As-Salt

As-Salt, spread over three hills northwest of Amman, was in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the most important town in the region, a prosperous trading centre whose merchants built handsome houses of a warm yellow local limestone in a distinctive style blending European and local influences, with grand facades, arched windows and interior courtyards. When Amman rose to become the capital, As-Salt was left aside, and so its historic centre survived largely intact, a remarkably complete Ottoman-era townscape now recognised as a World Heritage Site. Its listing celebrates not only the architecture but the town's tradition of coexistence and hospitality, where Muslims and Christians lived closely together, seen in its churches and mosques standing side by side and its social customs. Stepped alleys climb between the old houses, a covered market bustles below, and small museums in restored mansions tell the town's story. It offers an authentic, uncommercialised glimpse of old-town Jordan close to the capital.

History

No one knows when the town was first settled, but it is believed to have been founded by the Macedonian army in the time of Alexander the Great; as Saltus, from the Latin for forest, it was the seat of a Byzantine bishopric and the main settlement east of the Jordan. Laid waste by the Mongols, it was rebuilt under the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who reigned from 1260 to 1277, and the Ottoman census of 1596 recorded 40 Muslim and 25 Christian households. By the end of the 18th century Salt was the only permanent town in the Balqa, trading with the Bedouin tribes, who gave its people access to wheat fields in return for its markets, and it remained the most developed city of Transjordan until the early years of the Emirate. Its richest period came in the late 19th and early 20th century, when the Ottomans made it a regional capital and encouraged settlers from across the empire, and in 2021 the city was inscribed on the World Heritage List (Wikipedia, As-Salt).

What to look for

• The yellow-limestone houses - the grand Ottoman-era merchant mansions on the hills.
• The stepped alleys and market - the old lanes and the covered souk below.
• The historic mansions - restored houses now serving as small heritage museums.
• Churches and mosques together - the town's tradition of coexistence in its buildings.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable for walking the hilly streets; summer is hot and winter cool. It is an easy half-day from Amman, quiet on weekdays. Mornings light the golden stone beautifully. The town sees relatively few tourists, so it feels authentic year-round.

What to expect

As-Salt is a lived-in provincial town rather than a polished tourist attraction, so some of the historic houses are worn or hard to enter, and the interest is in the atmosphere and architecture rather than blockbuster sights. The streets are steep and hilly. It is often overlooked, so facilities for visitors are limited, but that is also its charm, an ordinary Jordanian town with an extraordinary heritage, close to the capital.

Nearby

Amman is under an hour southeast; the Jerash Roman ruins are to the north.

Key facts