AAAAmman!

Ah dear friends it seems that I have left you in a bout of suspense as to my whereabouts last weekend... No more! Me and my 10 closest friends (or so) traveled to Amman. We began early in the morning on Friday (the new Saturday) and walked down to the bus stop- sun already beating overhead, and sweat already beading down. Luckily there was a big sign for the bus tickets and a large label for Amman that even my limited Arabic skills could figure out the tickets. A couple of dinars and two hours of air-conditioned bus ride later and we were dropped off on the edge of Amman.

Amman is the capitol of Jordan, the home of the King and Queen, and an ancient city to boot. This modern city of 2.5 million was once the ancient Roman city of Philadelphia. Leaving the bus station behind, three taxied carried our team into the old City Center a buzzing hubbub of shops, people, and food. We walked our way around to the Roman Amphitheater: a giant three-tiered stadium of seats rising into the rock-face of the hills with all attention focused on the center stage. This was the ancient place of theater, of tragedy and comedy, politics and culture, people of status and no status. This is the modern place of tourism and culture, of discovery and adventure, and of some really awesome pictures. From the top of the Amphitheater one can look out into the City Center and watch the modern world turn from an ancient step. It makes me wonder how much humans have changed. We could also glimpse some of the ruins from atop the Citadel and decided to go there next.

Grabbing some falafal sandwiches (should have named the blog falafal instead of shawarma!) we marched up the switched-back roads and paths to make it to the top of the Citadel. Amman is a city of hills and the whole city is spread out among dips and rises, rolling into the Jordanian desert. After what felt like climbing a mountain we managed to reach the back entrance of the site. We passed along a group of men bunched beneath a tree to have lunch in the shade. As soon as they saw us coming they began handing out large pieces of bread and hummus and would certainly not take no for an answer. After they were satisfied that everyone had something to eat they sat some of us down and began talking to us for a bit. There must have been at least 7 of them and were 11 in number- a small army to feed on the fly! Such hospitality I have never seen before- sudden and with gusto!

The Citadel preserves bits of all the ancient and modern history of this region. Being the highest place in Amman, the Citadel has housed fortifications for thousands of years from the Bronze Age to include a Roman temple to Hercules and a Umayyad Palace. From this vantage point we could see the whole city, and even the whole world. There were people and buildings as far as the eye could see from King Hussein Mosque to the Royal complexes to office buildings and rows upon rows of low income housing. All of this heat and dust have been a part of the human condition for a long time.

Exhausted, we climbed back down and moved our way through the shops and the jewelry district to our little hostel/hotel. I snuck in a bit of a nap before we began wandering around the shops again (I'm searching for scarves!). Everything was sold on the streets and the only thing that stopped the streets was the noon prayer. When we were in the square earlier in the day it was filled with men and prayer mats submitting themselves to the Will of God for Friday noon prayer. After the prayer as the crowd was dispersing we got swept up into a crowd moving through the fresh produce market. It was a bee-hive of shouting, moving, the bright colors of the the fruits and vegetables, and the sweet smell of cherries and peaches. Needing a snack we found ourselves nothing short of what was the best Kunafa and Baklava stand in the neighborhood and we definitely put back the platefuls!

Another break before a night on the town had us back in the hostel watching the US team in the World Cup. Eventually the little lobby room was filled with tourists and travels from all over cheering and jeering (the US *totally* had that third goal!)- and that's when I realized the globalism of the World Cup. A crowded room in a hobble in Amman, Jordan. Sweaty Americans, Brits, and Arabs. One universal language: GOAL!!!

Our night in Amman began at he Iraqi Embassy, and luckily didn't end up in jail. We roamed around and after almost killing each other over where to eat we ended up in a mediocre Italian restaurant in a hotel. It was followed up with a nice little bar behind the Iraqi Embassy. Drink of choice for my first week in the Middle East and in Islamic culture? Long Island Ice Tea. Mumtaz! We continued to enjoy each others company laughing and talking. The night ended with blissful sleep and maybe a little sunburn. The next morning we jumped a bus back to Irbid and back to laundry and homework.