By air
Queen Alia International (AMM), ~35 km
Middle East · Jordan
Amman, Jordan
A hilly capital of citadels and falafel
Getting there
Best time to visit
March to May and September to November — mild
Don't miss
The Amman Citadel
The Roman Theatre
The King Abdullah I Mosque
Jerash
Things to do
The Citadel
The Roman Theatre
Downtown's souks
A day trip to Jerash
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: David Bjorgen · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Layers, modest clothing
A quieter corner
Rainbow Street's evenings
Questions travellers ask
When should I go to Amman, and what should I wear?
March to May or September to November, when it's mild. Pack layers and modest clothing.
What should I see in Amman?
The Amman Citadel, the Roman Theatre, the King Abdullah I Mosque and downtown's souks — and take a day trip to Jerash.
What should I eat in Amman?
Falafel, hummus and knafeh. Then spend an evening on Rainbow Street, the city's hidden gem after dark.
How far is the airport from Amman?
Queen Alia International (AMM) is about 35 km away.
About Amman
- Hills
Where it is
Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan, spread over a series of hills in the north-west of the country, on the plateau between the Jordan Valley to the west and the desert to the east.
History
Inhabited since Neolithic times, Amman was Rabbath Ammon, capital of the Ammonites, and later the Greco-Roman city of Philadelphia, one of the Decapolis. It shrank to a village by the Ottoman era, was resettled by Circassians in the late 19th century, and became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 and of independent Jordan in 1946. It has grown quickly since into one of the largest cities of the Levant.
People
Ammanis come from Jordanian families of East Bank and Palestinian origin, and the city also has long-established Circassian and Chechen communities and newer arrivals from Iraq and Syria. Arabic is spoken and English is common, and mansaf, the national dish of lamb in a yoghurt sauce, is served at weddings and family gatherings.
Known for
- The Amman Citadel and the Temple of Hercules
- The Roman Theatre downtown
- The King Abdullah I Mosque
- Falafel, hummus and knafeh in the old downtown
- Rainbow Street and Jabal Amman
Did you know?
The Ain Ghazal statues, lime-plaster human figures found on the edge of Amman and made more than 9,000 years ago, are among the oldest large-scale statues of people ever discovered.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.