The Citadel is the best spot in Amman to watch sunset: its location high in the middle of the city, the foreground of ruins, the views of the houses tha turn pink as the sun sets... And on top of that it is also a perfect spot to listen to the powerful Muezzin call.
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INFO & PLANNING TIPS - Sunset at Amman's Citadel
TIPS FOR TRAVEL PLANNING ADDICTS - Sunset at Amman's Citadel
Getting to the Citadel
- You cannot miss it. It is on the hill in the middle of the city
- If your hotel is on top of the hill, you can walk like I did
- If you are fit and full of energy, you can walk up from the amphitheater
- Otherwise taxis are an easy option
Watching sunset
- Arrive at the end of the afternoon
- In May, the sun sets a little after closing time. Do not leave the first time they ask you, they still have to tour the site. And the next time they indicate you to leave, just smile and ask politely for 5 more minutes to see the sun setting.
Rosy display from the houses
The Citadel is on the top of the highest and most central hill of Amman. I went there at the end of the afternoon with the objective to stay until sunset. I had seen great pictures on the internet with the ruins and the sun behind, and had also read that the Muezzin call from the Citadel was a special experience.
Even before sunset, the sun reflecting on the buildings created a beautiful rosy display:
Convincing policemen to let me stay
I was in Jordan in May, the month with almost the longest days of the year, so the Citadel was actually closing before sunset.
The policemen came to me and told me they were going to close and I should leave. He then went on to other people. The site is quite big and some people were still there so I decided to wait and see. They came back only a while later to repeat that the site was closing. I then smiled with all my teeth and explain that I wanted to get pictures of the sunset and would really appreciate staying a bit longer.
And it worked! However the sun was very long to set and I had to smile a lot and convinced several of them to let me stay.
Sunset over the skyscrapers
Standing amongst ruins while observing skycrappers being built is quite astonishing:
Sunset in the roman ruins of the Citadel
Although I did not get the perfect alignment of the sun with the ruins as I saw on someone else page that I cannot find anymore, the spectacle was still beautiful. Especially with those silhouettes.
The mix of the muezzin call with this special acoustic of being on the hill, the softness of the sun and the stillness of the ruins created a magical moment.
Totally zen and filled with emotion, I then walked back to my hotel to end a great day.
Want to see MORE of JORDAN?
Discover more things to do with planning information and photos in my online Guadeloupe Travel Guide.
Have you ever convinced policemen to let you do something?
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