| |
Difino
| • | Salt (Arabic: As-Salt) is an ancient agricultural town and administrative centre in west-central Jordan. It is on the old main highway leading from Amman to Jerusalem. Situated in the Balqa highland, about 790-840 metres above sea level, the town is built in the crook of three hills, one of which (Jebal Al Qal'a) is the site of a 13th century ruined fortress.
The town was known as Saltus in Byzantine times and was the seat of a bishopric. At this time the town was considered to be the principal settlement on the East Bank, of the Jordan River. The settlement was destroyed by the Mongols and then rebuilt during the reign of the Mamluk sultan Baybars I (1260-1277) and became a regional capital once more during the time of the Ottoman Empire. In the early 1830s, Salt was again attacked, this time being blown up during a raid by the Egyptian viceroy Ibrahim Pasha in his campaigns against Palestine.
Salt's heyday was in the late 19th century when traders arrived from Nablus to expand their trading network eastwards beyond the River Jordan. As a result of the influx of newcomers this period saw the rapid expansion of Salt from a simple peasant village into a town with many architecturally elegant buildings, many built in the Nablusi style from the attractive honey-coloured local stone. A large number of buildings from this era survive to the present day making the modern town a popular tourist location for those seeking a few hours away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Amman.
After World War I, the town was the site which Herbert Samuel, British high commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan, chose to make his announcement that the British favoured self-government for Jordan (which was finally granted in 1921).
Salt is famed in Jordan for its fertile soils and the quality of its fruit harvest, particularly peaches and grapes. Indeed, it is speculated that the town's name provided the root for Sultana, a certain type of raisin.
Geography of Jordan
Source: [wikipedia: salt, jordan]
|
alebrije.info
:
alebrijes
:
sites
:
advertising
:
link to us
:
contact
|
|