Amman; The Citadel

We went on a day trip from Madaba to the city of Amman to check out the ancient Roman Citadel.

The above photos show what remains of the Temple of Hercules at the citadel. Those columns are spectacularly tall, and to give you an idea of their height, check out the photo of me standing beneath them in Wordless Wednesday 25 Jan 2017

Behind the Temple of Hercules, the remains of what was once a colossal statue can be seen.  It is estimated from the size of the hand and elbow, that this statue would have been 13 metres tall!  I wonder if it was of Hercules?

The most intact building on the site is the audience hall, which was for the guests of Umayyad Palace. It was constructed around AD720.

The hall is shaped like a cross, with the walls exhibiting some sections of restored stonework.

The wooden dome was reconstructed by Spanish archaeologists.

East of the audience hall is a an open cistern or ‘birka’.  It measure 17.5 metres in diameter with 2.5 metre thick walls!  It is still in pretty good nick with some of the original waterproof plaster still visible.

The citadel sits on top of the highest hill in Amman, Jebel al-Qala’a, so a good view overlooking the city is guaranteed.

A little further around, the Roman Amphitheatre can be seen (in the centre of the photograph).

All in all, the Amman Citadel is in quite a ruinous state, but well worth a visit if you are in Amman.

It is about a 35 minute taxi ride to get there from Madaba and will cost you 20JD.  For the budget conscious traveller, buses are also available for 25 fils.