Things to do in Amman

Amman sits on hills. Addresses run by circle, First to Eighth, along the ridge road, and directions are given the same way. Nearly every wall is the same pale limestone.

It was a town of a few thousand when it became the capital in 1921. About four million live here now. Underneath lies Rabbath Ammon of the Ammonites, renamed Philadelphia by the Greeks.

The city on its hills

The old layers sit at the bottom, downtown, and the newer money sits above them.

• The Citadel. Jabal al-Qala'a, the highest hill: the Temple of Hercules from the reign of Marcus Aurelius, an Umayyad palace behind it, and the view.
• The Roman Theatre. Cut into the slope opposite, with room for six thousand, built under Antoninus Pius.
• Al-Balad. Downtown: gold souk, spice stalls, fruit market, and a 1924 house that is now Duke's Diwan.
• Jabal Amman. Rainbow Street and the First Circle, with cafes, galleries and old villas.
• Jabal al-Weibdeh. Quieter and older, with Darat al Funun and the art crowd.
• Abdali. The new centre, towers and a boulevard, nothing older than this century.

Eating downtown

Food is the reason to walk Al-Balad. Hashem has fried falafel down there since 1952, and the bill still surprises people. Habibah sells kunafa by weight from a counter in an alley.

Mansaf is the national dish and a commitment. Lamb, jameed and rice arrive on one shared tray. Food walks add hummus, grills and more tea than anyone ordered.

The city as a base

Most of the country is a day out from here and back before dark. Jerash is under an hour north, the Dead Sea an hour west. Petra is the long one.

Bookings go by the car rather than the seat, which changes the sums for a group of four.

Practical

• From the airport. Queen Alia is thirty-five kilometres south. The taxi fare is fixed and posted; the airport bus to the Seventh Circle costs a fraction of it.
• Getting about. Taxi apps work and are cheap. The hills are steep and pavements come and go, so keep walks short.
• Height. The city runs from about seven hundred metres to a thousand, so it is cooler than the Dead Sea and colder in January than people expect.
• Season. Spring and autumn are the walking months. July and August are hot and dry, and rain belongs to winter.
• Friday. Downtown closes around midday prayers and wakes up after. Souk Jara sets up beside Rainbow Street on summer Fridays.
• Money. Cards are normal in the west of the city and much less so downtown.
• Alcohol. Sold in licensed shops and in hotel and Rainbow Street bars, rarely downtown.