Jordan Road Trip, Amman part 1

After Petra, we had lunch before hitting the road for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Amman.  Both boys slept almost the entire ride!  Made me wish we could hike Petra every day!  After arrival in Amman, we checked into our hotel and scouted out dinner places, discovering that there were lots of American chain choices!  But we saved those for another night, choosing to eat at the local restaurant in our hotel to keep things simple.

The next morning, we headed out to explore.  Our first stop was the Amman Citadel.  The Citadel sits atop one of Amman's seven original (really BIG) hills, and has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.  Ruins from Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods are visible, and it provides some stunning views of Amman, which is a MUCH bigger city than I thought.

 You can walk right up to these ruins.  No fences or park rangers to stop you.

 You can even climb on them.  I guess in the grand scheme of things, 

they've been around thousands of years, so what can it hurt now?

 The ruins are perfect for a little game of hide n'seek.

 Umayyad Palace

 That is one big flag.

 I love the new peeking up beyond the old.

 Temple of Hercules

 From the Citadel, you can see the almost completely intact (thanks to reconstruction) 

Roman Ampitheatre from the Philadelphia days of Amman.