Jabal Al-Weibdeh
Jabal Al-Weibdeh, the hill directly north of the Citadel, is where Amman's artists, architects and intellectuals have gathered since the mid-20th century. Its streets are quieter than Rainbow Street, the café conversations are longer, and the galleries are genuinely worth your time.
Galleries and Cultural Spaces
The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts on Husban Street is the country's premier collection of modern and contemporary Arab and Islamic art, with over 3,000 works spread across two floors. Entry is just JD 2 and the building itself — a converted villa with a sculpture garden — is lovely.
A short walk away, Darat al-Funun ('Little House of the Arts') occupies a cluster of 1920s villas and a Byzantine chapel ruin above a terraced garden. It hosts rotating exhibitions of contemporary Arab artists and the garden café is one of the most peaceful spots in the city for a coffee.
Streets Worth Wandering
The neighbourhood's residential streets are lined with old stone houses, many with carved lintels and Arabic inscriptions above the doors. The Paris Circle area at the heart of Weibdeh has several independent bookshops, a French cultural centre and a cluster of third-wave coffee shops that would not look out of place in Copenhagen.
Al-Kalha Street is particularly photogenic in the morning light, with flowering bougainvillea tumbling over stone walls and cats occupying every sunny patch of pavement. This is the Amman that locals want you to discover.
Jabal Al-Weibdeh on video
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