Al-Salt, Balqa Governorate, Jordan

🇯🇴 Salt (السلط‎ As-Salt) is an ancient salt trading city 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 790–1,100 metres above sea level, the city is built in the crook of three hills, close to the Jordan Valley. One of the three hills, Jabal al-Qal'a, is the site of a 13th century ruined fortress. It is the capital of Balqa Governorate. Al-Salt was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021.

During World War I, Salt was captured from the Ottomans by the third battalion of the Jewish Legion of the British expeditionary corps, and its commander was made military governor of Salt.

Ottoman mansions At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the Ottomans established a regional administrative base in Salt and encouraged settlement from other parts of the empire, the city's status increased, many merchants arrived and, with their newly acquired wealth, built the fine houses that can still be admired in Salt today.

These splendid yellow sandstone buildings incorporate a variety of styles. Typically, they have domed roofs, interior courtyards and characteristic tall, arched windows. Perhaps the most beautiful is the Abu Jaber mansion, built between 1892 and 1906, which has frescoed ceilings, painted by Italian artists, and is reputed to be the finest example of a 19th century merchant house in the region.

Roman tombs and Ayyubid citadel Tightly built on a cluster of three hills, Salt has several other places of interest, including Roman tombs on the outskirts of the city and the citadel and site of the town's early 13th century Ayyubid fortress, which was built by Al-Mu'azzam Isa, the nephew of Saladin soon after AD 1198.

Museums Salt's Archaeological & Folklore Museum displays artifacts dating back to the Chalcolithic period to the Islamic era as well as other items relating to the history of the area. In the folklore museum there is presentation of Bedouin and traditional costumes and everyday folkloric items. A small museum and a handicraft school are presenting the traditional skills of ceramics, weaving, silk-screen printing and dyeing.

Muslim shrines In the city of Salt and its environs, there are several Muslim shrines at the traditional tombs of the prophets Shu'ayb, Ayyoub, Yusha, and Jadur, the Arabic names of the biblical characters Jethro, Job, Joshua, and Gad. These sites of Muslim pilgrimage are known as An-Nabi Shu'ayb, An-Nabi Ayyub, An-Nabi Yusha' bin Noon, and 'Ayn al-Jadur ("Spring of Jadur") respectively, an-nabi being the Arabic word for prophet.