Me!

Me!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Sightseeing in Amman - the Citadel

Yesterday on our sightseeing excursion we visited the Roman amphitheatre (the large theatre), the Odeon (smaller theatre), and the ruin known as the Citadel. All 3 were very interesting and fun to visit - despite the heat. ;-) Once again, if you want more information, go to http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/jordan/amman/citadel.html. I don't have much info other than tidbits. To the left are columns from the Temple of Heracles. Note my sister and Hannah standing at the base of a far column to show scale! Imagine erecting these columns and the structure that must have accompanied them with the technology available in 162 AD! The picure to the right is also part of the Temple of Heracles. I liked the details on these columns.

The above website has a map of these items so you can have an idea of their relationship to one another. The Temple of Heracles is on a slightly lower elevation with great views of Amman! There was an amazing view of the amphitheatre we'd seen earlier.

We moved on to the Umayyad governor's palace (8th century). This building's dome (visible in the next pic) is a reconstruction of what it looked like. The main entrance on the opposite side of the building (this picture is of the back of the building) looks almost identical. There also pictures of the inside of the dome, with the wooden structure showing. It might have been covered with some metal when constructed in the 8th century.

"The Hill of the Citadel (where all these structures are located) was occupied as early as the Neolithic period, and fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). The ruins on the hill today are Roman through early Islamic. The name "Amman" comes from "Rabbath Ammon," or "Great City of the Ammonites," who settled in the region some time after 1200 BC. The Bible records that King David captured the city in the early 10th century BC; Uriah the Hittite, husband of King David's paramour Bathsheba, was killed here after the king ordered him to the front line of battle." copied from the above website

There is also a large cistern on this site. "Located to the right of the vestibule, it was the primary water supply to the governor's palace. At 5m deep and 16m in diameter, it would have held just over 1,000 cubic meters, or approximately 250,000 gallons, of water. The cistern was fed by rainwater through an inlet channel, and could be entered for maintenance by the stairs shown in the photo. A column, whose stump is standing at the bottom of the cistern, measured the water level." copied from above website


There is also the remains of a Byzantine basilica, constructed in the 5th-6th centuries AD. An amazing place to visit!

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