A Day in Amman, Jordan

After the calm countryside of Jordan, the capital city, Amman hits all of your senses full on. Brightly coloured goods cram the stores in the narrow streets made narrower by stalls and markets, their wares spilling onto the roadways. And thousands of people mostly on foot darting this way and that…

Toyota pick-up trucks, the workhorse of the Middle East are painted white in UAE; here they’re multi-coloured, and driven with much more care… And, in Jordan, no one pushes you aside in a brand new SUV. We entered through the ‘car repair district’; stores filled with mag wheels, foil-wrapped tires and sheepskin seat covers. Every other store is a garage with men’s rear ends displayed from under the hoods of autos being tuned. Not a square metre is wasted here - we saw our first rooftop scrap yard.

Roof-top Scrap Yard

In fairness, we filled some senses too; in our large van, driven by our friend with her long auburn hair on display, and Carol with her blond locks too – we caused a stir – one guy ran from his store, hands on his heart, blowing kisses to Carol as we passed. She waved back coyly.

Roman Amman below the Theatre

Despite the intense traffic, everything went well until we parked. I guided the van into a tight spot on the street but, too close to the kerb; a tire popped and released some air - not quite flat but close. As we took in the sights we kept one eye open for a garage – eventually we spotted one; the van limped there cautiously for a puff. Whew; now all I had to do was convince the guy to accept payment – he didn’t know how much hassle he’d saved us.

The Parking Camel

Amman is new having been built largely within the last 150 years, although it does have some impressive Roman remains; an amphitheatre and the Citadel that dominates the city from its perch atop Jabal al-Qala’a, built when the metropolis was known as Philadelphia. Sadly, we only had time to see the theatre before heading to the airport.

Jordan is an oasis in a region of turmoil but there are the inevitable signs of security; barriers protect the British Council in Jordan along the iconic Rainbow Street. But, as with everywhere in Jordan, the people are warm and friendly; and just down from that wall, a quirky leather camel marks a parking spot in front of a cafe.

Our time in Amman was short but definitely flavourful.

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