Qualla: Amman https://qualla.com/amman en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:05 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wp/aerial-photograph-of-amman-3.jpg Qualla: Amman https://qualla.com/amman Amman: Introduction https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0. Ancient ruins and modern refugees share this capital. Amman, a Jordanian city of 4 million, has grown from small town to regional hub in a single century. The Romans knew it as Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Before them, the Ammonites gave Jordan its name. Today the city spreads across hills that were little more than villages when Jordan gained independence. Wave after wave of refugees from Palestine, Iraq, and Syria drove that growth, finding in Amman the stability their homelands had lost. Concerts still play in the Roman amphitheater. Civilizations layer atop one another at the Citadel. Gulf tourists browse the malls. Somehow Amman holds the ancient and the modern together without the conflict that pairing might imply.

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Amman: The Citadel https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0. Amman's highest hill belongs to the Citadel, where archaeology has peeled back one layer after another. Bronze Age settlements came first. Then the Romans raised the Temple of Hercules. Later, Islamic civilization added the Umayyad Palace. Many of these artifacts now reside in th...

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: Berthold Werner | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-the-citadel.mp3 0:06 2 full Amman: The Downtown https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Elgaard at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Step into downtown Amman and the old city survives. The Roman amphitheater still hosts performances. Merchants in the souks sell what tourists want and locals need. Arabic script dominates the street signs; English retreats. After 1948, refugees filled these blocks, built busines...

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: User: (WT-shared) Elgaard at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-the-downtown.mp3 0:06 3 full Amman: The Refugees https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit Malkawi99, CC BY-SA 3.0. No other capital has absorbed refugees on Amman's scale. Palestinians arrived in 1948 and again in 1967. Iraqis followed after 2003. Syrians came after 2011. Each crisis expanded the population, and each wave of newcomers built and transformed entire neighborhoods. Jordan grew to...

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: Malkawi99 | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-the-refugees.mp3 0:06 4 full Amman: The Modern West https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit GhaythFuad, CC BY-SA 4.0. Modernity concentrates in west Amman. Abdoun and Sweifieh offer malls and restaurants catering to Gulf tourists and wealthy Jordanians. Embassies and international organizations cluster here, drawn by stability. In some ways, west Amman could be anywhere -- the same global brands...

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: GhaythFuad | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-the-modern-west.mp3 0:06 5 full Amman: The Stability https://qualla.com/amman/ Photo credit Producer, CC BY 2.5. Stability is Amman's greatest asset. The Hashemite monarchy has navigated regional chaos for decades, keeping Jordan functional while neighbors collapsed. Refugees came because Jordan was stable. Businesses located here because Jordan was predictable. Tourists visit because Jorda...

Read more: Amman on Qualla

Image: Producer | CC BY 2.5

]]> Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/v/9/t/amman-wk/sv9t-amman-the-stability.mp3 0:06 6 full