Coming to Amman for the first time, I was curious as to what the city would feel like. Surely, there would be some good restaurants (all cities have them!) and some nationally important buildings or monuments worth visiting (and photographing!). I have been to Cairo, close to Amman in many ways beyond distance, and Istanbul which, though not Arab, shared the Ottoman Empire with Amman and other places in the Middle East. But I figured with Amman being smaller and being in a smaller country would likely feel different. It was. Starting with its scale but also in the pace it seemed to have. It felt more livable, relaxed and manageable. And many places that would fall under the category of things to do while visiting Amman.

A Wealth of History in Amman

In terms of scale, while it does not have structures that compare with the Hagia Sophia or the Pyramids of Giza (how many places do??), the depth of the historical “record” it has on evidence took me by surprise. And I like this type of surprises!

I am a history buff but I am more informed about some places than others. About Jordan, I knew how the country came out of colonial rule in the 20th century, I knew Petra and its history, and had some notion of the Arab Revolution in which Lawrence of Arabia had a hand (thanks Hollywood). Amman surprised me by the incredible record of civilizations past that it holds and here is some of what I discovered in my visit to the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom. One of those things is that it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places town in the world!

The Citadel of Amman

The Citadel is a great example of the amazing historical record available for the visitor to Jordan. The Citadel not only has amazing ruins to visit and a great small museum but it offers amazing views of the city that surrounds it, all hills!

Amman city view flagpole flag Jordan hills photo Canon EOS Rebel

A city of hills with the massive Raghadan flagpole in the background (3rd tallest free-standing in the world)

As the visitor is reminded by the signage, there has been settlements in current day Amman since thousands of years before Christ past the Bronze and Iron Ages through Persian, Greek, Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine periods. It also has navigated through various names. Rammath-Ammon is one of the oldest but did you know the city was also named Philadelphia in ancient times? Yep, it was.

Among the ruins I explored at The Citadel were the ruins of a Byzantine Church and the Temple of Hercules.

Citadel Amman Jordan Roman ruins columns Canon EOS Rebel

Some of the Roman ruins in The Citadel

temple hercules roman statue, big hand, citadel amman jordan canon eos rebel

The Temple of Hercules as backdrop to the hand of a colossal Roman statue that once stood at The Citadel

Roman Colossus Statue Hand at the citadel in amman jordan canon eos rebel

Close-up of the big ole hand!

A key site at The Citadel is the Umayyad Governor’s Palace from the 8th century built on old Roman ruins. The Umayyad was a dynasty that ruled Amman for a few centuries but who ruled, at its peak, a vast caliphate from modern-day Pakistan to Spain. Who knew, right? Not covered in my ancient history class in high school…

Umayyad Palace

Dome blue sky Umayyad Governor Palace citadel amman jordan Canon EOS Rebel

Detail of the palace’s dome

Umayyad governor palace amman jordan flag architecture detail Canon EOS Rebel

Detail of the exterior of the Umayyad Palace

"Architectural detail" amman jordan umayyad governor palace citadel Canon EOS Rebe,

Detail of the interior of the central room of the palace

"Architectural detail" Umayyad Palace in the Citadel architecture amman jordan Canon EOS Rebel

Detail of the central room at the Umayyad Palace at The Citadel in Amman, Jordan

Ruins Umayyad Mosque palace The Citadel Amman, Jordan Canon EOS Rebel

Ruins from the old Umayyad Mosque by the palace

Artifacts from The Citadel’s archeology museum

Archeology museum artifacts Canon EOS Rebel

Artifacts from The Citadel’s archeology museum

The Roman Theater

Amman also has a Roman Theater built in the mid 2nd century A.D. by Emperor Antonius Pius. It is in the middle of Amman and is a popular place for local young adults to go visit, if my time there was any indication! Some in my group struck good conversations with locals whilst some of us climbed all over taking pictures!

The Roman Theater viewed from The Citadel

Approaching the entrance to the Roman Theater

The Roman Theater in Amman, Jordan Canon EOS Rebel ruins

Detail of the front of the theater’s stage

Roman Theater Amman Jordan modern spectator ruins Canon EOS Rebel

Is that a Roman spectator still hanging around??

As you can see, Amman has some incredible testimonials to ancient history in The Citadel and the Roman Theater. Petra, Jerash and Mardaba are example of other great places to witness history and will be the topic of a future post – stay tuned!!

I am fortunate to have visited Cairo two times: once in 1998 and then in 2007. The first with friends and the second for work. However, while we hit some of the key places to see in Cairo in the first trip, one grave mistake was not to explore Old Cairo… Old Cairo is the way to feel the real Cairo!

A First-Timer in Cairo in 1998

Let me take a step back and tell you about the first visit to Cairo. For that trip, I joined 4 friends about 2 weeks before they were to depart due to an opening in my work schedule in between projects. There were no pre-defined itinerary or arrangements except the plane ticket and the hotel for the first night in Cairo as we were landing at night. I didn’t fly with them as I was using miles to get there so I flew from Atlanta via Newark, Paris, and Istanbul to get to Cairo (I was going to visit Istanbul after Egypt). The first thing that struck me as I got off the airplane and walked the steps was the smell of burning wood, followed quickly by the sense of being in a dry place!

My friends and I were supposed to meet at the airport (I was arriving after they did) but, when I got there, my friends were nowhere to be found. Eventually, I was taken by a customs (or was it immigration?) official eager to take me to his cousin’s taxi business (funny how that works…). I got his “cousin” to let me use his phone to ring our hotel in Cairo – my friends were already there! What happened? The airport had 2 different terminals and we had landed on opposite ones so they ended up going to the hotel. I ended up riding with the customs official’s cousin who, try as he did, could not hit a pedestrian…

I will admit that I was uncharacteristically anxious being there my first time. It was the year after the massacre of tourists at Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in Luxor where many were gunned down execution style. It took the first full day of being in the city to get past this initial anxiety. People’s friendliness made me feel welcome and comfortable and pretty soon I was back to normal mode: ready to explore!

We decided to not spend too much time in Cairo but did want to see the essentials. As happens to most tourists, we were offered a camel ride to see the Pyramids “from behind” by first being taken to someone’s store or house (hard to tell the difference) where we were swayed to hire them with tea and plenty of smiles and friendliness. Riding the camels was a fun ride but they ride differently than horses… However, we did not see the Pyramids up close so we were left still wanting to do that. We tried again the next day to get close to the Pyramids by hiring horses to get us there. I emphasized to our guide that if I didn’t touch the Pyramids, I would not pay – I really wanted to make sure we didn’t get cheated again from seeing them up close. So he made my horse gallop super fast either to pay me back for being demanding or to make sure he could get us further than he had planned in the time he had!

Yet ANOTHER picture of the Pyramids!

Next on the list: The Mohammed Ali Mosque in The Citadel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo_Citadel) which was spectacular (as was the Citadel itself). For sure, one of the best places to see!

Mohamad Ali Mosque

We visited the Egyptian Museum which, as you can imagine, have some neat things to show from pharaonic times for those who enjoy the topic. We also hired a car to drive us to Saqqara, a step pyramid south of the city. The site was worth the trip but the drive to it also allowed us to see life outside of the city (e.g., bread being made on a wood burning “stove” by the side of the road).

The end of our stay in Cairo came quickly and we took the overnight train which would take us to the southern city of Aswan. So ended my first visit to Cairo back in 1998…

Cairo Re-Visited 10 Years Later

I returned to Cairo on business to attend a conference with colleagues from around the world. Having gone once and checked out the main sights, it was actually very nice to return and not feel the pressure of visiting a must-see list of places. Instead, we discovered hole-in-the-wall places to eat at, hired a boat for a group of us to cruise up and down the Nile at night, visited Khan el-Khalili (the bazaar or souk), etc. It was a very nice way to enjoy Cairo and just be. In fact, we return to el-Khalili another day not only to shop but, again, to sit and watch life go by – so enjoyable!

grand bazaar, Khan el-Khalili, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo

Around one of the entrances to Khan el-Khalili

grand bazaar, Khan el-Khalili, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Exploring Khan el-Khalili in Cairo, Egypt

I did add to my list of visited sites the Old City which I missed the first time there. What a tremendous miss on a visit to Egypt! The Old City is a phenomenal corner of the large metropolis and full of neat architecture and history… I am glad I got to “re-do” Cairo so I could correct my rookie mistake from 1998!

We first visited the Amr Mosque (Mosque of Amr ibn al-As), first mosque built in Egypt (and Africa) initially built in the 7th century but built-on and expanded over the centuries.

Amr Mosque, large mosque in Cairo, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Mosque in Old City Cairo

…then the Church of St. George (originally built in the 10th century but completely re-built in 1904)…

Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, St. George Church, large mosque in Cairo, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Church of St. George

Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, St. George Church, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Light in the dome of the Church of St. George

Detail at the entrance to St. George Church: St. George on his Arabian horse slaying the dragon

… then the Hanging Church (St. Virgin Mary’s Church, largely rebuilt in the 10th century but originally built on the 7th; the main nave is built over a passageway, hence the name “hanging”)…

Hanging Church, Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Mural in the entrance to the Hanging Church

First entrance to the Hanging Church

Facing out from the front porch of the Hanging Church, a narrow entrance in a crowded part of town!

Doorway in the Hanging Church

Interior of the Hanging Church

and the Ben Ezra Synagogue. However, this was not a matter of just visiting important sites as I had always been curious about Coptic Egypt. I really liked the Old City as it was loaded with history and meaning: just about anywhere you look, there is an interesting site or alley!

St. Sergius Church, Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Crypt of the Holy Family under St. Sergius Church

Cairo – Always Something New to Experience

My second trip differed significantly from the first in many ways. However, Cairo offered me great experiences both times. The city itself awes you (or intimidates you!) as it teems with so many people, so many cars, and so many sounds (and do watch out for those cars!). Some of my favorite images are those of the people I interacted with or saw in their day-to-day life.

tea server, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

The world’s most dedicated and daring tea server: crossing the crazy streets of Cairo with a tray-full of tea!

Khan el-Khalili, bazaar in Cairo, Hanging Church, Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Taking a load of fresh bread from a bakery around the suk in Cairo, Khan el-Khalili

Khan el-Khalili, bazaar in Cairo, tea shop in bazaar, Hanging Church, Christian Church in Cairo, Coptic church, must see Cairo, Egypt, what to see in Cairo, things to do in Cairo, visiting Cairo, scenes of cairo

Sipping tea while watching others play a game in Khan el-Khalili

It can be initially daunting but then, if you let yourself wander a little and soak life in, say, at a local tea shop, you can begin to see beyond the main things that draw us to go there in the first place – really get a feel for the tempo of and life in this ancient and fascinating city.