Mar 11

Mar 11 "Amman after Hours: City of Lights" by Erik Smith

These days, major cities are built to be experienced at night as much as in the daytime. While I have conflicting feelings over the impact of our artificial lighting on animals and stargazing, it is undeniable that urban planners and architects have developed a knack for impressive nightly displays that capture the attention while blending in with the surrounding cityscape. Amman is of course no exception, so in a continuation of my exploration of the city’s underrecognized beauty, here are some of the Jordanian capital’s most dazzling nighttime features.

Downtown Amman

Let’s begin in Amman’s famous downtown area. This street, just off the major tourist attraction of Rainbow Street, features a charming display of lanterns in lieu of traditional garish streetlights. Even in the dark, Amman’s colors pop out! Photo credit: Smith, 2021

A pencil minaret against the night sky, lit with green in Amman, Jordan — Grand Husseini Mosque

Many of the minarets on Amman’s mosques are lit by rings of green, the holy color of Islam, to make them as easy to find and identify as they are in the light. This one is found on Grand Husseini Mosque in the heart of downtown. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Blue rings with yellow stars inside as lights hanging over a street packed with cars — A stone’s throw from Grand Husseini Mosque, on King Talal Street, this fixture highlights one of the most bustling market areas downtown. While not even noticeable in the daytime, they emblemize the area’s nighttime-centered market culture. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Red brake lights of cars at night on large city street — Navigating Amman

Let’s take a taxi ride away from downtown now. One of the most ubiquitous sights – and sounds – of Amman at all hours is the traffic, and the dazzling rows of brake lights sometimes seem to stretch on without end thanks to the long view of the streets that the city’s hilly geography provides. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Higher view point of car headlights filling a large city street — From the Pedestrian Bridge

To really get a view of the hustle and bustle of Amman’s streets, though, you have to get right above them. This photo is from atop one of the city’s many pedestrian bridges that make walking an exciting adventure every time. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

A shop on the ground floor with a large display of blue grid lights lit at night — Night Lights

There’s as much effort put into the less-visited areas of Amman as downtown. This is not a monument or place of any note, just a shop and event center for nearby residents, but the pride of its owners is evident in this eye-catching light display. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Blue neon grid squares lit up on sides of Abdali Hospital building — Abdali Hospital

For a more asymmetric, modern take on standout square angles, look no further than Abdali Hospital. In the heart of the high-end development district of Abdali which some have marketed as the “downtown of tomorrow”, even feverish sleep comes in style. I do hope these illuminated frames aren’t quite so bright from the inside…. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Building with large blue neon circles lit at night — Waves of Blue

A short walk from the Amideast Center, this office building takes an even more unconventional approach to its fixtures and is very hard to miss. One could be forgiven for thinking they were underwater with the waves of blue that wash over the evening sky and these bubbles rising up the sides of facades. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Large building bathed in blue light at night — The Royal Hotel

The “crown jewel” of Amman’s nighttime scene, though, is clearly The Royal. While I captured it in a blue mood in this photo, the building’s shifting lights constantly surprise onlookers from around the city with their sudden shifts in hue and intensity that run the entire spectrum of visible light. The tower, on the local hub of Third Circle, is one of the city’s most prestigious hotels and a popular resting-house for wealthy visitors. Photo credit: Smith, 2021

Only now that I reach the end of this post am I realizing just how much blue is in these displays. We’ve all heard the dangers of blue light, which imitates the daytime sky and tricks your body into staying awake longer; but I don’t think the people of Amman need any help staying out at night.

Take a nap, New York: there’s a new City That Never Sleeps.