After visiting the Roman Theatre, the next stop of the day was at the Cave of the Seven Sleepers. While researching tourist places in Amman, Jordan, I saw on the map that this place is a tourist destination. Though it is a tourist place, it is not part of the Jordan Pass, which gives you access to prime tourist places with a single ticket. I was expecting a ticket at the entrance, but instead I came to know that this place is free to visit.
Concept Of The Seven Sleepers
The concept of the Seven Sleepers is found both in Christianity and in Islam, with slight changes in each of the versions.
In the case of Christianity, we find them mentioned as the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. The origins of this originally date back to the Greeks, but that reference is lost in history and the first mention of this we find in the writings of Jacob of Serugh (452 – 521 AD). He was a Syrian Christian who later in his life became a bishop.
We find the mention of these Seven Sleepers in the later writings of Gregory of Tours (Gallo-Roman historian and the Bishop of Tours), Paul the Deacon, Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (Archbishop of Genoa, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Orientalis, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca & Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina. Apart from these prominent writings, we find the mention of this concept across several manuscripts written in over nine medieval languages.
The common story here is the life of seven individuals who faced persecution by the Roman emperor Decius, which took place roughly around 250 AD. The Roman emperor vehemently persecuted people following Christianity, and in this instance, these men were ordered to denounce Christianity and bow before the Roman Gods.
Refusing to bow down before the Roman God, these seven decided to go to a cave in the mountain and pray. During this time, the seven of them slept off inside the cave. This did not go down well with the emperor, and he ordered that the mouth of the cave be shut as a punishment.
People forgot about these seven individuals who were sealed off inside the cave, and decades passed into centuries and into the reign of the Roman Emperor Theodosius II (408–450).
In the year 447 AD, the mouth of the cave, which was shut, was opened by the then-owner of the land as he wanted to use that space as a cow shed. On opening, he was surprised to see the seven individuals sleeping.
When the seven sleepers woke up, they assumed that they had only slept for a night, but instead they had slept for nearly 200 years (some accounts mention it as high as 373 years). When they went out to get food, they were surprised to see that by then Christianity had thrived, and they were no longer persecuted.
The Islamic version has one major difference, as it states the presence of a dog named Quitmir who was guarding the doorway of the cave from inside, along with the individuals “Companions of the Cave”, with the exact number of individuals not mentioned.
This was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad before his journey to Medina and is mentioned in the 18th chapter (surah) of the Quran with 110 verses (ayat) referred to as Al-Kahf (18:9-26).
Here, the story states that a group of believers, along with a dog, with guidance from God, fled a city where other believers were persecuted and went and hid inside a cave in a hill. Here they fell asleep, and when they woke up, the city had miraculously turned into a city of believers.
The exact number of years these men were inside the cave is stated as nearly 300 years.
History Of The Cave Of The Seven Sleepers In Jordan
This place has references in Islam and Christianity, with their versions differing a bit. To make things a bit complicated, there are other contending sites around the world also claiming to be the site of the “Seven Sleepers”. There are four sites in Turkiye, one in Azerbaijan, two in Syria and one in Tunisia, all claiming to be the actual “Cave of the Seven Sleepers”
Since we are in Jordan, we will only concentrate on this as being the actual “Cave of the Seven Sleepers”.
In Jordan, the site was discovered in the year 1951 by Taysir Thabyan and further excavated by Rafiq al-Dajani. During the excavation of the cave, they found eight tombs with individual bones preserved inside them.
What To See At The Cave Of The Seven Sleepers
A small arched gate past which there are a flight of stairs that will take you to the open space with the Ahl Al-kahf Mosque in front. On the right side of here, you will see the guard room and a space where long gowns are kept for women (tourists) to wear while visiting the site. This being an Islamic site, it’s important that you adhere to this norm while going around the site.
Take the passage on the right, going down towards some ancient, broken structures, and you will reach the main cave. The cave can be reached both from the front and from the top.
From the front, you get to see the base of the cave, which has a rectangular cut in the rock just like a normal doorway, flanked by two half-faced stone pillars on either side. You will see two arched structures (niches) which are not windows, as they do not have any opening on either side of the doorway.
The main gate to the cave is blocked with a metal gate; going inside is not an option. On top of the gate, there is a small, round, stone tower-like structure, which was once part of a mosque and a church.
Previously, the entrance to the cave was open to tourists, and one could see the seven sarcophagi, and one could also see inscriptions.
Historians have concluded that this was initially a Byzantine church, which was later converted into a Mosque by the Umayyad Empire.
If you go around, then from the left-hand side, you will be able to reach the top portion of the cave. There are no stairs, but an unpaved and inclined pathway takes you to the top. This portion of the climb is not tough, but some portions are a bit slippery due to the presence of loose gravel.
From the top, you get a grand view of the valley in front, and at the exact position of the cave, you will see a viewing window, which is also covered with a metal grill. You will also see remains of Byzantine pillars and mosque minarets.
Ahl Al-kahf Mosque is a functioning mosque; thus, if you want to pray, then only visit the mosque. The mosque is not part of the tourist attraction.
There are cafés and small shops located within the compound from where you can buy some snacks. However, I found the price of the shops on the steeper side.
Overall, you can spend an hour out here, so plan your trip accordingly.
How To Reach The Cave Of The Seven Sleepers
I was travelling around Jordan in a self-driven rental car, so it was easy for me to reach this place by just entering the destination on the mobile app, and I drove straight to the site. There is ample parking on either side of the road where you have to park your vehicle, as there are no parking spaces available inside the tourist complex.
An alternate way to reach this place will be using a regular metered taxi or an app cab. I would recommend an app-based cab as that would ensure you get a correct fare, which for regular metered taxi often becomes inflated for tourists.
Some group tours of Amman do include this place, but cross-check once before booking your tour.
Also, keep in mind that this place is a bit outside the main town, thus plan your trip accordingly.
Location Of The Cave Of The Seven Sleepers
Vlog On The Cave Of The Seven Sleepers
