Jabal Amman neighborhood is one of the seven hills that originally made up

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan. Today, Jabal Amman is near the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

area.

History

Along with the rest of old Amman, Jabal Amman was first settled during the Neolithic period. But unlike nearby hills, particularly

Jabal al-Qal'a The Amman Citadel ( ar, جبل القلعة, Jabal Al-Qal'a) is an Archaeological site, archeological site at the center of downtown Amman, the capital of Jordan. The L-shaped hill is one of the seven hills (''jabals'') that originally made ...

, Jabal Amman was never fortified. It remained somewhat of a wooded outback until the 20th century, when Amman was declared the capital of Trans-Jordan and royalty, wealthy families, businesses, army officers, and politicians began moving into Jabal Amman. Soon, the ''jabal'' was informally established as an elite neighborhood of Amman. As Amman spread west, the 1st Circle was built and Jabal Amman became a primary east-west artery for the quickly expanding city. As the area aged, trees and greenery matured. Today, full grown trees line the streets of Jabal Amman. In 2005, the Greater Amman Municipality recognized Jabal Amman as a 'heritage attraction point' and set forth plans to preserve and develop the historic hill.

Location

Traditionally, the 1st Circle marks the start of Jabal Amman and

King Talal Street King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

on the valley floor marks the end of it. 9th Sha'ban Street divides Jabal Amman from Jabal al-Weibdeh in the north.

Mango Street Mango Street ( ar, شارع مانجو) is a historic street in the Jabal Amman area near downtown Amman, Jordan. Officially named ''Omar bin al-Khattab Street'' ( ar, شارع عمر بن الخطاب), the street derives its nickname from the ...

runs north-south across the slope. Rainbow Street serves as the main access up and down the mountain to the 1st circle. Jabal Al-Akhddar is on the opposite side of the valley from Jabal Amman.

Architecture

Jabal Amman is renowned for its historic buildings and distinctive early 20th century architecture. When politicians and entrepreneurs moved into the neighborhood during the same time, they began to build houses, many of the houses featuring a single story and a large front porch running the entire front exposure of the building. Notable houses include: * Jordan River Foundation House * House of Chafiq Pasha Hayek *

Belbeisi palace Belbeisi Palace is a historic palace located in Amman, Jordan, in the first circle in Jabal Amman. It was the property of Ismail Pasha Bilbeisi, who came from the town of Salt to Amman in the 1920s. The building was one of the first palaces in the ...

* Habboo and Akrawi House *

Al-Mufti House The Mufti House ( ar, بيت المفتي) is a house located on Rainbow Street-Mango Street intersection in the Jabal Amman neighbourhood of Amman, Jordan. Like many other houses in Jabal Amman, such as the Mango House across the street, 70 yea ...

* Jardaneh House *

Mango House The Mango House is a building in Amman, Jordan. Situated on Mango Street, the house looks out toward Jabal Akhddar on the other side of the valley that is downtown Amman. Architecture The Mango House was designed by architect Mukhtar Saqr, who ...

* Sammour Family House Numerous businesses such as Books@Café, Old View Café, Jordan River Foundation, Wild Jordan, and Royal Jordan Film Commission inhabit these buildings today. The Ittihad Church, an example of Modern architecture built with

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

, is an evangelical

union church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

situated in the neighborhood. File:Rainbow Street 4 Jul 2008 (5).JPG, Rainbow Street going through Jabal Amman File:Jabal Amman first round-about.JPG, First Circle File:Mango Street.jpg, A view down

File:Jordan River Foundation Showroom.jpg, Jordan River Foundation House File:Jabal Amman Second round-about 5.JPG, Second Circle File:Third Circle - Zahran Street.JPG, Third Circle - Jabal Amman File:Souk Jara 4 Jul 2008 (2).JPG, Souk Jara, A Friday Summer flea market File:Ittihad Church, Amman.jpg, Ittihad Church

Jabal Amman Residents Association

Jabal Amman Residents Association (JARA) is an organization started in 2004 to preserve the neighborhood's deep history and promote cultural events. JARA hosts many of the outdoor markets in Jabal Amman. The most famous is Souk Jara (سوق جارا) that was established in 2005.Official leaflets at Souk JARA itself Founding members: Zaid Goussous, Julian Noursi

References

{{reflist Neighbourhoods of Amman

History

Location

Architecture

Jabal Amman Residents Association

See also

References