As part of his official visit to Jordan, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon yesterday visited a number of historical sites of Jordan, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
In Amman, President Rahmon visited the Jordan Museum and the Amman Citadel.
The Amman Citadel is a historical site at the center of downtown Amman. Known in Arabic as Jabal al-Qal'a, the L-shaped hill is one of the seven jabals (mountains) that originally made up Amman. Evidence of occupation since the pottery Neolithic period has been found. It was inhabited by different peoples and cultures until the time of the Umayyads, after which came a period of decline and for much of the time until 1878 the former city became an abandoned pile of ruins only sporadically used by Bedouin and seasonal farmers. Despite this gap, the Citadel of Amman is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited places.
The Citadel is considered an important site because it has had a long history of occupation by many great civilizations. Most of the buildings still visible at the site are from the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. The major buildings at the site are the Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church, and the Umayyad Palace.
On Monday, the Tajik leader also visited the ancient city of Petra, and toured the historical and archaeological sites in the rose-red city including the Siq, the Treasury, the Court and the Byzantine Church.
Petra, originally known to the Nabataeans as Raqmu, is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.
The Treasury (Al-Khazneh) is one of the most elaborate temples in the ancient Arab Nabatean Kingdom city of Petra. As with most of the other buildings in this ancient town, including the Monastery, this structure was carved out of a sandstone rock face. Al-Khazneh was originally built as a mausoleum and crypt at the beginning of the 1st century AD during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris. Its Arabic name Treasury derives from one legend that bandits or pirates hid their loot in a stone urn high on the second level.
The treasury was built by the Arab Nabataeans, coinciding with the time of the Hellenistic and Roman Empires and so has classical Greek-influenced architecture. The temple is a popular tourist attraction in both Jordan and the region.
According to Jordan’s news agency Petra, Rahmon listened to a briefing about the history of the city and the role of Nabataeans in carving and protecting it. He was also informed on the importance of Petra as the second marvel of the new Seven Wonders of the World, and as one of the most important tourist attractions in the world in general and Jordan in particular.
Rahmon reportedly expressed his pleasure in visiting Petra, calling it a “historic and pleasant opportunity.”
The Tajik president departed from Jordan on Monday, after a two-day official visit.
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