As-Salt

Balqa Governorate, Jordan

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As-Salt, the capital of Balqa Governorate in west-central Jordan, is an ancient trading city perched on three hills in the Balqa highland at 790–1,100 meters above sea level, along the historic Amman-Jerusalem highway near the Jordan Valley, with Jabal al-Qal'a hosting a 13th-century ruined fortress.

Believed founded by Alexander the Great's Macedonian army as Saltus, it served as a Byzantine bishopric, was destroyed by Mongols and rebuilt under Mamluk sultan Baibars, thriving as Transjordan's main settlement from the 18th century through Ottoman times when Nablus merchants expanded trade networks eastward.

Its UNESCO World Heritage urban core boasts about 650 yellow limestone buildings blending Nablusi style, European Art Nouveau, and Neo-Colonial influences from its late 19th-early 20th century "Golden Age," reflecting tolerance among Muslim, Christian, and Bedouin communities amid stairways, public spaces, Roman tombs, and a handicraft school.