Private Amman City Tour by Car

King Abdullah I Mosque

Built between 1982 and 1989, the King Abdullah I Mosque is one of Amman's landmarks, easy to recognise by its great blue mosaic dome decorated with Quranic inscriptions. The prayer hall under the dome is vast and calm, lit by windows set around its base, and there is a smaller space for women and families.

It is one of the few mosques in Amman that regularly welcomes non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times. Women are asked to cover their hair and wear a long robe, which can be borrowed at the entrance, and everyone removes shoes before entering. The mosque is closed to visitors during Friday prayers, so on Fridays our driver adjusts the order of the stops. A visit takes about 30 minutes.

The Amman Citadel (Jabal al-Qal'a)

The Citadel crowns the highest hill of downtown Amman and has been occupied for thousands of years, from the Bronze Age through Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad times. The tall columns of the Roman Temple of Hercules still stand here, beside the fragments of a giant marble hand, and nearby are the remains of a Byzantine church.

Further along, the Umayyad Palace complex includes a domed audience hall, a colonnaded street and a large cistern. A small archaeological museum displays finds from across Jordan. The views over the white houses of the city and the Roman Theatre below are the best in Amman. The Citadel opens daily from morning to late afternoon, with longer hours in summer; allow about an hour here.

The Roman Theatre and Hashemite Plaza

In Roman times Amman was called Philadelphia, one of the cities of the Decapolis. Its theatre, built in the second century AD, is carved into the side of a hill and faces north so that the audience stayed out of the sun, and it held several thousand spectators. You can climb the steep rows of seats for a view over the city and test the acoustics from the stage.

Beside it lie the small Odeon and the open space of Hashemite Plaza, a favourite meeting place for local families in the evening. Two small museums of folklore and popular traditions are set into the theatre's side rooms. Allow 30 to 45 minutes here before heading into the old city.

The old city (Al-Balad) and its souks

Downtown Amman, known as Al-Balad, is the historic heart of the capital, squeezed into the valley between the hills. Around the Grand Husseini Mosque, rebuilt in the 1920s on the site of an older one, narrow streets fill with shops selling spices, gold, fabrics, coffee and sweets, and the sound of traders and car horns never stops.

This is the best place to feel everyday Amman, to taste fresh knafeh or cardamom coffee and to buy souvenirs. Our driver drops you close to the souks and agrees a meeting point with you, so you can explore at your own rhythm for 45 minutes to an hour, wandering between shops and side streets without worrying about finding your way back to the car.

Is Amman worth visiting? Planning your half day

Many travellers pass through Amman on the way to Petra or the Dead Sea, but the capital deserves at least half a day. Built on a series of steep hills, it mixes ancient ruins, busy markets and modern districts with cafés and galleries, and it is a safe, welcoming city to explore.

Entry tickets are not included in this tour; the Jordan Pass covers the Citadel and the Roman Theatre, and the mosque charges a small entry fee. This tour has a driver rather than a guide, so you visit each place independently. Start times run from 8:00 to 14:00, and the cooler morning hours are the best time for the Citadel in summer.