Amman is the starting point of Jordan's King's Highway, the old road that runs south through the country to the Red Sea, and it is also a city worth a day of its own. It is built on a series of hills, once seven, and the oldest part is the Citadel, which holds the pillars of a Roman temple to Hercules, a Byzantine church and an Umayyad palace, all on the same ridge. The ancient name was Philadelphia, after the Ptolemaic king who rebuilt it, and before that Rabbath Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites. Down in the valley below, a large Roman theatre, carved into the hillside and seating around six thousand people, still stages concerts.
Modern Amman is a young, fast-growing city of over a million people, many of them descended from refugees from Palestine, Iraq and Syria, and it has a lively, welcoming feel. Rainbow Street, with its cafes and old villas, is where people gather in the evening. The downtown souk, near the Roman theatre, is full of spice shops, sweet vendors and coffee sellers, and is the place to try knafeh, a hot cheese pastry soaked in syrup, and hummus with a drizzle of oil, served for breakfast.
Riding in the city is busy but manageable. Drivers are quick and often unpredictable, roundabouts are called circles and numbered, and hills are steep. The roads out are good. The King's Highway heads south through Madaba, famous for its mosaic map of the Holy Land, then down the Wadi Mujib canyon and on to Karak and Petra, with a series of long, winding sections through farmland and desert. It is slower than the fast Desert Highway but far more interesting. In summer the heat is fierce in the south, and in winter rain and even snow can fall on the high ground around Amman.
Fuel and workshops are everywhere, and the city has hotels at every price level. Evenings are cool, even in summer, because of the altitude of about nine hundred metres. Carry water on any journey, and keep your passport and papers accessible for the checkpoints on the main roads. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with clear air and mild days, and the hills around Amman turn green in early spring with a carpet of wildflowers.