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Citadel
In Downtown Amman |
AMMAN
The capital is centrally located and provides
a good base to start any excursion to
other parts of the country. In Amman,
you will enjoy many fine hotels, restaurants,
art galleries and museums. Amman also
offers various shopping opportunities
ranging from gold and spice markets and
suqs, to modern boutiques presenting the
latest fashions and beautiful local handicrafts.
Amman
is both the modern and ancient capital
of Jordan, known under the Ammonites as
Rabbat-Ammon and in Graeco-Roman times
as Philadelphia. In fact, Amman is one
of the oldest continuously inhabited cities
in the world. Originally, spread over
seven hills, Amman now covers at least
nineteen hills.
Towering
above Amman is the Citadel where excavations
reveal remains from the Bronze Age through
the Arab Islamic ages. On this hill, you
will discover the ruins of the Temple
of Hercules, an Umayyad Palace dating
back to 720 A.D. and a Byzantine church
from the 6th century. At the foot of the
Citadel, you will find a well-preserved
6,000 seat Roman Theatre.
From
the Roman Theatre take a short stroll
through the bustle of downtown Amman until
you reach the Al-Husseini Mosque. The
Ottoman-style mosque was rebuilt in 1924
by his late Majesty King Abdullah bin
Al-Hussein, founder of modern Jordan,
on the remains of a mosque built in 640
A.D. by the second Caliph Omar bin
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Al-Hussein
Mosque Downtown |
Al-Khattab
 .
In addition, you should not miss the King
Abdullah Mosque, completed in 1990 in
memory of his late Majesty King Abdullah
bin Al-Hussein, and often called the Blue
Dome Mosque because of its sky blue exterior.
In Jubeiha, a suburb of Amman, you can
visit the tomb of the venerable companion
Abdul-Rahman bin Awf Al-Zuhri
?. Lined up stones mark the burial place
of one of the 'Blessed Ten', to whom Prophet
Mohammad 
promised paradise. He took part in all
the major battles and campaigns of Islam;
including Uhud (in Al-Madina),
AI-Khandaq
(the Trench), the Conquest of Mecca, Hunayn
and Badr where he was wounded. He was
the signatory on behalf of the Muslims
at the Treaty of Hudaybiyah (to the west
of Mecca), a compromise that was reached
between Prophet Mohammad
and Meccan leaders, in which Mecca gave
political and religious recognition to
the growing community of Muslims. In addition,
at the conquest of Jerusalem, he was one
of the Muslim signatories. Abdul-Rahman
,
was a successful businessman who shared
his wealth. On one day he managed to free
thirty-one slaves, another time he gave
a caravan of seven hundred camels loaded
with food to charity and upon his death
he made a charitable will of one thousand
horses and fifty thousand dinars.
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The Cave Of The Seven
Sleepers |
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A
modern building protects the tomb of the
venerable companion Bilal bin Rabah ?.
at the village of Bilal, in Wadi Seer
another suburb of Amman. Whilst still
a slave Bilal embraced
Islam, which brought upon him the wrath
of his master Umayyah bin Khalaf who tried
to coerce him into rejecting his faith
by placing a huge rock on his chest during
the peak summer heat of Mecca. He fought
bravely in the battles of Uhud and Badr,
where he was able to avenge himself from
his former master. Gifted with a beautiful
voice Bilal became
the Prophet' s
personal muezzin.
A popular
attraction outside of Amman is the Kahf
Al-Raqim or the Cave of the Seven Sleepers
?. Mentioned in the Holy Quran in a Sura
named Al-Kahf or the Cave, it is located
outside the village of Al-Raqim, 10 km
east of Amman. Persecuted by the despotic
rule of Trajan for monotheism, a group
of pious youths took refuge in this cave.
To preserve them, God put them to sleep,
and when they revived 309 solar years
later, they thought that they were only
asleep for a day or so. Christianity was
widespread by then, and when they were
discovered God put them to rest forever.
At the cave, there still stands Byzantine
and Roman ruins as well as a mosque, which
exactly fit the descriptions in the Holy
Quran.
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