Amman and Jerash - Northern Jordan

JORDAN

Jordan has around 6.7 million inhabitants, and well over 90 percent are Muslim Arabs, with a small minority df Christian Arabs. Jordan is somewhat of a constitutional monarchy, but with a King, who still has much power. Jordan's per capita GDP is under US$6,000. There is no oil, and key economic sectors are phosphate and potash production, and tourism. Jordanian workers are entitled to a minimum wage of US$265 per month. The Jordanians are highly educated with just over 2.5 per cent of the population enrolled at university (comparable to the UK), but there is very few jobs available. Jordan has taken a lot of Palestinian refugees since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948, and these Palestinians dominate the private-sector business, which is why there is only few jobs for the Jordanians in this sector. Recently, Jordan has also taken refugees from Iraq and Syria, muddying the issue still further.

AMMAN

We arrived at the airport at midnight, and took a taxi the 50 minutes to Jordan Tower Hotel. When we reached Amman a lot of people were in the streets despite the late hour. The streets were full of garbage, and it seemed like a poor area, but it turned out that this is the way downtown looks!

We were staying in downtown, which is very different from the downtowns we have experienced elsewhere on this trip. The street life is overwhelming; loud with traffic and voices, Arabic music blaring from shop fronts, people selling clothes, coffee, cigarettes or trinkets on the streets, and then add 35 degrees C to the mix. Apart from a few Roman ruins and a couple of museums there is not much to see. 

We set out to find the Jordan Museum, but after having asked a couple of places where they could speak and read English, we gave up, as they didn't know where it was located! So we took a taxi to West Amman, the new and wealthy part of town (West Amman) to experience the contrast.

Guess what this shop is selling.....

Did you get it right?

No peeking!

Seriously no peeking!!

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It was luxury to have a coffee here at this 'oasis' away from the hustle and bustle of downtown.

We also had lunch and our favourite drink here in West Amman, fresh lemon juice with mint. It is so refreshing and a wonderful change from bottled water.

In our experience around 80 perccent of the women wear the hijab (either wearing the all black clothing or cover their hair with a scarf and the arm and legs with a long sleeved jersey and slacks).

JERASH - The Grandeur of Imperial Rome

Jordan is 80 percent desert, so public transportation is scarce. We were lucky to share a car and driver with an Italian couple to go to Jerash located 50 km north of Amman. The rolling hills of northern Jordan hold some of the nicest countryside in Jordan, with lots of olive and fig trees, patches of pine forrest and fields of wheat. This is the most densely populated part of the country.

Jerash is one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the eastern Mediterranean, and a huge site. Jerash was founded around 170 BC, and has a long and colourful history taking in emporors, invading armies, and, like much of Jordan, modern reinvention after centuries of abandonment.

Hadrian's Arch was built to honour the visit of the Emperor Hadrian to Jerash in 130 AD. The 11 meter high triple-arched gateway, which probably had wooden doors, is impressive.

The Oval Plaza is one of the most impressive pieces of Roman urban design.

The South Theatre is the most magnificent of all Jerash's monuments. It was built in the 90s AD to seat over 3,000 people. If you stand on a certain stone in the center of the orchestra below the stage and say something, people on the top row can hear it due the great acoustics. 

Most of the columns were beautifully decorated at the top.

We spent two hours walking among the ruins, and time flew by as there was so much to see. While washing the dust and heat down with a coke, Andy asked for assistance figuring out where our hotel in Amman was located from some of the locals. 

It was a lousy map, and the guys had trouble finding it even when borrowing Andy's glasses!

AJLOUN CASTLE

We also visited Ajloun Castle, which location offers bird's eye views over the surrounding countryside and the three wadis (valleys) leading to Jordan Valley. The castle is said to be a former monastery home to a monk called Ajloun. By 1184, in the midst of the Crusades, the monastery has fallen to a ruin and an Arab general built a fortress on the ruins.

We had dinner at Jafra, which main room is huge and a bit misty from all the water pipe smoking, but the atmosphere and the food was great. 

This bill was around CAD$34 for a lentil soup, bread and hummus, one grilled chicken, 2 lemon/mint drinks and a tea - no alcohol (you can only get it at a few restaurants). It is not cheap to travel in Jordan, but not as expensive as Europe; the Jordanian Dinar is almost on par with the Euro. A 1.5 liter bottle of water is CAD$1.4.

Ready to explore more of Jordan?, Okey, Yallah (let's go)!