Ancient Philadelphia, Modern Amman

Ancient Philadelphia, Modern Amman

Ancient Roman Theater in Downtown Juxtaposed with Modern Amman  

Amman is not a strikingly beautiful city like Paris or Udaipur .But its cleanliness and orderliness are stunning. It is the fifth largest city in the Arab world. It is both: an ancient and a modern Arab city. East Amman is filled with historical sites while west Amman is the economic hub.

Its airport, Queen Alia International airport is functional and clean without any attempt at beautification. There were hardly any paintings or murals at the Arrival lounge .Some tall plants in pots broke the monotony of clinical cleanliness. Immigration was over in a jiffy because there were no long queues. Queen Alia International airport is a state-of-the-art airport and was named as the best airport in the Middle-East in 2014 and 2015 by Airport Service Quality Survey.

A View of Queen Alia Airport

The road from the airport towards the city was devoid of any scenic beauty …neither hills nor water bodies. There were some very tall trees, perhaps Aleppo pine and Washingtonia  bending towards the road with their slender bodies. The predominant feature was the arid landscape with sand-tinted soil. As we entered the city we saw large administrative buildings without any frills of extreme security. Finance Ministry Building, Culture Ministry building stood bang on the side of the road without an elaborate compound. There were only cars on the road and rarely buses. For public transport there were green taxis and in some places green and yellow taxis. There were no bikes, cycles, scooters, trucks, carts, stray animals, careless pedestrians or auto-rickshaws moving on the road to obstruct the smooth flow of traffic.

A Swanky Building in Amman 

Ancient History

Ancient Amman was founded in 7250 BC when Neolithic site of Ain Ghazal settlement was built in the outskirts of Amman, spanning over an area of 37 acres. During the Iron Age it was called Ammon under the rule of the kingdom of Ammonites in 13^th century BC. Amman became the capital of Ammonites and came to be known as Rabbath Ammon. In Hebrew Bible it is referred as ‘Rabbat Ammon’. Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Macedonian ruler of the Ptolemaic kingdom who reigned from 283 to 246 BC, renamed the city to Philadelphia (brotherly love) after occupying it.The Hellenistic culture was introduced when Alexander the Great conquered Middle East and Central Asia. The Greeks founded new cities in Jordan, Jerash and Amman. The Romans  conquered much of the Levant (an ancient word for the area bounded by the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Peninsula) in 63 BC, thus starting a period of Roman rule that lasted for 4 centuries.During this time Philadelphia became an important economic center. The Roman rule in Jordan left several ruins such as Temple of Hercules and the Roman Theatre. During the late Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium), several churches were built and many Bishops were based in the city.

 Islamic era: In the 7^th century, around 630 AD, the Rashidun army conquered the region from the Byzantines beginning the Islamic era in Levant. Philadelphia was renamed Amman by the Muslims.

Amman was later destroyed by several earthquakes and natural disasters including the particularly severe earthquake in 747 . Since the city was rendered inhabitable due to damages caused by such calamities, it lost its importance from the middle of eighth century.

Modern Amman

The Ottoman Empire annexed the region of Amman in 1516 .Modern Amman dates back to the late 19^th century when Circassian immigrants were settled by the Ottoman Empire in 1867. They (immigrants) were mainly farmers so arable land was distributed among them to make them permanent settlers in Amman.  They built houses with stones from Roman theater.

In 1921 the Hashemite Emir and later King Abdullah I made Amman the capital of the newly created state, The Emirate of Transjordan which became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1950. This attracted immigrants from Palestine, Al-Salt, Al Karak, and Madaba. Many Palestinian refugees came during 1948 Arab-Israel war and 1967 six-day war. Iraqi and Kuwaiti refugees settled in Amman after 1991 Gulf war and 2003 invasion of Iraq. Syrian refugees came to Amman during Syrian Civil War in 2011. Amman is not only the capital of Jordan and its largest city but also its economic, cultural and educational hub. The refugees came to live a safe, secure and prosperous life in Amman. Vast majority of them live in and around Amman. According to UNHCR report, Jordan stands second in the world with the highest number of refugees. The ratio is 89 refugees per 1000 inhabitants.  

But the security was shattered when on 9^th November, 2005, Al-Qaeda launched a terrorist attack on Amman city in three hotel lobbies which resulted in the death of 60 people. 115 people were injured in this attack.

A View of  Amman's Old Area

The Constitution of Jordan vests executive authority in the king and in his cabinet. The king signs and executes or vetoes all laws.

 Amman’s terrain is typified by hills (Jabal) and valleys (Wadi).The main trees are Aleppo pine, Mediterranean Cypress and Phoenician Juniper.

Amman's Typical Trees

Limestone Hills near Amman

 Amman was initially built on 7 hills but now it is spread over 19 hills after it became the capital of Jordan and the influx of refugees from war-torn countries.

Amman from the Highest Hill, Jabal Al-Qal'a, the Ancient Site of Rabbath Ammon 

Lifestyle        

Amman has mostly a Sunni Muslim population. A large numbers of Christians from throughout Jordan particularly from Al-Salt have moved to Amman. Sky-scraping apartments are not allowed and residential buildings are limited to four stories above street level and if possible another four stories below according to Greater Amman Municipality regulations. The buildings are covered with thick white limestone or sandstone. The buildings usually have balconies on each floor which has a front and back yard. In the downtown, a great mass of light yellow greeted us because all the buildings were of the same color. While travelling by bus I saw some beautiful mansions by the side of the highway. They were distinctive because the white /yellow houses made use of maroon Mangalore tiles on the roof or as cover on the porches.

Amman is Jordan’s commercial center and International trade center. It is one of the most liberal and westernized cities in the Arab world. Shisha lounges were seen on road side. Shisha lounge (Hookah bar) is a place where patrons share shisha (flavored tobacco) from a communal hookah. The culture of Jordan is predominantly Arabic and Islamic but there is a marked influence of Western culture. Jordanian conservative women wore their traditional attire called jilbab which are floor-length, long-sleeved, loose-fit dresses. Their heads were covered in scarves. Some women wore modern, western clothes but they were very modest and decent; not at all provocative or flashy. Men wore trousers and buttoned shirts. I did not see any local man wearing shorts or going shirtless. The men and women were smartly and neatly dressed and scruffy men and women did not come to my notice. It seemed that Jordanians take their personal grooming very seriously. There are many swanky malls in Amman. Amman is the fourth highest visited Arab city and is the hub for medical tourism. The climate in November was moderate. In the morning it was pleasant and in the evening it was quite chilly.   

The city has frequent bus connections to other cities in Jordan as well as major cities in neighboring countries. Internal transport is served by a number of bus routes and taxis. Service taxis are the most common way to get around Amman because they are readily available and inexpensive.

The Amman region hosts Jordan’s highest concentration of education centers. There are 20 universities in Amman. Two highways from Amman lead straight to Jerusalem .Population of Amman in 2020 is 1,275,857.  

Guide Talk 
Our local guide introduced us to his country, Jordan’s political system. It is monarchical but has a parliament. The king, Abdullah II has been sovereign since the death of his father, King Hussein in 1999.He belongs to The Hashemite, the royal family of Jordan.  Education and health for its citizen are free. A sick person is given the best treatment in the government hospital and if he is not cured the patient is sent to a foreign country for further treatment at the government’s expense. The king frequently disguises himself as a taxi driver and while ferrying passengers gets report of his countrymen firsthand. The royal family trusts the Bedouin; therefore the royal bodyguards are made up of Bedouins. The tribe also occupies government posts nowadays and more and more Bedouins are coming into the mainstream. The Bedouins can be differentiated from the Jordanians by their accent and dark skin. Bedouins are regarded as the backbone of Jordanian culture.



Reference: Wikipedia
Photographs: Bulbul Sur.