Darat al-Funun — "House of the Arts" in Arabic — is a contemporary art centre spread across a series of converted 1920s stone villas on the slopes of Jabal al-Luweibdeh. Founded in 1988 by the Khalid Shoman Foundation, it shows contemporary Arab art through changing exhibitions, residencies, and public programmes, and has a library and archive of over 12,000 books on Arab art and culture.
The setting is as much an attraction as the art: the buildings step down the hillside in terraced gardens with olive and jasmine, with views across the valley to the Citadel. The old villa interiors — carved stone ceilings, arched windows, carved wooden screens — give the galleries a character quite different from a purpose-built white-cube space. One of the best places in Amman for an afternoon. Entry is free.