I hadn’t planned on writing a review for this one, but I feel the need to step up for As-Salt a bit, as the current reviews are too harsh. I even believe that people posted gloomy pictures of the site on purpose! I often measure how I like a site by the number of photos I take – there were 101 here, even on a cloudy day and a Friday when many things are closed.

Sure, its OUV is debatable and the overhanging electrical wires and white water tanks have eluded the city’s beautification committee. But do we want the real world to be turned into folk villages? What I found in As-Salt is a homogenous cityscape, built against a hill and made of a distinct yellow, almost golden limestone. Many more original buildings from the late Ottoman period, when As-Salt saw its heydays, have been preserved than I had expected.

In addition to the marked spots by the tourism bureau, I liked the neighbourhood stretching east towards St. George’s Orthodox Church. It takes a bit of climbing but you will be rewarded with good views and some well-preserved traditional buildings. The area has good murals as well, including one that could go for a WH Plaque. Other good spots are the Assumption of Our Lady Catholic Church and the recently renovated residential complexes at Al Ain Square (pictured). 

Logistics: I visited around lunchtime on a Friday. There’s little public transport in Amman on Friday mornings, so I took a taxi out there (10JD). On the way back, I got on a minibus that departed from the As-Salt bus terminal (0.5JD) and dropped me off in Amman's city center. It takes about 40mins.