"I'M SITTING ON A CITADEL, CONTEMPLATING LIFE"...

This past weekend we took a break from traveling outside of Amman and spent some time in the city.  Just the two of us kind of took it easy and spent the day together.  Of course we had to get out of the house so our adventure for the day was a trip to the Citadel in downtown Amman.  It is basically a big hill in the middle of the city and from the top you get a beautiful panoramic view of Amman.  The hill has been the focus of human settlement in the area since the Paleolithic Age, more than 18,000 years ago.  When the Romans settled in the area they threw much of the remains from the previous ages over the slopes, much of which was later found mixed in with the Roman remains.

At the top of the hill is a pretty good archeological museum that displays the remains of the various ages.  Just outside the museum are the remains of the Temple of Hercules, built by the Romans during the same time that the famous Roman Amphitheatre was built at the base of the hill.  On the other side of the museum is a big Ummayad Palace (Ummayad refers to an early Islamic time period) that was built over pre-existing Roman structures in the 8^th century.  Anyways, most of you reading this probably have no interest in that brief history lesson but it’s nonetheless a place with a rich history and provides an awesome view of the city. 

Picturesque view of Amman

(They love their Jordanian flags here!)

      At the top of the Citadel (the Roman Amphitheater is in the left corner)

The Temple of Hercules 

The Ummayad Palace