Salt


Moving 28 KM south West of the Capital Amman you come to city rich in its deep set historical heritage, its deep cultural values, its kind hearted people, and its esthetic beauty. Al Salt a city built on the high mountain peaks colored by the bright colors of spring. You find your self in full view of a green valley, fertile soils and homes built with great beauty. You find yourself in a city were beauty continues to exist over the ages.
Al Salt City is part of the Al Balqa'a Province .It is found on 35 43 30 lines of longitude and 32 03 30 lines of latitude. The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate especially when it comes to rainfalls and their frequency. The mountains of Al Salty are recorded to be 820 to 950 m high. The speed of the wind in the city does not exceed 31 KM/hour. It has a population of 71100 inhabitants with a density of 1379/ KM 2 .The city is recorded to 48 KM 2 thus forming 66% if the total size of the Al salt municipality.

Al Salt used to be considered both an agricultural and religious center over the ages. The name Al Salt comes from the Latin origin "Saltus" meaning the Valley of Trees or "Thick Forest" .Its name may have also come from the Saranac origin of Salta meaning the hard Stone The name is proof of the cities great cultural riches.

It was mentioned in History books that the city was known for its gardens and fresh water supply. It was built by Balqa'a bin Soorya. In the year 1812 AD it was the only inhabited area in the Balqa'a province,

Al Salt is built on three mountains. These mountains are "Al Salam", "Jida'a", and "Al Kal'a" .The city is filled with trees and greenery. Its buildings are found where the three valleys meet. Its major buildings include the Mosque, the University, the Palace of leadership, the shopping center, the water springs, and others.
Before 200 years the city was the governing center of the country. It was transformed from a rural to an urban setting by the beginning of the 20th century.

Al salt is known for the architectural genius seen its building. Some of its buildings are said to be over 100 years to 40 years old. Some buildings were built for commercial purposes, for as said above Al Salt used to be a commercial center mainly serving merchants in the area. Its people are known to demonstrate a high degree of hospitality for foreigners.

The first Salt Municipality was established in the year 1887 AD. It was responsible for issuing building licenses, organizing road, lighting, collecting of tuitions, building water circulation systems for men and women, monitoring of prices, collecting fines from those who violate the law, and these rules are still applied today.

When Jordan was recognized as a nation Al salt was one of the first cities to start its rehabilitation process, for it initiated the rehabilitation initiative by paving the roads of the city.

In the year 1933 Al Salt established the first school in the country to be open for all sectors of the public. In the year 1938 an earthquake struck the city. The earthquake led to the destruction of many homes, but the municipality helped the general public in rehabilitation initiatives that led to the mending of all damages at a relatively rapid rate.
Due to the rapid growth rate seen in the city the Al Salt province underwent major expansions to include Um Zaytoonah, Batna, and Kufur Huda by the year 1993.
In the year 2001 the Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs initiated its rehabilitation projects. The municipality of Al salt was expanded to become 80 KM2 Al Balqa'a was recorded to be 1080 KM2 and it includes the following areas: Al Salt, Rai, Um Juzah, Wadi al Hura, Bazbadiya, Yaraqa, Ibra, Alan, and Rmemeen.
The Municipality initiates many projects including the issuing of local market places, buying modern technical appliances, building a museum, building an industrial zone, and others.