After a relaxing day at the beach, it was time to head back toward civilization and our looming flight home. We had about 4 1/2 hours to drive and a full day to do it in, so we took our time and stopped a few times along the way to just stretch out legs and have some lunch. I knew we were getting close to Amman when I saw this out my window...
Yep, there is an IKEA almost everywhere you go on this planet. And mostly they are outside of the big city (and in my experience, by the airport). But we drove right past as shopping was not on our agenda, visiting the Citadel was.
The Citadel is smack dab in the middle of busy Amman. It sits on top of one of the seven Jabals (mountains) that make up Amman, and its vantage point of the sprawling area below is unparalleled.
The Citadel is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. There is evidence of habitation from the Neolithic period which started around 12,000 BC, and it was occupied by many great civilizations from the Romans to the Umayyads. Since it fell into disarray after the Umayyad period, until it was rediscovered in the late 1870's, there is still much to be uncovered. But great strides have been made, and the site is ripe with critical architectural finds. We spent about an hour wandering and taking it all in...
Roman Temple of Hercules.
The Hand of Hercules.
Exploring the Tombs underground.
Umayyad Palace. Built in the 8th century and mostly destroyed.
The rebuilt dome! Stunning.
A selfie with our fabulous driver (and friend) Feris! We really did have a great time with him!
As seen from the Citadel.
As seen from ground level.
And with that under our belts, we were off to our hotel for dinner, and a quick nap before our flight home at 4 am. Yes, somehow I thought that the flight that left at 4 am would be fabulous because it saved us quite a bit on airfare. After a full week of touring and hiking and walking everywhere, we were exhausted and getting to the airport at 2 am was a small bit of torture. But we were back in our house and napping by 9:30 am so it all worked out in the end.
I will forever rank Jordan as one of my favorite trips ever. As will the girls. We were blown away by the people, the places and the country as a whole. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend the trip!
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