Salt The town of Salt was of great importance in the 19th and early 20th century, during the time of Turkish rule in Jordan. It was the chief administrative center for the surrounding area and, in the 1920s, it seemed the likely choice for the capital of the newly-independent state of Transjordan. However, Salt was bypassed in favor of the more centrally located village of Amman. The result is that Amman has been transformed into a thriving modern city, while Salt has retained its small town charm.

The architecture of Salt.

Due to its history as an Ottoman center of government, Salt is filled with wonderful Ottoman architecture in the classical style. Immediately recognizable are the Ottoman houses with their long-arched windows. An array of tall Ottoman minarets towers over the village, along with church steeples, as Salt is also known for its Christian community. A morning or evening spent strolling through the picturesque streets of this charming hill village is time well spent.

Salt is also the final resting place of the Prophet Ayyoub (Job), whose legendary patience and faith gave him strength to endure tremendous hardships and ultimately be rewarded with blessings (Job 1-3, Quran 38: 41-44). Another prophet—Shu'ayb (Jethro), the Midianite father-in-law of Prophet Musa (Moses)—is said to be buried in a tomb near Salt in Wadi Shu'ayb.

Salt is about thirty kilometers northwest of Amman. Just before you enter the main part of the city (from Amman), you will see the Department of Antiquities Museum and the Tourist Office on the left. The museum houses an assortment of pottery and coins dating from the Chalcolithic period (4500 BCE) through the Mamluk period (1516 CE), as well as Byzantine mosaic panels and early photographs of Salt. The museum is open 08:00-14:00 every day except Friday. Entrance is free. Just off the main street is the Salt Cultural Center. This complex, which opened in 1989, houses another museum, a library, a handicraft school and Salt’s main hall. The handicraft school teaches ceramics, weaving, silk screen printing and dyeing to students, who then sell their craftwork, making the project self-financing. The project is sponsored by the Noor al-Hussein Foundation and the Salt Development Foundation.

This ancient town was once the capital of Jordan or Balqa region. A 20-minutes drive northwest from Amman (about 30 km) transports you back in time to a town of picturesque streets and dazzling houses from the late Ottoman period, with their characteristic long-arched windows.

It's the ideal place for admiring the architecture, stopping off at the small archaeological museum, and finishing up at Salt Zaman, a lovely restored old building in the heart of the town, charmingly furnished with antiques and handicrafts. Salt also houses a Handicrafts School where you can admire traditional skills of ceramics, weaving, silk screen printing, and dyeing.

Salt is the most historic town in Jordan. For long periods in history it was the most important settlement between the Jordan River and the desert to the east. Its golden age was at the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, and it is the legacy of this period that makes Salt unique in Jordan and beyond.

Salt has attracted settlers since the Iron Age at least. The area enjoys a moderate climate, a plentiful supply of water and fertile soil. It was also well placed on the north to south trade routes and those running from east to west, linking the interior with Jerusalem, Nablus, Nazareth, and the Mediterranean coast. Its mixed Muslim-Christian population and its trading tradition helped create an atmosphere of tolerance and coexistence.

There are Roman tombs on the outskirts of the town, and during the Byzantine period it was known as Saltos Hieraticon. In the 13th century a fortress was built on the site of the citadel by the Mamluk Sultan Al-Malek Al-Mu'azham, who was based in Cairo. Destroyed by the Mongols in 1260, the fortress was rebuilt a year later by a second Mamluk ruler from Egypt. Six centuries later, in 1840, the forces of yet another Egyptian potentate, Ibrahim Pasha, demolished it again. The Citadel is now the site of a large mosque, which towers over the modern town.

By the early 19th century, Salt was a well-off frontier town on the edge of Ottoman Empire and the desert. Useful to all, it was ruled by none. The town was also the center of lucrative trading between the region and urban industries in Palestine.

In the middle of 19th century, Salt began to expand and new construction reflected in status. In 1870s merchants moved in from Palestine. Families are leading contemporary observes to speak of Salt as a mini Nablus.

Salt's fortunes declined after World War I. The first blow came when Emir Abdullah ibn Al-Hussein chose Amman as the capital of the new Emirate of Transjordan.