Amman: A Changing City

The last several days we have been exploring potential research sites in Amman itself in case we aren’t able to get to our intended research sites. And Amman has plenty to explore! Just look at the view from The Citadel:

Looking southeast over Amman from Jabal al Qal'a, as it's called in Arabic

The Citadel has a temple dedicated to Heracles (Hercules to Westerners), a Byzantine church, and an Umayyad palace. If you want more, the Wikipedia entry is good, although their first picture of “Amman Citadel Ruins” is NOT from the Citadel, but rather the city of Jerash (this is why ground-truthing is so important!)

The large pillars represent what is thought to be the entrance into the Temple of Hercules. Apparently there was also a very large statue of him - they have the hand and elbow on display, just sitting out in the elements. The small-ish box-like structures in the foreground are (empty) sarcophogi. Notice the sprawl of Amman in the background.

In a nut shell, Amman’s occupation spans Neolithic times to present. It was the home of the Ammonites (of Old Testament fame), renamed Philadelphia after being conquered by the Greeks, and then under Roman rule (still as Philadelphia), it was one of the Decapolis or Ten Cities that banded together for mutual benefit. Looking southeast from the Citadel, you can see Amman’s Roman Odeon.

Amman's Roman Odeon, as seen from the Citadel.

Looking towards Amman's Roman Odeon from the ground.

View from the top of Amman's Odeon looking northwest towards the Citadel. Notice the pillars of Hercules' Temple in the mid-upper-left. And local kids posing in the right-hand corner...

After the Romans, Amman was occupied by the Islamic Caliphates, then the Crusaders – who were tossed out by the Ottoman Empire before a British mandate brought an end to their power. Amman has often been a haven for refugees. For example, although Jordan gained independence in 1946, two years later in 1948 when Israel declared its independence, a few hundred thousand Palestinians fled into Jordan – mostly to Amman – almost doubling the population, literally, overnight (just a fun side note, the Queen of Jordan is Palestinian). A few decades later, with unrest in Iraq, another wave of refugees fled to Amman, further increasing their population. And Jordan continues to take in refugees today from Syria and other war-torn countries.

And Amman is still a burgeoning city, with a population reportedly topping 4 million. There’s not a lot of room or infrastructure for that many people, and being a city planner here would drive even the most relaxed person majnoon (“crazy”). Construction can’t keep up with the demand, and every year seemingly brings a “new” neighborhood – even if it means knocking an old one down to make way for a new one.

But the city persists in expanding, bringing in (unfortunately, perhaps) more Westernized architecture and culture. The large malls have many Western stores (H&M, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, etc.), and US fast food chains are all over (the ubiquitous McDonalds and KFC, of course, but also Hardees/Carl’s Jr. and Popeye’s for some reason). There’s even a P.F. Chang’s at the Taj Mall. In coming blogs, I will be posting about “Malls of Amman”, as I just find the whole concept of malls fascinating. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve seen some of the malls’ insides.

Still, there’s a positivity in Amman. People seem genuine. While they may seemingly still be searching for their identity, maybe change is their identity? Perhaps that’s what defines Amman, what has historically defined it as a city: it is constantly changing – even reinventing itself. While many cities only tend to change generationally, or only when leadership changes, Amman changes perpetually. Regardless of what change brings though, there’s always lots to see and always something interesting to do, both old and new.