Amman
Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the Kingdom's economic, political and cultural center, is a city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new, situated between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley.
Landmarks:
- Citadel
- Roman Amphitheater
- Downtown
- Royal Automobile Museum
- King Abdullah Mosque
- Jordan Museum
- Jordan Archaeological Museum
- Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts
Situated in north-central Jordan, Amman is the administrative centre of the Amman Governorate. Today, Amman is considered to be among the most liberal and westernized Arab cities. It is a major tourist destination in the region, particularly among Arab and European tourists.
In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, smart restaurants, art galleries and boutiques rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisans' workshops. Everywhere there is evidence of the city's much older past.
Due to the city's modern-day prosperity and temperate climate, almost half of Jordan's population is concentrated in the Amman area. The residential suburbs consist of mainly tree-lined streets and avenues flanked by elegant, almost uniformly white houses in accordance with a municipal law, which states that all buildings must be faced with local stone.
The earliest evidence of settlement in the area is a Neolithic site known as 'Ain Ghazal. Its successor was known as Rabbath Ammon, which was the capital of the Ammonites. Its second name was Philadelphia, and finally Amman. It was initially built on 7 hills but now spans over 19 hills combining 27 districts. Areas of Amman have either gained their names from the hills (Jabal) or valleys (Wadi) they lie on, such as Jabal Lweibdeh and Wadi Abdoun. East Amman is predominantly filled with historic sites that frequently host cultural activities, while West Amman is more modern and serves as the economic center of the city.
Amman is the 4th most visited Arab city and the 9th highest recipient of international visitor spending. Roughly 1.8 million tourists visited Amman in 2011 and spent over $1.3 billion in the city. The expansion of Queen Alia International Airport is an example of the Greater Amman Municipality's heavy investment in the city's infrastructure. The recent construction of a public transportation system and national railway, along with the expansion of roads, are intended to ease the traffic generated by the millions of annual visitors to the city.
Amman, and Jordan in general, is the Middle East's hub for medical tourism. Jordan receives the most medical tourists in the region and the 5th highest in the world. Amman receives 250,000 foreign patients a year and over $1 billion annually.
