This will be my last post until after January 1st.
Happy Holidays to all.

Souks, Malls and Supermarkets

Those of you who know me well know that I am not much for shopping.  In fact I usually go with the mantra, “if they don’t sell it at LL Bean, I probably don’t need it”.  However, shopping in a different country can be fun and a great opportunity to learn about the local habits.

There are several large malls in Amman, with the most well-known being Mecca Mall, Taj Mall, and City Mall.  All three have large chain supermarkets as a big draw.  Some also have cinemas and other amusements.

The first difference you notice when you enter a mall here is that you go through a perfunctory security scan.  Even if you set it off, they usually just wave you through.  Sometimes they have a girl at a small desk who takes a little look in your purse or knapsack.  As malls, they are nothing special, with the usual array of shops.  There are knockoff names such as Women’s Secret for lingerie and brands that you know such as True Value Hardware, GAP, Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop.  The food courts are also filled with familiar names such as Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  At the Taj Mall, which is the most upscale, there is a PF Changs.

Looking Through the Window at  Lingerie Store Near Rainbow Street

[click on pictures to enlarge them]

 

There are several large supermarket chains here in Amman.  Miles is Ed’s favorite; I rather like Carrefour, a French company.  Safeway is the closest to our apartment, and then Spinneys isn’t too far away either.  However, the word supermarket is used very loosely, as many tiny convenience stores have a sign that says supermarket.  They would not even be a fraction of the size of a Seven/Eleven at home, but they are packed with fresh produce and the usual array of household necessities.

A Supermarket

 

Two major souks (open air markets, known as bazaars in some places) also exist.  Souk Sukkar, near the Husseini mosque is open daily and has many food stalls.  In the nearby streets there are small shops where you can find most everything.  There are stores that make your perfume to order, a shop that sells all kind of herbal products, jewelry stores, and shops selling clothing and others selling household things such as mops and brooms.  The other souk, known as the Friday market, primarily sells inexpensive clothing.  At this time of year many of the stalls were selling boots as people prepare for what they call the cold weather.  Compared to other souks that we have been in (Turkey, Morocco), this one is very organized.  Clothes are on hangers, shoes are neatly tied in pairs and the stands are in rows in a lined area that looks like a parking lot off a main street.  It recently moved to this location, much to the dismay of the vendors who held protests when the city made them move.

 

 

Fruit Stall

 

 

Friday Market

 

Jordan really has very little in the way of crafts.  There is a seasonal market that we went to when we first arrived called the JARA Souk.  For the most part though we have not seen any crafts that really appealed to us other than the mosaics, primarily done in the Madaba area, 20 miles southwest of Amman.

Selling Prayer Beads Outside the Mosque

 

Fresh produce is readily available.  There are trucks on street corners, and tent like stands on vacant lots.  Also, the small supermarkets are filled with produce and if you head north out of Amman the road is lined with farmers selling whatever is in season. 

There are more than 2000 pharmacies in Jordan, 1200 of those in the Amman Governorate which is basically the greater Amman area.  These are often very small.  You could probably fit half a dozen in our Charlestown CVS.  They are filled with beauty products and baby supplies like powder and lotion and items related to breast feeding.  Today I bought Amoxicillin, clearly labeled “to be dispensed on medical prescription”, by just walking in and telling the pharmacist what I wanted.  She did not ask me why I needed it, but she did write on the box that I should take 1 capsule four times a day for five days.  [Disclaimer, I am on my way to the dentist and I am taking it prophylactically on the advice of my long time dentist at home due to my knee replacements.]

A Perfume Store Where Your Scent is Made to Order

 

There is one more store which we frequent that is a favorite.  It is on a corner on Rainbow Street, and we go here when we can’t find something.  Sitting at a counter are two or three men who look like they haven’t moved from there in years.  One understands the English words related to products.  The ground floor is filled with gaudy decorative household items and practical things like enormous pots and sets of small cups for tea.  We have never seen the lower level, but we have quickly learned the drill.  Ed goes up to the counter and asks if they have the item we need, for example shoe polish or door stops.  The counter man shouts out in rapid Arabic and a few minutes later a thin man emerges from the lower reaches with the item in hand.  If he doesn’t have it (only once – wood glue), the counter man gives Ed explicit directions on finding a shop where it will be sold.

Virginity Soap Sold in the Herbal Products Store

Guess I’ll walk down to the Safeway now and get some mangos and grapefruit and maybe a pomegranate or two.