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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordanians and tourists will be able to take a bus tour of old Amman as part of an initiative launched by the Jordan Express Tourist Transportation Company (JETT).

The company, which has a fleet of over 200 buses, will organise the trips on special tour buses with the aim of exposing Jordanians and tourists to the capital’s old neighbourhoods, JETT Director General Malik Haddad said on Wednesday.

He noted that the three-hour trip will start from the Amman Citadel in the Jabal Qalaa neighbourhood, passing by the Jordan Museum in Ras Al Ain and the main shopping centre in downtown Amman, the birthplace of the capital, according to Haddad.

“Amman is full of beautiful sites, and this trip will provide people with a great opportunity to get a closer look at them,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The trips will be officially launched in the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan, which is expected to start in late June.

Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until sunset.

“We organised a trip for Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji and... and I noticed that pedestrians who saw the bus liked this idea,” Haddad added.

The sightseeing bus was constructed at the company’s maintenance centre.

“We are going to operate two more buses for the trips,” he said, noting that they will be equipped with an audio guide to provide details in several languages about the sites on the route.

“We will cooperate with the Jordan Tour Guide Association to provide us with a guide at each stop so that they receive the passengers and brief them about the site,” Haddad noted.

He said the route of the tour might be extended to cover areas such as Abdoun.

The trip, which will begin after iftar, will be free during the first two weeks of Ramadan, after which “it will cost a foreigner JD10 and a Jordanian JD5,” Haddad added.

Luma Qadoumi — co-founder of the BeAmman website, which promotes the capital among its residents and visitors — said the bus tour is a great way for Ammanis and tourists to discover the city.

“We hope that it provides interesting and useful information to passengers about Amman’s culture, history and treasures,” she told The Jordan Times.

Qadoumi noted that choosing the route will be important to highlight Amman’s different sites: old, new, historical and cultural, as well as the little surprises that make the capital a very special city.

“It will be interesting to look into the possibility of having routes that cater to specific interests, including art galleries, old homes and architecture,” she added.

Hassan Abu Ali, who owns an old bookstore in downtown Amman, said the area is currently becoming more and more beautiful and a bus tour will help promote it further.

“This project is the first of its kind in Amman and I hope this idea will contribute to boosting our business and getting us more clients,” he added.

*Jordan Times