Amman's Roman Amphitheatre nestled amongst a sea of buildings in the old town. The one in Petra is slightly larger, but there's something about this one's setting. 2,000 year old building juxtaposed against a 20th century skyline.
T plus 98 - Amman, Jordan
I know, I know, the Dickens novel is actually about two different places - London and Paris - but if two people visited the two ends of Amman in isolation, there would be endless arguments about whether they were in the same city, much less the same country! I didn't quite understand why I was getting such contrasting stories from people I spoke to who visited Amman until I saw it for myself. Then I realised Amman is like Baghdad and Beverly Hills all rolled into one. And the most amazing thing is that the two realms are separated by a five minute walk.
West Amman is the very personification of wealthy living, where Range Rovers prowl the streets and Priuses glide silently by elegant buildings carpeted with manicured gardens. Perfumed shisha vapor wafts from chic cafes patronised by goatee-d men in tight t-shirts. In restaurants, steaming java spurt from shiny Simonelli machines on marbled countertops while ladies of leisure lunch on carefully crafted salad-bowls-of-art. They are immaculately attired, with designer sunglasses delicately perched on bouffant hairdos. And later, they will bring their kids shopping on tree-lined boulevards where local pet shops charge their credit cards for marine fish costing USD100 (70 dinars) each. The supermarket here sells individually cling-filmed fruit, pre-marinated cuts of meat and 20 different varieties of rice. It's all very civilised, very chouette, and very expensive.
Take a walk down the the other side of the hill and it descends, literally, into chaos. East Amman, the old town, is where "the other half" resides, eking out meagre livings from mundane jobs. Here, the beat-up cars are held together by bits of string and bouts of prayer. Coke cans crunch beneath your feet, black smog bellows from battered engines, and you struggle to hear yourself think amidst the cacophony of cracked megaphones from street vendors trying to out-amplify each other. The stores in the old town trade in the essentials, where crumpled one dinar bills and and daily rations are rapidly thrust back and forth. Outside, grubby children kick discarded bottles around and weather-beaten faces peer out of shapeless hejabs. It's a different world here, a dose of dusty reality.
And yet, it is the old town which I like more. Although people here are not rich, they aren't destitute either. They seem content with simple living and I don't detect symptoms of over-reaching e.g. expensive restaurants, designer stores and leveraged consumerism. That being said, it's still not cheap, even in the old town, as Jordan is ranked as the 47th in the world for cost of living, just behind Spain (Malaysia is 94th). What fascinates me most, however, is the way the old town is wrapped around world-class ancient monuments like the Roman Amphitheatre and the fantastic Citadel, an enormous complex perched on top of a hill overlooking the entire city. Anyway, only a fraction of the population live in the rich West side, so it's not really representative of the city and its culture.
Amman is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and although four million people live here, it doesn't feel that way and it exudes the charm of a small city. It's entirely possible to walk around Amman's major commercial and historical areas in one day. And it's a nice walk - the city is built on seven hills and its narrow, haphazard and undulating streets give it great character. It sort of reminds me of San Francisco, just more crowded, noisy and disorganised; but not in a bad way. People here are friendly, many of them speak good English and they're happy to treat you like one of them i.e. you don't feel you're getting ripped off every time you step into a shop or a restaurant. Plus a resident here gets to call him/herself an "Ammani", which is very cool.
Some photos from my walkabouts:
I know, I know, the Dickens novel is actually about two different places - London and Paris - but if two people visited the two ends of Amman in isolation, there would be endless arguments about whether they were in the same city, much less the same country! I didn't quite understand why I was getting such contrasting stories from people I spoke to who visited Amman until I saw it for myself. Then I realised Amman is like Baghdad and Beverly Hills all rolled into one. And the most amazing thing is that the two realms are separated by a five minute walk.
West Amman is the very personification of wealthy living, where Range Rovers prowl the streets and Priuses glide silently by elegant buildings carpeted with manicured gardens. Perfumed shisha vapor wafts from chic cafes patronised by goatee-d men in tight t-shirts. In restaurants, steaming java spurt from shiny Simonelli machines on marbled countertops while ladies of leisure lunch on carefully crafted salad-bowls-of-art. They are immaculately attired, with designer sunglasses delicately perched on bouffant hairdos. And later, they will bring their kids shopping on tree-lined boulevards where local pet shops charge their credit cards for marine fish costing USD100 (70 dinars) each. The supermarket here sells individually cling-filmed fruit, pre-marinated cuts of meat and 20 different varieties of rice. It's all very civilised, very chouette, and very expensive.
Take a walk down the the other side of the hill and it descends, literally, into chaos. East Amman, the old town, is where "the other half" resides, eking out meagre livings from mundane jobs. Here, the beat-up cars are held together by bits of string and bouts of prayer. Coke cans crunch beneath your feet, black smog bellows from battered engines, and you struggle to hear yourself think amidst the cacophony of cracked megaphones from street vendors trying to out-amplify each other. The stores in the old town trade in the essentials, where crumpled one dinar bills and and daily rations are rapidly thrust back and forth. Outside, grubby children kick discarded bottles around and weather-beaten faces peer out of shapeless hejabs. It's a different world here, a dose of dusty reality.
And yet, it is the old town which I like more. Although people here are not rich, they aren't destitute either. They seem content with simple living and I don't detect symptoms of over-reaching e.g. expensive restaurants, designer stores and leveraged consumerism. That being said, it's still not cheap, even in the old town, as Jordan is ranked as the 47th in the world for cost of living, just behind Spain (Malaysia is 94th). What fascinates me most, however, is the way the old town is wrapped around world-class ancient monuments like the Roman Amphitheatre and the fantastic Citadel, an enormous complex perched on top of a hill overlooking the entire city. Anyway, only a fraction of the population live in the rich West side, so it's not really representative of the city and its culture.
Amman is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and although four million people live here, it doesn't feel that way and it exudes the charm of a small city. It's entirely possible to walk around Amman's major commercial and historical areas in one day. And it's a nice walk - the city is built on seven hills and its narrow, haphazard and undulating streets give it great character. It sort of reminds me of San Francisco, just more crowded, noisy and disorganised; but not in a bad way. People here are friendly, many of them speak good English and they're happy to treat you like one of them i.e. you don't feel you're getting ripped off every time you step into a shop or a restaurant. Plus a resident here gets to call him/herself an "Ammani", which is very cool.
Some photos from my walkabouts:
I wasn't kidding about the Range Rovers in West Amman. I hung around outside the Intercontinental and within 5 minutes I got a shot of not one, but two rolling by!
The most popular Japanese car in West Amman seems to be the Toyota Prius. You see so many of them whispering by streets lined with expensive-looking houses.
In the rich part of town, one can recline on plush sofas and watch the world go by while puffing on a USD6(!!!) shisha. At least the attendant changes the coals for you every 20mins.
The old town is considerably less shiny, but its got loads more character.
The Citadel. Visit for the views, if nothing else.
Top 2 pics are of the Temple of Hercules, built in 2AD by the Romans.
Bottom 2 pics are of the Umayyad Palace, built in the Umayyad Period around 700AD, recently restored.
Top 2 pics are of the Temple of Hercules, built in 2AD by the Romans.
Bottom 2 pics are of the Umayyad Palace, built in the Umayyad Period around 700AD, recently restored.
Visitors are given a staggering amount of freedom to clamber all over the ancient structures.
Sunset on top of Amman. Temple of Hercules, Citadel.
