Ajloun
Ajloun is considered one of the Jordanian cities and governorates, which is located in the northwest of the Kingdom, and it is a series of high mountains called the Auf mountain range, as it is called “Gilad” at the time of the Umayyads and means roughness and hardness. Ajloun is about 76 km away from the capital, Amman, and it is bordered on the western and northern sides by the Irbid governorate 32 km, on the eastern side Jerash Governorate 20 km, and on the southern side Balqa Governorate 72 km away. The population of the governorate is approximately 141 thousand people, It includes approximately 27 villages, including: Arjan, Al-Marjam, Al-Tayyara, Anjara, Abin, Kafr Franj, Mahana, Ashtafina, Samta, Abilen, Halawa, Al-Hashemiya, Awsara, Ain Janna, Ras Munif, Umm Al-Yanabeh, Sakhra, and others.
The most important archaeological sites in Ajloun
Among the most prominent archaeological sites in Ajloun:
- the castle: It was built during the year 1184 AD by the Islamic leader Izz al-Din Osama at the time of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, and was built on the highest mountain of the Bani Awf Mountains, and is characterized by a strategic location overlooking the transportation routes between southern Jordan and Syria, and the purpose of building the castle was to monitor the movements of the Crusaders.
The castle includes four towers supported by small windows for archers, and the castle was struck by several earthquakes in 1837 and 1927 AD, but the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is conducting the necessary maintenance and restoration of the castle, where the suspended bridge was rebuilt in 1980.
- Rajab: It is one of the villages of Ajloun Governorate, and when there were field exercises for the special forces, King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein discovered mosaic floors when he was the leader of the special forces – he was a prince at the time – so some excavations were made through which Byzantine churches dating back to the sixth century AD were discovered.
- Mar Elias: It is an archaeological site and a church overlooking Beit Shean and Tiberias in the village of Lastep, and this site is the birthplace of the Prophet Elias, where Christians pilgrimage it on the 21/7 of each year.
- List Mosque: It is considered one of the oldest historical mosques in Jordan, located near the Mar Elias Church.
- sweetness: Is one of the villages of Ajloun, where there is an archaeological site called “Tantour”, in which a rural building was discovered through excavations. It is believed that this site was used as a church at the time of the Byzantines, and the construction dates back to the seventh century AD
The climate of Ajloun
Ajloun has a unique climate at the level of Jordan, where it is mild and pleasant in the summer, and cool in the winter, and temperatures in the summer ranges between (25-30) degrees, and in the winter ranges between (below zero – 10) Degrees, and it rains a lot of snow.
