'ajlun, Jordan

Capital City

Living in this ancient Jordanian town means dealing with dramatic seasonal swings - pleasant Mediterranean summers give way to snowy winters that can dump several storms between December and March. With around 149,000 residents as of 2015, this historically Muslim-Christian settlement sits 76km northwest of Amman at elevations reaching 1,268 meters.

The 12th-century Ajloun Castle dominates the townscape, originally built by one of Saladin's generals to control the Damascus-Egypt route and later damaged by both Mongol invasion and major earthquakes. The 800-year-old Great Ajloun Mosque anchors the town center, with fascinating architectural elements hinting at its evolution from an earlier church. Year-round temperatures average 16.7°C (62.1°F) with 467mm annual rainfall, supporting the surrounding forests that were once the Middle East's largest before Ottoman-era deforestation.