A Walk in our Neighborhood

Walking has always been one of my favorite pastimes.  Not only have we lived in interesting neighborhoods, but we have had the pleasure of wandering the streets of cities and towns in many countries.  Luckily, our neighborhood here in Shmeisani is an interesting and safe walking area.  The back streets are not too busy, especially on Friday and Saturday mornings.  Of course one needs to walk in the street due to the sidewalks that are obstructed by trees and cars, but that is beginning to seem normal now.  Often, when Ed and I go out for a ramble, he brings his camera because as he says, “you never know what you will see”. 

 

From our front door the first choice is up or down hill.  Up the hill for a few blocks then down the other side will take us to the Safeway Supermarket which is open 24 hours.  Here Ed is able to buy his favorite breakfast food, Lender’s frozen bagels.  Upstairs, not open 24 hours, is a department store that has almost every household item that we have needed, including a battery for Ed’s glucometer and blank DVDs for him to store his growing number of photographs.  There are a few other shops near the Safeway, including a car rental and a Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Around the corner brings us to the very busy Al Shareef Nasser Bin Jameel Street which is lined with small shops on both sides.  Here one can get a haircut, buy a new argileh (water pipe), have a meal, or buy a bottle of rum.  (A one liter bottle of Captain Morgan Spice Rum costs JD 35, or $49; the same would be $20 at the New Hampshire liquor store).  To cross this busy thoroughfare, one must walk a short distance to a pedestrian overpass.  You do see some suicidal types running across the street, but that would be like crossing Route 1 in Saugus.

Click on pictures to enlarge them

 

Spices in the Safeway Supermarket

 

Our favorite cashier at the Safeway

 

 



 

The Colonel is everywhere

 

Walking in the direction of Safeway is usually to accomplish an errand.  Our preferred walking route is into the smaller streets behind our building.  Within a couple blocks we will pass several small markets.  The closest one, Lymoneh, was recently sold to a Jordanian who spent a number of years in Fort Worth where he owned a convenience store.  There are also two hospitals in our neighborhood: Specialty Hospital and Al Jazeera.  At Specialty Hospital one of the most prominent signs in the lobby is the IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinic.  I have been told that IVF is common here.  The head nurse of the IVF clinic at the University of Jordan Hospital told me that “it is not expensive, about JD 1000 ($1400), for one treatment”.  Considering that I have been told a new nurse makes about JD 450-500 per month, it sounds pretty expensive to me.  However, children are very important here, so a marriage that did not produce offspring would be a problem that needed intervention. 

There are also many small pharmacies in the neighborhoods.  Many of the drugs, especially antibiotics, which are sold by prescription in the US are over the counter here.  They are also quite inexpensive.  Flagyl 500mg 14 tablets costs only JD 3.61 (just over $5).  It is interesting that in the US we worry about over-prescription of antibiotics leading to drug resistant organisms, but here anyone can self-prescribe antibiotics and take them whether they are indicated or not.

 

 

Al Jazeera Hospital

 

 



 Sign on a medical office building - note the floor designations on the right

 

Our closest market

On the back streets, within a few blocks, there are five or six hotels and one mosque.  We can walk to the Royal Cultural Center where we saw a ballet performance.  Unfortunately, cultural events such as concerts and dance performances are quite rare.

Small businesses are also tucked in some buildings.  When I was looking for a hairdresser, I asked a young girl who was walking on a nearby street.  She at first started to tell me where to go, then walked me to an unmarked doorway.  There I was welcomed by a hairdresser who had one chair.  I would never have found it on my own.  A haircut cost JD 5 ($7).

A drycleaners in what would normally be a garage

Things we do not see on a walk:

·     A post office – recently we asked our downstairs neighbor where to find the closest post office.  Although he has lived in the building for 25 years, he did not know.  Snail mail is virtually non-existent here.  Please remember that when you do not get a Christmas card from us this year!

·        A fire house – but we have not read in the newspaper about any fires either.  The concrete and cement block construction is probably a factor.  Certainly the fire risk that exists in Charlestown with the densely populated wood frame houses is not an issue here.

·        Fire hydrants – since there are no water mains (remember, buildings get their water delivered weekly by truck and stored in roof tanks).

·        A library – we have yet to find a public library.  I do miss my three regular libraries, each with a different ambiance.  Little Wiscasset, with the creaky floors, the Charlestown branch of the BPL with the best head librarian, and Milton, so convenient on my way home from work and with a great selection of compact disks.

·        Dog poop – we have only seen five dogs since we have been here.

So, off we go for a walk.  The weather has still been beautiful in November, with daily highs in the 70s and nighttime lows in the 50s.