Sun, good company, and Roman ruins? Sounds like the makings of a perfect summer afternoon in Amman, Jordan.
In a country that counts epic tourist sites like Petra and Wadi Rum amongst its treasures, Amman, the capital city of Jordan, often gets lost in the shuffle. The problem lies in the fact that Amman is Jordan’s largest transport hub, with nearly all travellers visiting the city at either the beginning or the end of their trip. (To wit: come here first and you’ll probably only have your impending trip to Petra and Wadi Rum on the brain, come here last and you’ll probably be so exhausted from your Petra and Wadi Rum exploration that all you’ll want to do is veg in your hotel room until it’s time to head to Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport and fly home.)
We fell into the latter group. After two weeks of sensory overload travelling Israel and Jordan (think floating in the Dead Sea, walking where Jesus walked in Jerusalem, discovering our inner Indiana Jones in the ancient city as old as time, and riding camels in the Jordanian desert), we attacked Amman unambitiously, preferring to mostly hang out in our suite at the Four Seasons Amman and sip colourful drinks in lounge chairs at the pool.
But for one afternoon, at least, we managed to tear ourselves away from our hotel and experience the city. We were glad we did. Amman is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world but also has one of the Middle East’s most rapidly growing economies. This results in a discordant mish-mash of old and new architecture, busy souks, heavy traffic, gleaming highways, and a buzzing, purposeful population clad in both traditional and western attire. Our senses were stimulated once more.
Jordanians are the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and apart from one of our taxi drivers halting variety, everyone we encountered spoke very good English. Outside of the Roman amphitheatre, a tour guide asked us if we wanted a paid tour and backed off immediately, good-naturedly when we told him we weren’t interested. Likewise at the souk when vendors tried to solicit our business. Our refusals were met with “thank you“s and “enjoy your stay in Jordan“s and “welcome“s, never any haranguing or harrassing or pouting because our wallets stayed firmly planted in our back pockets. I think that Jordanians are probably the most hospitable people I’ve ever met in my travels.
Tourist-wise, there’s not a whole lot to see in Amman, but I get the impression that it’s the kind of place that you would grow to love if you lived there a while. Musts are the massive Roman Amphitheatre (which held up to 5,000 spectators) and the Citadel, which gives an impressive view over the old part of Amman.
Any chance of Jordan ever figuring on your travel list?
38 Comments
Thanks for the write up and photos. I’m adding Amman to my list! BTW You’re skin is glowing! Lovely!
Thank you! I got soooo dark on that trip; I loved it because it made my skin look so evenly toned!
Wow! Every time you post about the middle east it really makes me want to visit! The neutral and earth tone colors of almost everything I find to be alluring. It’s ageless, and your pictures tell it all.
I really enjoyed myself! Now I want to go to Qatar and Oman!
Definitely on my dream destination list! What a beautiful place!!! Love the last photo of you.
Thanks Andi!
Would love to go. It would be so refreshing to go to a country where people don’t hassle you constantly.
It was so nice to be able to do your own thing!!
I’m off to Israel and Jordan next month and this sets the scene brilliantly, can’t wait! Particularly great to hear the people are as nice as they are.
Hey Oneika, Thanks for writing such an informational article.
I love to travel & I am always on some flight or exploring some new place. I have been to Jordan a few years back. I loved Castles, caves, museums, a shrine, and several natural retreats in Jordan. Beaches, Dead Sea, is also superb. Do check out https://www.wideworldtrips.com/category/destination/jordan/ to know about Well Known Tourist Attractions and Top Things to Do in Jordan.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my website so i got here to return the want?.I am trying to to find things to improve my web site!I suppose
its good enough to use some of your concepts!!
Hey this is kind of of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use
WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I
wanted to get advice from someone with experience.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem together with your web site in internet explorer,
might check this? IE still is the market
leader and a huge portion of folks will omit your excellent writing due
to this problem.
I simply could not depart your website prior to suggesting that I actually enjoyed
the usual info a person provide on your guests?
Is gonna be back frequently to check up on new posts
I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing
this site. I am hoping to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you later on as well.
In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired
me to get my own, personal site now 😉
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this post and the rest of the
site is also very good.
I used to be suggested this web site by way of my cousin.
I’m no longer certain whether or not this put up is written by way of him as nobody else realize such particular about my problem.
You’re wonderful! Thank you!
I didn’t know that.
Greate pieces. Keep posting such kind of info on your site.
Im really impressed by it.
Hey there, You’ve done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and in my view
suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this web site.
It’s nearly impossible to find experienced people on this subject, however, you
seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Hi, I log on to your new stuff on a regular basis.
Your story-telling style is awesome, keep it up!
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I in finding It truly
useful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to offer something again and help others like you aided me.
I was just telling my friend about that.
Why is it I always really feel like you do?
I’ve been exploring for a bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of area .
Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site.
Reading this info So i’m satisfied to exhibit that I have an incredibly just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed.
I most without a doubt will make sure to do not disregard
this website and provides it a glance on a relentless basis.
I was able to find good advice from your
articles.
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!Very useful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot. I was looking for this certain information for a long time.Thank you and best of luck.
That is a very good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere. Short but very precise info… Thank you for sharing this one. A must read post!
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this
board and I in finding It really useful & it helped me out much.
I’m hoping to give something again and aid others such as you helped
me.
Good job on this article! I really like how you presented your facts and how you made it interesting and easy to understand. Thank you
This website definitely has all of the information and facts I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to
ask.
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the highest quality blogs online. I’m going to highly recommend this web site!
I would like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this website. I am hoping to view the same high-grade content from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has encouraged me to get my own, personal website now 😉
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I
clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say excellent blog!
Having read this I believed it was rather informative.
I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this short article together.
I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading
and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
If you wish for to get a great deal from this paragraph then you have to apply these techniques
to your won web site.
This is a good tip particularly to those new to the
blogosphere. Brief but very precise information… Thank you for sharing this one.
A must read article!
Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and
I find It really useful & it helped me out a
lot. I hope to give something back and help others like you helped
me.
Comments are closed.