Amman

Amman is the capital city of Jordan. It is high up, on many hills.

The houses on the hills are covered in pale stone.

Amman is the capital of Jordan. It stands on high plateaus in the northwest of the country, about 900 meters above the sea on average. The oldest part lies in a deep valley, and the city has spread up the steep hills all around it.

The Department of Statistics estimated that 4,642,000 people lived in Amman Governorate at the end of 2021. The 2015 census counted 1,812,059 in the city itself, including the Marka district.

Universalis places Amman on the plateaus of northwestern Jordan at an average altitude of about 900 m. Its original site is a deep valley crossed by Wadi Amman, where the old commercial center, the balad, still lies; the city has spread rapidly over the steep hills that frame it, in a very unified style of villas and small buildings faced in pale stone.

The Department of Statistics estimated 4,642,000 people in Amman Governorate at the end of 2021, up from 4,007,526 at the 2015 census, when the city itself (with the Marka district) counted 1,812,059. Universalis gives more than 4.3 million for the Greater Amman Municipality in 2024.

Amman has a giant old theater made of stone. The Romans built it on the side of a hill.

About 6,000 people can sit there, and shows still happen there today!

At the foot of Citadel Hill lies the Roman Theatre. It was carved into the hillside in the 2nd century, when the city was called Philadelphia, and it can seat about 6,000 people. It has been restored and is still used for shows. A smaller theater nearby, the Odeon, seats up to 500 for concerts.

Citadel Hill, or Jabal al-Qal'a, is the highest point in Amman and the place where the area's first inhabitants lived. On top are ruins from many periods, including a palace complex from the Umayyad period, an ancient temple and a Byzantine church.

Jordan's tourism board describes the restored Roman Theatre, from the 2nd century AD, as built into three sides of the hillside, seating around 6,000 people and still used for performances, as is the renovated Odeon nearby (up to 500). The Folklore Museum of Costume and Fashion opened in its eastern part in 1971.

Above it, Citadel Hill (Jabal al-Qal'a) is the highest point in the city and where its first inhabitants lived. Its sites include the Umayyad Palace complex, an ancient temple and a Byzantine church, and the Jordan Archaeological Museum, built in 1951 at the top of the Citadel to display finds from excavations across Jordan.

Amman is built on hills. Many roads meet at big round crossings called circles.

New fast buses have their own lanes.

Amman is built on steep hills around a valley. In the west of the city, a chain of big roundabouts, called circles, links neighborhoods with hotels, offices, embassies and the University of Jordan.

Planners built fast roads for cars, and between 2022 and 2024 two bus rapid transit lines opened, with buses running in their own lanes across Greater Amman and toward the city of Zarqa.

Universalis describes growth shaped by garden-city planning, with a network of expressways for cars and zoning that mostly favors low densities. Along a chain of roundabouts (the 'circles') in the west lie wealthy residential areas, large hotels, government offices, business districts, embassies and the University of Jordan; the east and south are much denser.

Universalis notes that the eastern and western parts of the city are poorly linked for lack of effective public transport, despite two bus rapid transit lines with their own lanes, opened between 2022 and 2024 in Greater Amman and toward Zarqa to the northeast. The Hejaz Railway reached Amman in 1903.

Amman has a big museum just for children. Kids can build things, paint and play there.

There is also a museum full of old things found in the ground.

The Children's Museum Jordan opened in 2007. It covers 8,000 square meters and has more than 180 hands-on exhibits indoors and outdoors, with a library, an art studio, a tinker lab and a secret garden. It has had more than 2.5 million visitors.

On top of the Citadel, the Jordan Archaeological Museum, built in 1951, shows objects found in digs all over Jordan. Its rooms were designed to be lit by daylight from high windows.

The tourism board describes the Children's Museum Jordan, a non-profit opened in 2007, as spreading over 8,000 m² with more than 180 indoor and outdoor interactive exhibits and facilities such as a library, art studio, Tinker Lab and Secret Garden; it reports more than 2.5 million visitors since opening.

The Jordan Archaeological Museum, built in 1951 at the top of the Citadel, displays artifacts from excavations across Jordan; it was designed to rely on sunlight from windows high in the building, with lamps placed so they do not shine directly on the objects. The Folklore Museum in the Roman Theatre opened in 1971.