here are all sorts of artifacts and treasures from early neolithic to the last residents of this historic site.

Some of my favourite things to see here were the horse and rhinoceroses’ teeth.

The Ain Ghazal faces and busts, considered to be ‘the oldest figures made by man’ and date from (8000-4000BC).

And the pottery arthropod coffins found in Amman that date from 1200-900BC. I’ve never seen anything like these before.

Views

Besides all of these ancient and historical marvels, because this site is located at the top of a hill, there are views for days! From one direction, see the Roman theatre in all of its glory. And from all others, see just how vast the city of Amman really is.

Evidence of fortification has been found at the Amman Citadel that dates back to the Bronze Age. There are layers upon layers of history here. Besides the few things I have mentioned above, you will see a vast number of other ruins, some of which you can fully explore and others that are roped off. Come, venture into these paths of historic mystery, and let yourself be enchanted by all things ancient.