Amman

Introduction

Amman City Centre

© All Rights Reserved moonboots

Amman (عمان) is the capital of Jordan and is by far the largest city in the country with about 2.2 million inhabitants. Amman is a very old city with people living here since about 10,000 years! Today, it is the economical and political heart of the country and most people arriving by plane will start their journey through the country here. However, the city is not of particular interest to travellers, compared to the rest of the country and some might even find it boring when they have just arrived from for example, Damascus in Syria, although the central area around the souq is nice to walk around. The city is located in the north of the country in a hilly region about 800 metres above sea level.

Sights and Activities

• Souq and medina
• Roman theatre
• King Abdullah I Mosque

Weather

Amman is less hot than places more south in the country, mainly because of its elevation. In winter, frost and snow are not uncommon and in summer the dry heat is bearable. Best times to visit are probably spring and autumn, when temperatures are pleasantly warm and you avoid the wetter wintermonths as well. Summer is dry and usually warm to hot. Extremes have been recorded of 40 °C or more. Average highs are around 30 °C, while in winter most days are well above 10 °C.

Getting There

By Plane

Royal Jordanian Airlines is the national airline with many destinations served from Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), 32 kilometres south of Amman. Destinations are as far away as New York, but most flights are to major cities in the Middle East and Europe. Asian destinations include Bangkok and Hong Kong. Dozens of other airlines (mostly regional) fly to the airport as well. Buses and taxis serve the airport all day, with buses operating every half hour to Amman. A new rail line is being constructed that will link Queen Alia International Airport with central and downtown Amman. Domestic flights are an option you don't really need with travelling times overland just a matter of several hours, but travelling between Amman and Aqaba could be done with Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Amman Civil Airport (ADJ) in the east of the city has flights to Dalaman (Turkey), Cairo, Baghdad, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Baku, Sharjah and even Stockholm, though some are seasonal.

By Train

A twice weekly train travel between the capital of Syria, Damascus, and Amman. The train leaves both places on Mondays and Thursdays at 8:00am and take 9 hours to complete the schedule. Although slower than buses and shared taxis, this train ride comes as a welcome alternative for train fanatics.

By Bus

Buses, minibuses and shared taxis ply the national routes and destinations include Madaba and Aqaba. International destinations include Damascus and even further away crossing Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Taxis are the mode of transport that are used the most to get around the city and are quite cheap and easily available. It is better to discuss the price at the outset if it is not a metered cab. Though the cab drivers are generally friendly, talkative and reasonable, it is better to have discussed the price beforehand. Taxi rides should cost between JD1 to JD3 within city limits. Also, it is better to have a map of the place and the area where you want to go marked out as it is easier to navigate if one knows the nearby landmarks of the place you want to go to. Especially when going into residential areas, it is quite difficult to know where you are as there are very limited street signs and the taxi drivers expect you to tell them where to go, at least to explain in Arabic what exactly you are looking for beyond the street name and number.

There are buses but information on the routes and times are not easily available for the first-time visitor.

Eat

For a cheap meal, there are the KFCs, McDonalds and Burger Kings available in most places. Also, there are tiny kiosks selling burgers and kebabs on most roads. However, to experience the delicious local cuisine which is comparable to Lebanese cuisine, it is better to go to cafes and restaurants that serve such food.
Zalatimo Brothers is a great shop for buying some divinely delicious sweets.

Drink

For the pub crawlers, Nai bar is a trendy bar and restaurant located in Shmeisani.

Sleep

Budget

Upscale

• Regency Palace Hotel is located on Queen Alya Street and close to the Jordanian Olympic Committee office and Sports City. The rooms look weathered but liveable and the restaurant is alright. Room service menu is quite good and the service fast. Some basic amenities such as tea/coffee making service in the room that one expects in a bigger hotel was missing and the request for a water heater was fulfilled by the hotel staff by providing a heating coil which had a loose wire at the end, instead of a plug, and the wire had to be inserted into the strange plugpoint to connect and sparks flew each time it was inserted. There is a business center in the lobby of the hotel and a semblance of a gym on the top floor. Hotel staff are quite friendly and helpful.
• Amman Marriott Hotel which is located across the Regency Palace hotel looked much better maintained on the inside and quite grandiose.
• The Four Seasons Hotel is supposedly the best hotel in Amman

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Jordan Post runs the postal services in the country. It has fairly reliable and cheap services and international post usually takes several days up to a week or more for countries further away. Opening hours of post offices are mostly between 7:00am and 5:00pm Saturday to Thursday and 7:00am to 1:00pm on Friday, although this depends whether it's a main city or smaller villages. In summer, there might be slighty longer opening hours. For larger packages, it might work out cheaper and certainly faster to use international courier services, including DHL, FedEx, TNT or UPS for example.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website