Amman

It is said that Amman, like Rome, was built on 7 hills. That was back in its heyday when the city was still called Philadelphia and it was part of the Roman empire. Today the city stretches over more than 20 hills. It's huge, huge, huge...

I arrived in Amman by mistake... Well, I was on my way from Karak to Madaba and had asked the driver to drop me off at a junction from where I could hop on the right bus. The driver forgot about me and so I arrived in Amman earlier than planned.

After the initial frustration I relaxed on my way to the hotel. And after a nice warm shower I was downright delighted. A nice warm shower!!! But I wasn't prepared for a big city. I did not want noise and pollution and longed for a quiet spot to sit and read. And so I was happy to find my way easily to Darat-al-Funun, a beautifully restored old house transformed into an art gallery and complex promoting Mid-Eastern contemporary art with an absolutely lovely garden and some nice views. A charming place! In the courtyard the remains of a Byzantine church add to its charm, as do the beautiful flowers. I spent a couple of hours here visiting the exhibition and then in the garden. But as I was sitting there and pondering over various things I realized that this was cowardish; I was running away from the reality of this metropolis. And so I got up and plunged into the bustling, busy streets below - a permanent open air bazaar.

If you're looking for historical evidence, architecture and such things Amman is not the place to go. In spite of the citadel, the Roman theatre and a few other ruins, Amman cannot compare to a city like Cairo or Damascus which breathe history in and out. Amman is westernized and full of contradictions at the same time.

The citadel with its Roman and Umayyad ruins offers panoramic views over the nearby hills conquered by the spreading city. The theatre is well preserved and still used for performances in summer. In between these two lies the area called downtown, which happens to be also the old city.

The downtown area is the liveliest in town. Traffic here is a nightmare. Each street and alley is jam-packed with people and there are more stores and stalls crammed there than you can imagine. Robes and scarves and shirts and other clothes hang over the shop entrances. Piles of socks, piles of underwear, piles of perfume boxes - all these you can find in little stalls on the sidewalk. Then there are the stores selling fabrics, the ones selling water pipes and accessories for the pipes, and even the rare ones selling mosque tower tops. My favorite shops are the ones selling spices and the ones selling all sorts of nuts and sweets. The latter ones drive me nuts :-), although I don't like most flavours.
The fruit and vegetable market is small and so busy that it's difficult to navigate through it. And not far from it is the gold souq, with dozens of stores offering gold in all qualities. Hundreds of rings and chains and bracelets are "glitzing" in the windows. There is little modesty there in either shape, size or design.
The perfume shops remind you of a pharmacy with their dozens of bottles of essences nicely labelled and aligned on the shelves. It is not uncommon to see the vendor spraying a man with perfume from head to toe. Then I just run quickly. I once got sprayed in the bus by the driver - it was a very nice and friendly gesture - but I could barely breathe afterwards, not to mention that I couldn't stand the much too strong scent :-)

Well, picture all the above and then add the sounds to it: cars honking, people shouting, music beating. You're in downtown Amman. Unfortunately, you're more likely to listen to "ancient" "Modern Talking" than traditional oud music.

And then, move away from this area and enter the cool streets going uphill towards the First Circle. It's another world with cool bookstores and coffee shops. Air-conditioned places, interior design shops, espresso coffee machines and what not. Mega Malls and super malls, expensive fancy French and Italian restaurants are at home here and in the other posh areas. And decadent "Gerard's", which was a personal disappointment. My mistake, agreed, as I just followed the Lonely Planet description. But the place was so septic (and cool) that I thought I landed on another continent as any local flavour was missing altogether. Hmmm, how I missed the delicious ice-cream from Cairo...

Full of contradiction Amman is, but people live here and live in harmony. The fresh juice at the Palestinian fruit juice stand is yummy. The Syrian sells nuts and nougats and tells me about the beauty of his native country he misses. The Egyptians seem to have taken every waiter job in town. It's only Iraqis I did not encounter, or encounter consciously, which have immigrated here in the hundreds of thousands, fleeing the war at home and the chaos. It is also said that those are mostly highly educated people and then it's no wonder I did not encounter them or, if I did, I was not aware of their identity.

I ended my stay in Amman and Jordan in style. Sipping a sweet Turkish coffee and smoking a water pipe on a patio overlooking the busy traffic I watched the people and activity on the street below while thinking about life and people in general. (Never mind my frozen feet in sandals and no socks. At least I had my warm polartec zipped up completely. It is getting colder and soon I'll have to wear socks and then switch to boots.)

A beautiful girl in a pink overcoat kept coming by and peering at me shyly. I smiled at her at first. Then I invited her to sit at my table. Next I asked about her name and introduced myself. Then she pulled her brother out to see me and he introduced him to me: a very handsome teenager (maybe 17) with dark almond shaped eyes and very long eyelashes. I think I have a terrible weakness for beautiful eyes. Not to mention that I love children of all ages. And next I was invited to join the family at their table inside. Beautiful Gharan is 9 years old and doesn't speak much English. Her family was happy to meet me and they instantly invited me to their home. They were going to cook for me a traditional dish right that night. They were all very beautiful, the three children and their mother who looked so young, I really thought she was Gharan's sister. Next time I come to Jordan I have to call them and stay with them. Insha'Allah.

I left the nice cafe smiling and with a wonderful feeling. Jordan has been most hospitable and warm-hearted.