We got to the Farah Hotel at around 11pm last night (after a great flight with
unexpected free food) and met Al, one of our Oasis trip companions, en route.
The hotel (farahhotel.com.jo) is great; clean, cheap, and friendly. Breakfast
(because anyone who read my India blog will know describing food when I'm
travelling is a priority) was flat bread, hard boiled eggs and soft cheese.
This set us up for a day of exploring the city (with Al and Chris who we met
at breakfast).
We started by climbing to the Amman Citadel and wandering around the grounds
and museum. A spectacular view of the city and a cooling breeze from being
high up, along with helpful and enthusiastic tourist police made for a
fantastic morning. We learnt about the history of the area dating back to the
stone age in the citadel museum.
On our way out we were talked into letting a tour guide called Basam drive us
to a restaurant for a fantastic local lunch, a visit to the black and white
mosque which overlooks the city and the blue mosque. They let H and I in once
we were covered in black robes, nd we spent a few minutes wandering through
this beautiful, tranquil place. Young lads approached us to chat and welcome
us warmly. Well, the guys were welcomed. H and I were largly ignored, so we
kept quiet. One of the boys sang verses of the Qu'ran for us, and I have never
seen a more pure delight in anyone's eyes. The other told us that he was
visiting his family in Jordan; he studies medicine in Turkey in term time.
Despite feeling a bit opressed, this was nonetheless incredible.
During the drive, Basam impartedlots of local knoledge. Like that there are
more Palestinians residing in Jordan than Jordinians, particularly in Amman.
Jordan is also the health capital of the Middle East with govenment funded
hospitals, world renowned doctors and people travelling from miles around for
care.
Promising us better quality materials and better prices than the tourist
areas, Basam took us to a bazaar frequented by visitors from other Arabian
nations. The place was stunning and devoid of other shoppers so we had the
assistant's full attention. We were welcomed with rich bitter sweet Jordinian
coffee, and dressed up in traditional Bedouin garb, apparently more for his
amusement than anything else. Don't worry, we have photos.
We made some small purchases,and Basam returned us to the hotel; we each gave
him 10JOD for what had been a wonderfully informative afternoon which we
certainly could not have managed alone.
That evening we met Dave and Nev, ur Oasis tour leader and driver, ad Helen,
Catheine, and Lizzie our fellow travellers.
We spent a relaxing evening in a restaurant/cofee shop then saw the brightly
lit cityscape from the citadel at midnight.
Today we drive and camp on Mt Nebo overlooking Israel. No wifi for a while!
To summerise, Amman is a stunning and welcoming city with a varied history and
tolerant friendly people. I will definitely be back.
