“This Ottoman-era merchant mansion is crowned with ceilings frescoed in an Italian style, reputedly by Italian artists brought to a provincial Jordanian town.”
About Abu Jaber Mansion
The Abu Jaber family, wealthy merchants, built the mansion in the 1800s as As-Salt prospered as a trading centre, furnishing it with the finest materials and the fashionable European decoration of the day, including its celebrated Italian-style painted ceilings. Restored and converted into the Historic Old Salt Museum, it preserves both the grandeur of the era and the story of the town's golden age.
What Abu Jaber Mansion is
The Abu Jaber Mansion is the grandest of the historic merchant houses of As-Salt, a stately 19th-century residence that now houses the Historic Old Salt Museum. Famous for its remarkable painted ceilings, it is a showpiece of the wealth and cosmopolitan taste that flourished in the town during its trading heyday.
The Abu Jaber Mansion is the grandest of the historic merchant houses of As-Salt, a stately 19th-century residence that now houses the Historic Old Salt Museum.
Italian Ceilings in an Ottoman Town
The mansion was built by a prosperous merchant family in the second half of the 19th century, and its interiors reflect the era's blending of cultures. Most striking are its ceilings, painted in an Italian style with frescoes reputedly created by Italian artists, an unexpected European flourish in an Ottoman provincial town and proof of the cross-cultural connections of As-Salt's merchants. The building now interprets the history and heritage of the town.
The Experience
You tour elegant rooms beneath the famous frescoed ceilings, exploring museum displays that tell the story of As-Salt, its architecture, its trade and its culture of coexistence, with views from the balcony over the golden hills of the town. The mansion is both a beautiful historic interior and an excellent introduction to the heritage of As-Salt, anchoring a walk through the old town.
Why It Matters
The Abu Jaber Mansion is the architectural jewel of As-Salt and a vivid illustration of the cosmopolitan wealth that built the town in the 19th century. As the Historic Old Salt Museum, it interprets the heritage that earned As-Salt its UNESCO World Heritage status, making it a key stop in the old town.
The Abu Jaber Mansion is the architectural jewel of As-Salt and a vivid illustration of the cosmopolitan wealth that built the town in the 19th century.
Why Visit
The grandest historic mansion in As-Salt, famed for its Italian-style painted ceilings and now the museum that tells the town's UNESCO-listed story.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Look up at the famous Italian-style painted ceilings.
- 2
It houses the Historic Old Salt Museum.
- 3
The balcony gives views over the golden town.
- 4
Combine it with the wider As-Salt old town walk.
