Disclaimer: Some links on this site are affiliate links, meaning that if you click on a link and later make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Amman, the capital city of Jordan, a vibrant city teeming with history, culture and hospitality.
We landed into Queen Alia International Airport late at night, so we headed straight out to the taxi rank – you can read about different transport options in our Getting Around Jordan post.
When we arrived at our accommodation, Wild Jordan Center, our plan was to go straight to sleep. Instead, we received our first taste of true Jordanian hospitality; one of the staff made us some mint lemonade which was so lovely and so unexpected – especially at midnight!
He kindly showed us around some of the Center, including a gorgeous balcony which looked out onto Downtown Amman and towards Amman Citadel. And then we turned in for the night, to rest up, and prepare for a day of exploration.
So, what did we get up to?
Day 1
We started our day with breakfast at the Wild Jordan Center in Amman where I had mofarakah and Hayden had pancakes.
Fuelled up for the day, we set off walking to The Jordan Museum.
The Jordan Museum
The Jordan Museum features a range of exhibits such as the Ain Ghazal statues which date back 9000 years, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and information on Bedouin tribes. There’s a whole host of information on offer for the low price of 5JOD per person.
One of my favourite exhibits was on the family tree of alphabet which showed the centuries long evolution from Egyptian hieroglyphics into the likes of Greek, Latin, Old Hebrew and a whole host of other alphabets.
This room also includes a terminal where you can print your name in the Aramaic, Nabataean, Greek and Arabic alphabets.
There was a really interesting exhibit at the front of the museum which looked at food, water, energy, communication, and culture in Jordan. We learned about the scarcity of water and that residents in Amman have water delivered once a week which is stored in large tanks on the roof of buildings – it was great for us to learn this at the start of our trip so we knew to be more conscious of our water usage.
Another favourite of mine was the “1001 Inventions” exhibit which has lots of interactive features – ideal for kids (and big kids) – to learn about the golden age of Arabic science.
Definitely leave yourself a couple of hours to explore all the exhibits this museum has to offer!
From there, we kind of aimlessly wandered until we stumbled upon a souk. We went in and there were was just fruit and veg galore. It was fantastic to walk through, to see the hustle and bustle, and hear the shouts of vendors proclaiming their goods.
I highly recommend taking the opportunity to walk through a souk. We didn’t get to explore as many as we wanted to, but you can find ones that sell clothing, jewellery, or even traditional medicine.
After that, we decided to go check out Rainbow Street.
Rainbow Street
There was a tough uphill slog as we started heading back towards Rainbow Street, so we stopped at a “cafeteria” for a quick fizzy drink, where we were kept company by a cat.
From there, we headed to Rainbow Street and got falafel sandwiches from Al-Quds which were amazing. You can read more in our A Taste of Jordan post.
After a bit more exploring, we wound up right next door getting freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.
I obviously had to get a picture with some of the amazing street decorations found on Rainbow Street.
We finished our tour of Rainbow Street with dinner at Firefly Burger which was soooo good!
Day 2
For our second day in Amman, we took an Uber to the Amman Citadel which cost us about 2JOD from Wild Jordan Center.
Amman Citadel
Amman Citadel is included in the Jordan Pass. When we arrived at the entrance, we had our passes verified and and headed on in.
We were immediately approached about a tour, which was priced at 30JOD, but Hayden wasn’t feeling too good, so we opted to go self guided with the idea we could always double back if we wanted to go more in depth.
And so, armed with my trusty guidebook, we set off to look at the ruins on offer.
The main feature of the Citadel is the Temple of Hercules which is a very popular photo op, and it’s not hard to see why.
I will say, I was surprised at the fact that the ruins aren’t barriered off – but it was nice to be able to actually get close to them.
Umayyad Palace is a gorgeous building atop the Citadel – the ceiling within the dome is beautiful too. Definitely worth a look!
There are plenty of information boards dotted around so you know what everything is on the Citadel, how it may have looked back in the day, and what it would have been used for.
There’s also the Jordan Archaeological Museum atop the Citadel which contains a range of artefacts throughout the years.
The views of the city just enhance your visit and make it more worthwhile.
After we’d have our fill at the Citadel, we walked the 20 minutes down to the Roman Theatre. On our way, we walked past some local businesses, including this very cute arts and handicrafts shop.
Roman Theatre
The Roman Theatre in Amman is thought to have been built and cut into the side of a hill during the 2nd Century. Restoration began in 1957 so it’s not 100% original due to some of the materials used, but it’s amazing to think that it would have looked similar to how it is now. The restoration brought two museums to the wings of the Theatre – the Jordan Folklore Museum and the Jordanian Museum of Popular Traditions.
The two museums showcase a wide range of exhibits including traditional dress, jewellery, musical instruments, weapons, tools, and items used in the day to day.
My favourite part of the Roman Theatre complex was the Odeon Theatre – it’s like a smaller version of the Roman Theatre – and it was much quieter!
At that point, Hayden had reached his limit, so we got a taxi back to Wild Jordan Center and chilled out on our balcony for a few hours before finishing our day with dinner in the restaurant.
We would have loved to have kept exploring, the guidebook we were using sets out what looks to be an amazing walk through Amman, (including several souks) but it’s not worth it to push yourself too much!
Day 3
On our last day in Amman, we headed out to see Jerash and Ajloun Castle. Once again, we caught an Uber which set us back around 20JOD. You can read all about our time in Jerash in the below post – long story short, we loved it! I definitely recommend setting aside a good few hours to explore this archaeological site.
We left Jerash to find a taxi where we were caught between two taxi drivers arguing over who got the fare – not the most pleasant experience. But, all sorted out, we agreed a fare to take us to Ajloun Castle and then back to Amman for about 40JOD.
Ajloun Castle
Upon entering the castle, we read an information board which gave a brief history and showed the floorplan of the castle, but that was all the information we could glean.
We just meandered through the castle taking in what we could. The castle does boast some gorgeous views, unfortunately, I don’t think I’d go out of my way to return. If I ever find myself in the Northern Jordan again, I’d make sure to go to Ajloun Forest Reserve.
We had our taxi drop us off at the top of Rainbow Street which we walked down until we happened upon a shawarma spot, 3a Saj, where we decided to sit in and have some lunch.
And that pretty much rounded out our trip to Amman; we went back to Wild Jordan Center and made sure we had everything packed, ready to leave the next morning.
Where We Stayed
We stayed at Wild Jordan Center which is just North of Rainbow Street. We happened across this property when we were scrolling booking.com and it was exactly what we were looking for.
The restaurant always served up amazing food, there’s a shop which sells local items, and you can book custom-made tours of different reserves.
The view from our room was something else, and definitely the feature that sealed the deal for us.
You can check out their availability for your trip using the little widget below:
Takeaway
Would we recommend visiting Amman? Absolutely! I’d go back in a heartbeat – there are so many things we never did and we have so many souks to explore! Highly recommend spending a few days here.
The locals make this a place worth visiting, as they were all so friendly and hospitable – we had so many people just stopping to welcome us to Jordan, it was so sweet.
