Key areas

Amman is a large, sprawling city, but most business visitors and tourists do not go beyond half a dozen suburbs where the major hotels, banks, businesses and embassies are located.
Jabal Amman is home to many of the major hotels, although it is losing its role as the embassy district to the newer suburbs of Abdoun and Deir Ghbar.
Abdoun is emerging as a centre for upmarket nightlife, competing with Jabal Amman and Shmeisani.
Shmeisani is one of Amman’s main banking and commercial districts.
Downtown Visit the downtown area (Al Balad in Arabic) for the Roman amphitheatre, the gold souk and a flavour of ordinary Jordanian life.

Getting around

Getting around Amman can be a challenge as, while most city services are quite efficient, the authorities have never managed to get the naming and numbering of the streets sorted. The streets do have names, houses have numbers, and most major roads are now recognised by their official names.
However, almost no one uses their official address. As a result, mail is still delivered to post office boxes and most locations are identified by their proximity to a hotel, supermarket or even the home of a well-known person.
Taxis are cheap and plentiful. All taxis are metered, so hop out if the driver says the meter isn’t working or isn’t needed at night. No fare within the city should be more than £1.20. But be aware that the taxis waiting outside five-star hotels work to their own rules and charge a minimum of £1.50 to £2.50 for a trip anywhere in Amman. A taxi ride from Third Circle, Jabal Amman to Shmeisani should take 10-15 minutes and cost about 60p. From Third Circle to Abdoun is about the same, but always be prepared for traffic hold-ups when on the way to an appointment. Amman has a network of service taxis, which are shared taxis following a fixed route and allowed to pick up and set down passengers on request. Fares are ridiculously cheap, at about 10p a ride, but a first-time visitor will need help in identifying routes.
Amman has a network of privately operated buses, but destinations are not written in English and no timetables are available, making the system almost impenetrable for a visitor.

Shopping

Amman has never enjoyed a great reputation as a shopping destination, but it actually has a lot to offer for those who go looking with care. In recent years it has seen a flowering of handicrafts and both NGOs and independent artisans now produce a wide range of high-quality and stylish items. Gold buyers can try either the original gold souk in downtown Amman or the newer gold area in the Sweifieh shopping centre. Shops have a mix of Italian and local styles.

Gifts to buy

Palestinians in Jordan have maintained their rich embroidery tradition and embroidered dresses, cushions, table runners, purses and other items are still among the most interesting buys, although good quality work is pricey. With a considerable push from Queen Noor, Jordan has developed its own handicraft sector over the past two decades and there are now a lot of options in locally made silver jewellery, ceramics, embroidery, table linen and carpets. Silsal at Fifth Circle, Jabal Amman, has some of the best pottery, with designs inspired by Islamic and ancient pottery (Tel: 5931 128). Dead Sea beauty products and locally made olive oil soap are inexpensive options.

Things to do

The modern city of Amman only dates to the early 1920s, but it sits on an ancient location and amidst the shops, offices and traffic of downtown you can find a stunning Roman amphitheatre.
It is flanked by two small, rather scruffy museums, one showcasing Jordanian life and the other with an impressive collection of traditional Palestinian and Jordanian dress and some striking Byzantine-era mosaics.
The Citadel is another must and worth a visit for the birds-eye view of Amman. It is the original site of ancient RabbathAmmon and has Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remains. The Archaeological Museum showcases centuries of Jordan’s history. Look out particularly for the Neolithic clay figures thought to be the world’s oldest representations of the human form.

Excursions

Jordan has a number of ‘must-dos’ in the excursion field, and fortunately a number of them are an easy ride from Amman. One of the best is the ancient city of Jerash, just 48kms north of the capital. Regarded as one of the best-preserved Roman cities outside Italy, Jerash also boasts rich Byzantine and Islamic era remains. An earthquake severely damaged the city in about 735 AD, but enough of its grand columns and monumental buildings survive to give an impression of its former grandeur. The site is at its best during spring when its ancient stones are brightened by a wonderful display of wildflowers, while its two well-preserved theatres come to life each summer during the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts. Madaba, just 30 minutes to the southwest of Amman, is a must for its Byzantine mosaics. Worth a visit for the intriguing mosaic map of Palestine in St George’s Greek Orthodox Church alone, it also has a mosaic school and an archaeological park. An added bonus is the Haret Jdoudna, a 19th-century house now transformed into a tourist centre with an excellent restaurant and an array of handicraft shops. Continue on 9kms from Madaba to Mount Nebo.
The Dead Sea is another easy trip from Amman, needing just 40 minutes on a good road stretching down to the Jordan Valley. In the past, a quick float in its salty waters, possibly with newspaper in hand, followed by a chilly shower was about the best the Dead Sea had to offer. However, with the arrival of the Mövenpick and Marriott hotels, and with other five-star properties in the offing, the area is now worth a longer stay. Both hotels have good restaurants, fresh-water pools and luxury spa facilities, and are ideal spots to watch spectacular sunsets. (Mövenpick Hotel, Tel: 5356 1111, Marriott Hotel, Tel: 5356 0400.)
A recent addition to Jordan’s list of sites is the Baptism Site at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the banks of the Dead Sea. The site is reputed to be where John the Baptist lived and preached. Pope John Paul gave Jordan’s claim that it is the actual site of Christ’s baptism the seal of approval when he visited in 2000.
The site is easily reached from Amman in 40 minutes.

Tourist traps

Antiquities offered for sale at archaeological sites or in souvenir shops are rarely genuine, and if they are it isn’t legal to buy them or take them out of the country so you must keep your wits about you. As a rule., avoid antiquity acquisition

Convention centres

Zara Expo

Tel: 465 1234 email: enquiry@zaraexpo.com Zara Expo is part of a complex that includes the Amman Grand Hyatt Hotel and the Hyatt Tower, containing 44 residential suites and a restaurant. The expo has three purpose-built linked halls with a total of 3,000 square metres of space and a 300-seat auditorium. It also links to the Grand Hyatt, which has a further 1,8000 square metres of exhibition and conference space and a 970-square-metre ballroom that can accommodate 1,500 people.
Le Meridien, attached to Le Meridien Hotel (Tel: 569 6511, Fax: 567 4261), the facility includes the 700-seat Royal Convention Centre, a grand ballroom with space for 1,500 people and a range of small halls and meeting rooms.