Jordan Day 12/17: Amman

Named after the Ammonites, descendants of Lot's son, it is a very ancient city with settlements at the Citadel summit that date back to 7250BC. It was an important station along the King's Highway between Egypt and Mesopotamia. They were defeated by King Saul and made a vassal of Israel. When the Greeks, under Ptolemy II, conquered the city, it was renamed Philadelphia ("brotherly love"). During the Romans period, it was one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis.

The Citadel was surrounded by fortification walls, although settlements spread outside the walls as well...

In the distance you can see a very large Roman theater from the mid-2nd century AD.

concerts are still held at the theater

The area is full of ruins, including those of the Temple of Hercules that was built around 169-180AD.

This hand belongs to a colossal statue that stood nearly 43 feet high, making it one of the largest statues in the Greco-Roman times.

This small museum was full of fascinating artifacts from many different historical periods in the area.

Anthropoid coffins discovered in 1966 in Amman. They were

made of clay and each one contained 2-3 skeletons. Some 

had portraits of the deceased on the lids.

Muslim copper cannon

Crusader era chain mail

Crusader era glass

Before leaving we did a bit more exploring of the site...

The Byzantine Church from 550AD...

An open cistern from 730 AD that measures 58 feet in diameter with 8-foot thick walls and could hold over 48,000 cubic feet of water to supply the city!

The Entrance Hall and Monumental Gateway is where all visitors would be screened and await their announcement to be seen by the royal governor at the Umayyad palace...

The countryside on the way to our next stop was very pretty...