Amman, the capital city of the Middle Eastern country of Jordan is often the focus of the world’s press it is home to the Jordanian Queen, Queen Rania. This immensely popular Queen, who is married to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, often features on the lists of the most beautiful and best dressed people in the world, in surveys conducted by scores of international magazines and periodicals.
However apart from her beauty the Queen is well known for modern views and her philanthropic efforts which largely focus on the welfare of children and women. More recently the outspoken queen has been in the spotlight due to a video that she posted on the popular video sharing website Youtube.com in March 2008, in which she asked people to send her their questions about Islam and the Arab world. The Queen was willing to accept these questions until August 12th 2008 which was International Youth Day. Through this intensely public forum, the Queen hopes to respond to the questions and explain the truth about the global stereotypes that abound about Arabs and Islam. During the five months that her video was up the Queen also posted videos on controversial subjects like honor killings, terrorism and the rights of the Arab women. This royal video has received nearly two million hits until date.
Though many conservatives perceive her to be too liberal and forward thinking for an Arab woman, the popular Queen has always insisted that she is first and foremost an Arab but she does speak the’ international’ language of the world which is important if one is to survive in today’s world where conflicts and wars erupt due to misconceptions and lack of dialogs. Like its beautiful and intelligent Queen, the Jordanian capital Amman is also a city where the ancient and the modern co exist peacefully.
The city which is one of the world’s most ancient cities was once the capital of the Hashemite kingdom. The Hashemite kingdom is believed to have been populated by the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. Amman’s history can in fact be traced back to more than 5,500 years when it was the ancient capital of the Ammonites, and was known as Rabbath- Ammon of the Old Testament and later under the Romans, it became the city of Philadelphia which became a part of Decapolis.
The ancient city of Jerash -photo credit James Temple
Amman is one of the oldest continuously settled and inhabited cities of the world where minarets, noisy bustling street markets and monuments which date back to some of the world’s oldest civilizations coexist peaceful with modern buildings, technology, trendy and fashionable boutiques and restaurants. The best place to view this intriguing contrast between the two worlds is in downtown Amman where your holiday home is located. Having a holiday home in the downtown area of Amman is extremely convenient as most visitors to Jordan use the ‘white city’ of Amman as a base to explore the many ancient attractions that lay on the outskirts of the city Amman. (Amman is known as the white city because its hills are dotted with light colored stone houses which are typical of this area of the world)
Star Plaza Hotel -your holiday home conveniently located in downtown Amman
Attractions of Amman and beyond
The Citadel
The Citadel overlooks the city of Amman from atop a surrounding hill and is the site of the ancient capital Rabbath-Ammon. The Citadel also has several important relics like the Omayyad Palace and the remains of Temple of Hercules. The Jordan Archaeological museum is located here as well which has several important arte facts like hte Dead Sea Scrolls, Iron Age sarcophagi and a copy of the Mesha Stele
Roman Theatre
Located below the citadel is the impressive Roman amphitheatre that is cut into the hill and can seat approximately 6000 people. The theatre continues to be used for events until today. The Jordanian Folklore Museum and the Museum of Popular traditions are also located here.
King Hussein Mosque
Located in the heart of downtown Jordan the ottoman style mosque is always a hub of activity as it is surrounded by the busy streets of the adjoining souq.
Dead Sea
Located at a distance of 45 kms from Amman is the renowned attraction of the Dead Sea which is also the lowest point of the earth. This Dead Sea is devoid of all marine and plant life and has waters which are four times as salty as normal sea water and which are believed to have curative properties. These medicinal waters have made the Dead Sea a much sought after international destination. Each year in April, the fittest people in the world compete in the grueling and physically taxing Dead Sea Marathon takes off from Amman which is located at a height of 2953 feet above sea level to the Dead Sea which is the lowest point on earth at 1,335 feet below sea level.
Dead Sea - Amman Beach photo credit argenberg
Jerash
About 50 km to the north of Amman, is the city of Jerash which is believed to be one of the best preserved Roman sites in the world. Located here are perfectly preserved baths, theatres, temples, arches, columns and stone chariot-rutted streets which were buried for centuries in the sand and which when excavated attracted tourists and scholars from all over the globe.
Your holiday home located in the heart of Amman gives you access to all these sites and more.
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