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Entry from: Amman, Jordan
Entry Title: "An Afternoon in Amman"
Entry:
"Amman is a fairly new city. Although it was settled in ancient times (as far back as 8500 BC) and was an important stop along ancient trade routes, but it fell into decline for nearly a millenium before King Abdulla I named it capital of the newly established state of Jordan in the 1920s. During its history, it was conquered many times by the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Greeks, etc. Oddly enough, Amman is also the original Philadelphia (complete with tagline of "city of brotherly love"), haven been given that name by a Hellenistic ruler. The city itself is built upon a series of hills, with most of the main roadways being on the valleys between them, but for pedestrians, there are plenty of staircases ascending the hills.
Because it's such a new city, there's not a whole lot of cultural attractions to be found. There are, however, plenty of Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger Kings, Popeyes, etc. The exception is the central downtown area. There, the traffic is denser and crazier (crossing the street gets very dicey, especially since there are no crosswalks or much traffic regulation), there are far more people on the street, there are a few large souks (open air markets), and a number of Roman ruins. The most famous (and impressive) ruins are a large open air amphiteater located near the main bus station. There's also a temple to Hercules and the ruins of an Umayyad citadel on the top of Jebel al-Qal'a (jebel means hill). The ruins were fun to wander about in because they were fairly well-preserved (even reconstructed in some cases), and sometimes, I would have a whole area to myself. Best of all, unlike the ruins in most European cities, there were no fences or walls, so you could get right up to (or on or in if you were so inclined) them. Another nice thing is that many Jordanians enjoy the ruins--people sit and relax in the amphitheater, and I saw a group of children playing soccer amongst the ruins on Jebel al-Qal'a.
Later on that evening, my friend and I were hanging out in a really nice hotel lobby having a coffee, we got to see the beginning of a wedding. While we were talking, there was a sudden commotion of drums and a bagpipe. Soon, slowly rounding the corner we could see a number of men dressed in traditional clothing dancing to the music followed by the bride and groom and then their families.
Public transit is rather lacking. Fortunately, the taxis are fairly cheap and usually get you to your destination for cheaper than the typical fare for public transport at home. Oddly enough, though, the taxi drivers know where anything is located. They don't know street names or hotel names. Nothing. It's odd... Seeing as they spend their whole day driving people to and from different locations in Amman, you would think that they would begin to pick up the lay of the land. Of the three cab rides I've taken so far, one cabbie dropped me off in the complete wrong place (otherwise I would only report on two rides), a second flagged down a local to translate English to Arabic to eventually figure out where I was headed, and the third called a friend on the phone to figure it out. The third guy was my favorite because, although he didn't speak much English, he was quite friendly. At one point offered me some coffee, and when I accepted, he handed me back the styrofoam cup we was drinking from and got to take a swig of genuine Arabic coffee (a very strong brew made with cardamom and lightly roasted coffee beans).
Other than running around on my own downtown, I've been living the life of an expat. My friend has been taking me to his usual haunts for food and drink. I was hoping to get some Jordanian fare, but apparently there's only one real national dish, and it's very hard to come by because it's quite elaborate. However, middle eastern food is great and quite easy to come by--last night we had some really great Lebanese food.
I've got a few more days here to hang out and take day trips, then I move south to Petra and the desert."
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/stevevls/1/1208464500/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. "Al husseini mosque"
2. "Roasted nuts on sale in the souk"
3. "Roman amphitheater"
4. "The odeon (a smaller amphitheater)"
5. "Kids playing soccer on jebel al-Qal'a"
6. "Wildflowers on jebel al-qal'a"
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