Seeing the Tourist Sites

In the City:

Amman is a young city compared to many in the Middle East.  Less than 100 years ago it was little more than a muddy farming village.  It grew somewhat beginning in 1921 when it was chosen to become the capital of what was then known as Transjordan.  After World War I the League of Nations divided the Ottoman Empire, giving the British authority over much of the Middle East.  In 1946, the British relinquished their mandate and the independent country, properly called the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, was born.  When Israel was created in 1948, the population of Amman doubled in two weeks as Palestinians moved from their homeland to Amman.

However, Amman is also an ancient city.  Just to the northeast of the current city a settlement was established over 9000 years ago.  More important for the tourist is the Roman era.  Around 300 BC, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, was built on the ruins of previous settlements.  So into a taxi and off to Downtown we go to visit the Roman Theatre, dates from around 175 BC.  Having visited many Roman ruins, especially in the Rhone valley in France, I was not expecting to be impressed.  Well, I was wrong.  It is well preserved and huge, with a seating capacity for 6000.  It is steeply banked with high steps and an impressive view as you make your way up the rows. (Full disclosure – I did not go all the way to the top!)  From the Roman Theatre we visited a small museum and also the Odeon, which is a much smaller theatre, probably used for parliamentary proceedings or small dramatic productions.

 

Roman Theatre - that's me in the blue shirt

Then a quick taxi ride up the hill to the Citadel and the Temple of Hercules. What a view!  The entire city is spread before your eyes, no matter what direction that you look.  The call to prayer sounds while we are there.  We can hear at least 10 distinct muezzins.  The Temple of Hercules, which consists of pillars visible from the city below, was built around the same time as the Roman Theatre.  On the upper terrace of the Citadel is the Umayyad Palace, which was built around 730 AD, over the pre-existing Roman structures.  All very interesting and well maintained.  They say the view at sunset is excellent, but we will have to save that for another day.

 Pillar of Hercules

Then down to Rainbow Street and the Souk JARA (Jabal Amman Residents Association) street market, an outlet for locally grown products and various crafts.  Browsing along Rainbow Street is interesting, with many places to stop for a snack.

 Into the Desert:

On this day I learned that I truly am not a desert person.  Intuitively I have always known that and past trips to California and Arizona have confirmed it.  But the saguaro cactus and the tumbleweed of the American southwest make for a lush landscape when compared to Jordan.  With Rami, our driver, and Amal, a fellow Fulbrighter, we went to see what the guidebook calls the “Desert Castles”.

The Desert Castles are not castles in the European sense.  Rather they are the ruins of buildings that were likely used as rural retreats for the Umayyad caliphs during the 7^th century.  As we head out of the city we see several large flocks of sheep, each tended by a lone shepherd, with his donkey and several dogs.  To my eye, there is absolutely nothing here for them to eat yet they seem well fed.  The road is smoothly paved; as we pass a military base, I comment as to how wide the road is here.  Rami and Amal both agree that it is used as an airstrip for the base.  

Each of the three “castles” has a different style.  Qasr Kharana is a sturdy looking square building with a large central courtyard and many small rooms off to the sides.  It is thought that it was used as a meeting place for Bedouin tribes and the Muslim rulers.  Qusaya (little castle) Amra is unique in that the walls are covered in frescos.  Naked women, cupids, musicians and hunters cavort in stark contrast to the usual Muslim prohibition for this kind of painting.  The third “castle”, Hallabat, stands on the site of a second century Roman fort.  Then in the 6^th century, Christian tribes built here.  The late 7^th century Muslims remodeled and refurbished it to their specifications.

 Qasr Kharana

Qasr Amra

We also stopped at the Azraq Wetlands Reserve.  This disappearing oasis once was a thriving marsh area with hundreds of thousands of birds wintering here or passing through on their flight to Africa.  Illegal private wells tapped into the aquifer and depleted the water supply.  Today the boardwalk through the almost dry marsh is less than inspiring.

We stopped at a tourist restaurant near Azraq for lunch.  Azraq is a small town where both the roads to Iraq and Saudi Arabia converge.  While we were eating, a large black SUV with KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) license plates pulled in.  The two men quickly entered the building, and just as quickly left with a small black plastic bag – containing a few cans of beer: the proverbial forbidden fruit.

Back in the city, we fight a few heavy traffic jams before arriving at our apartment, which is beginning to feel like home after playing tourist for two days.

A note on the weather:  nights are definitely getting cooler.  After almost a month of not closing a window, many evenings we are closing up shortly after supper.  On Wednesday night (October 8^th) we had about ten minutes of rain.  Recently there have been some clouds every day.  Daytime temperatures are still in the 80s, but it never feels hot because it is so dry.

The View From Our Front Balcony

Beep, beep.  A yellow taxi goes by.  We are sitting on our front balcony in the late afternoon, drinking tea (not wine!), watching life on Jaber Ibn Hayyan Street.  We can see the Moroccan embassy across the street at the next corner to our left.  To our right a new apartment building is under construction.  Yesterday they moved rebar to the roof, two rods at time by hand from one floor to the next.  Today they are pouring concrete, four floors up.  Buildings here are universally cement block construction.  Throughout the city there are many empty lots, but also buildings under construction everywhere.  On our street alone, within a few blocks of our home, there are four apartment buildings that will likely be completed before we leave next June.

 The View From Our Front Balcony

Across the street, we are watching the two feral cats that scrounge in the silver garbage bins.  They are very healthy looking and probably the most agile cats that I have ever seen.  Prowling around the edge of the bins, they stretch and inspect before making their move to get a meal.  As dainty as can be, they consider the pickings.  I never see them bring anything out of the bin, but clearly they look well fed.  A pick-up truck pulls up.  The cats have a rival.  A man goes through the trash bin and takes out a few items.  While there appears to be no formal recycling here, the trash picker seems to be interested in metal. 

Rumble, rumble, a water truck goes by slowly grinding his way up the hill.  Beeep.  Another impatient driver passes the water truck, swerving at the last minute to avoid an oncoming taxi.  Both vehicles give another long beep, perhaps to acknowledge their success at another moment without an accident.

Amman’s water is delivered to the houses and apartment buildings by truck, and pumped to the rooftop tanks.  Although water is a scarce resource here in Jordan, we witness water waste all the time.  In our building when the hall is being washed, the water may be left running for half an hour.

Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling.  Sounds like the ice cream man.  Nope, it is the Buta-gaz man.  Cooking gas is delivered in heavy green cylinders, usually stored in the kitchen under a cute little dress that hides them. 

Hamada, the “guard” walks across the street.  He lives in a small room in the basement of our building and does odd chores like take the garbage out and bring the newspaper in.  He cleans the halls and supposedly will bring the Buta-gaz tank up to our apartment.  We haven’t had to change a tank yet, so that remains to be seen.  Our four story building has a small elevator so bringing groceries in is not a bother. 

We watch the cars go by.  We are surprised to see how many are driven by women.  More surprising is the number of Mercedes, both those parked in our neighborhood and those that pass by.  While most have Jordanian license plates, there is a smattering from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait.  Seat belts are not commonly used, and restraining children is clearly not the norm.  Occasionally we see cars with open sun roofs and a child’s head sticking out.  We see the rare Volkswagen Beetle, including the convertible one that is frequently parked on the nearby side street.  The Accident Investigation van goes by, and sometimes the police in a large SUV with 911 prominently displayed on the side.  

                   School Girls

 

      Man in White Robe with Traditional Red Jordanian Headdress

The people walking by are equally interesting.  While most men wear western dress, typically jeans and shirts with collars, there are a fair number who have on the traditional long white robe, always looking immaculately clean.  Two women in traditional garb go by chatting away and enjoying ice cream cones.  The workmen who are replacing the tile sidewalk in front of our building finish for the day.  The man from Benghazi goes by with two of his small children.  He loves to stop and carry on a shouted conversation, frequently reminding us that he is “from Benghazi, just here for four weeks studying”.  The street noise makes conversation difficult, but this never deters him.

The sun begins to set, the imam calls the faithful to prayer, a welcome cool breeze wafts over us and we head in to have supper. 

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