Amman Travel Guide

Citadel Hill

From its position on top of a hill overlooking the city, the Citadel (known locally as ) stands testament to the history of Amman, with its ancient ruins and excavated relics, alongside those from throughout the country, housed in the Jordan Archaeological Museum. It is the site of the ancient capital Rabbath-Ammon and numerous excavations have revealed Stone Age remains as well as those from the Roman to the Islamic periods. The site contains several structures including the impressive Omayyad Palace (al-Qasr), a small Byzantine basilica and what was once the Temple of Hercules, the Great Temple of Amman. Also on the site is the Jordan Archaeological Museum, which has an excellent collection of artefacts from Jordan dating back to the earliest settlement in the region over 700,000 years ago. The Dead Sea Scrolls, Iron Age sarcophagi and a copy of the Mesha Stele are its most important exhibits.