After a short stop at what was probably the nicest rest stop of our travels so far, our bus arrived a little late into Amman, but our host Khaled had been in touch and offered to pick us up from the bus terminal. Our meeting went smoothly and Khaled was just lovely. He refused payment for this additional service, and when we arrived at the apartment, he offered to upgrade us to another apartment he manages, free of charge. We looked at both apartments and decided to stick with the one we had booked, mainly because it had a full-size fridge.
Khaled is living in Istanbul, but returns to Amman to check on his businesses, so it was fortunate for us that he was in town. We settled into our apartment and went for a quick walk to the nearby market Khaled had told us about to pick up some supplies and breakfast stock for the morning. By the time we got back to our apartment it was nearly 10pm, so we tested the shower – not bad – and went to bed.
Hmm, interesting bed. With both of us in it, we tended to roll off, and closer inspection under the mattress explained why. There were only a few slats supporting the mattress, so it sank into the gaps. Colin slept on the comfortable sofa, while I slept in the middle of the bed. Hopefully, Khaled can do something about it.
We got in touch with Khaled about the bed, the water cooler (which had stopped working) and about getting some more pots to cook with. His reviews had said he was responsive, and that he was – by early afternoon everything had been fixed and, even though the workmen seemed confused about our concerns regarding the bed, the new boards under the mattress made for a noisy, but effective fix.
We had done some much needed washing and to our surprise, we had to bring it all in out of the rain. Amman only gets 250mm of rain per year, and it rained for our first two days in the city, including a lightning and thunderstorm. It gave us the perfect excuse to hole up and play games, watch TV, explore our local area and chill after two weeks of, for us, fast paced movement. But it sure made getting three loads of washing dry a bit of a challenge, especially when I was trying to cook a gourmet meal, and our laundry was drying in the kitchen.
Finally, we woke up to clearer skies and set off using Uber to the Citadel, an archaeological site on the highest of the seven hills that Amman is built upon. We have never used Uber before, so it’s rather cool that our first experience is in Jordan. The city doesn’t have an efficient public transport system and the traffic, even in the middle of the day, is rather chaotic. Khaled had recommended that we use Uber rather than taxis as it is cheaper and apparently the taxis can be a bit dodgy.
Our driver, Ali, was lovely, with great English skills, and shared his passion for travel with us. He has done a lot of travel on the African continent, living in South Africa and Tanzania, as well as other regional countries. He also made a recommendation for a good restaurant that serves authentic Jordanian dishes.
After exchanging Whatsapp numbers (in case we go to the Dead Sea), we started exploring the Citadel. Wow. What an incredible site, in the middle of this large, sprawling city. The wall dates back to the Bronze Age and was originally known as “Rabbath Ammon’, the royal ancient city of the Ammonites, who lived in the kingdom during the Iron Age. Reconstructions over the centuries have been completed by the Romans, Byzantine and Umayyad civilisations. There is also a good museum attached to the site, with pottery, coins and other artifacts dating back to the Neolithic period.
From the Citadel, we could look over the incredible sprawl of Amman, which is built on seven hills, as well as the 2nd century Roman Theatre, which could seat 6,000 people and was built in honour of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The theatre seating is very steep and Colin braved the climb to the top row of seats. It is still used as a venue for cultural activities today.
From the theatre we set off to explore downtown and find the restaurant Ali had recommended – Hashem. The evil blue dot behaved and we were soon dodging traffic to cross the road to the restaurant, which offers simple, traditional food. We found a table and were served tea, followed by flatbreads and salad…and we hadn’t even ordered. The menu was a simple piece of paper which listed what was on offer, so, guessing a little, we ordered hummus, falafel, fries and fatteh with meat, hoping we would like it. We had ordered way too much food, but wow, it was good! The best hummus I’ve ever had. We tried to eat it all, but failed, and for eight dinars, it was fabulous value.
We needed to walk off our late lunch and set off in search of souvenir t-shirts. The area was full of shops selling all manner of goods, and we could even do some window shopping without being hounded to buy. While Colin looked for books, I popped into a jewellery store to see if I could find something representative of Jordan, but the items were very generic. The store owner/manager/salesperson was lovey and let me look without the hard sell, even though he offered a two for one deal. Sadly, I didn’t find anything that I wanted, but it was still fun to be able to browse without excessive pressure to buy. Love the Jordanian people!
Not long after we found a souvenir shop with t-shirts and were delighted when we were told they were five dinars each. In other towns, the shirts started at 20 dinars, so we took the opportunity to grab a shirt each and continued browsing. The streets were busy, especially as most of the stores spilled onto the sidewalk, but it didn’t feel crushing and people were polite and patient. I was a little startled to feel someone playing with my hair, until a young woman walked past, indicating her fascination with it. The group she was with were dressed in colourful, gypsy looking clothes. Apparently, there are about 80,000 gypsies, or nawar, the derogatory term used to refer to them, who live a largely nomadic life on the fringes of Amman.
Our first Uber experience had been so successful that we called on the service again to get home as the sun was beginning to set. Our driver, another man named Ali, arrived and we enjoyed hearing his story as he navigated the crazy end of workday traffic. Holding a PhD in construction, he works as an Uber driver as he is unable to get work in his profession. Jordan has about 20% unemployment, and wages are low, so how people manage to support their families is amazing. Their close family bonds help, but it doesn’t appear to be an easy life here.
We asked Ali to drop us off at our local supermarket which he happened to be driving past, so it saved us a short walk. By the time we got home, we happily settled in to watch inane TV and just have a cup of tea after our huge lunch. The Citadel and surrounding area was just a fun day, and our first driver, Ali, had given us such great tips for our exploration of this wonderful city. We like the vibe of Amman a lot.
We scheduled a day trip with Ali to get to the Dead Sea and see what all the hype was about. Organised tours with Getyourguide or Viator were expensive, especially if you added on the resort day pass and lunch, so going with Ali was a great deal, and also supported a local. We packed for our swim, hoping it would be warm enough to get in the water, and headed off with Ali. Although there are public buses that will get you to the Dead Sea, we decided not to risk it as the public system is not very extensive or well established. Also, having our own driver meant that we had a guaranteed ride back to Amman.
On the way, Ali stop at a coffee place and bought us Arabic coffee, which was different, but drinkable. We also stopped at the marker indicating sea level – Amman is at about 800 metres above and the Dead Sea is about 400 meters below, so there was some ear popping as we drove. Ali was a brilliant guide, sharing his story and information about the region. He is a proud and passionate Jordanian, and a great conversationalist, having worked and lived in many countries.
The drive, including stops only took an hour, and looking out over the beautiful blue water of the sea to Israel/Palestine is fascinating. We could see Jericho and Jerusalem as we stopped at the Dead Sea Spa Resort, which Ali had recommended. Some of the properties are very expensive for their day passes; at 20 dinars ($42) each, it was still expensive to gain access to the beach and be able to use showers, but unless we wanted to be very crusty and muddy for the drive back, it was a necessary expense.
Ali was allowed to come into the resort with us, so we had a videographer with us to capture our muddy adventure. The Dead Sea is evaporating quickly, and as we walked towards the water, signs indicated where the water level had been over the past few decades. Ali explained that the water level 50 years ago had been above the current highway along which we had driven to get there. Estimates have the sea receding at one metre per year, and there are plans to build a pipeline from the Red Sea near Aqaba to replenish the water in the Dead Sea.
It was quite windy and as we neared the water’s edge, the lifeguard came out and said it was too dangerous to swim, but we hadn’t come all this way to just dip our toes in the water. It was rather wavy, so we promised not to go out too far. Sadly, there was a fair bit of rubbish, plastic and bits and pieces, in the water, but other than the murkiness due to the wave action, the water looked clean.
Soon we were floating in the water, buoyed up by the 34% salt concentration of the sea water. It was like sitting in a pool on a water lounger – I couldn’t get my feet under water, and my shoulders sat above the water level. The water is usually flat, but with the waves we were getting we got to experience floating as over the swell. I think it would be impossible to swim properly, which I guess is why the lifeguard was so worried about people being in the water.
The lifeguard continued to have panic attacks about us being in the water, even though we could stand up (if we could get our feet beneath us). We made our way out of the water and took advantage of the huge vat of mud that was stored for people to apply. We gooped ourselves up, hoping for a miraculous and youthful transformation. After about 15 minutes, we waded back into the water to wash as much of the mud off as we could, and then used the hose to finish the job.
I had read that the water is bitter, rather than salty, so I tasted a small amount…and lived to regret it. Initially, the taste is super salty and then the bitterness hits. It’s quite weird, and even 20 minutes later I had a mild burning sensation down the back of my throat. Thankfully, neither of us got any water in our eyes.
We enjoyed sitting on the beach, chatting with Ali while we dried off, until we made our way back up to the resort, where Colin jumped into the pool. Freezing cold, much colder than the sea according to colin, who lasted about three minutes in the pool. Wisely, I used the resort showers and changed into dry clothes before the breezy day made me too cold. We enjoyed chatting with Ali a bit more, until we finally decided it was time to head home.
It was a fabulous day, our skin felt super soft, and we had leftover beef stew for dinner. Ali is a lovely person and we learned so much about Jordanian history and culture from this generous man. It was just dumb luck that we got him as our first Uber driver in Amman and it was a privilege to spend the day with him.
We had more rain! It was a solid downpour and we used it as an excuse to laze in our apartment for our final days in Jordan, although we did get out and about in our local area. We like it, although the hills are rather vicious. We set off to find dinner for our last meal, aiming for Maccas (terrible, I know) and we were saved from the embarrassment when we arrived to find it shut. We were not going to starve though, as there were plenty of food options in this area, probably due to the proximity of Jordan University.
A few more steps and we decided to try The Doors Café, which, even at 3.30 in the afternoon, had a good number of people inside. Shisha was the special of the day, and whilst it is smoking, the smoke doesn’t linger like cigarette smoke, and the different flavours even smell pleasant. The café hardly offered traditional food, but Colin enjoyed his burger and my chicken pizza was really good…and huge.
We had already packed, and with our Uber picking us up at 12.30am for our 4.00am flight, we tried to get some sleep so hit the creaky bed early. It was a futile effort, but we did try. We maybe dozed on and off for a couple of hours, but our body clocks weren’t set well for an early night. When the alarm went off, we heaved big sighs and mentally prepared ourselves for a rough run. Our Uber arrived early and we set off towards the airport. For someone who doesn’t trust electric vehicles, I’ve been left with little choice – Ali drove us all the way to the Dead Sea and back in his EV, and our Uber driver delivered us to the airport in a Tesla.
We flew Pegasus which offered a direct flight from Amman to Antalya and for the first time in all of my flying life, we departed 20 minutes early on a flight that was not full. The seats on Pegasus don’t even recline and have no padding, but for a two hour flight and cheap fares, the important thing is landing in one piece.
Goodbye Jordan. You have been a delightful experience of warm people, spectacular sites and memorable experiences.