Chilled out capital! (Amman)

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Amman
Date:	20/04/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Yummy grub in downtown, good connections and accomo options

Disadvantages: Not an awful lot to do

I arrived in Amman on a JET bus from Jordan's second city Irbid in the north. I was in my element, enjoying that "just crossed a border, in a new country" feel. The journey over from Galilee in Israel had been remarkably easy but in my true style, I managed to find a way of doing things difficultly.

Arriving in the JET bus station on the outskirts of Amman, I was unaware that a new one was being used and although the previous bus station wasn't actually on my old map, it clearly stated that it was 2km from the centre. Little did I know, that they'd moved it and I started walking towards what I thought was the centre. After a couple of hours of walking with a heavy backpack along a busy 6 lane road occasionally with intersections and always with various hardware stores to the side of it, I was starting to have enough.

I took refuge in a pizza place, a further 7km to the centre apparently and I was still clearly in a residential area rather than downtown, I decided to wave a cab down and he slightly overcharged but what's 1 JD between "friends"? I was glad just not to be walking anymore. The taxi driver pointed out several important mosques on the way but with a hungry stomach I wasn't really in the mood for admiring sacred buildings.

Dropped off in Downtown, I quickly found Mansour Hotel (also reviewed) and had a nice stay there. In the Downtown vicinity, there is all a man could need really - a juice bar, various budget restaurants including several good kebab places. Downtown Amman is small, in a valley type location with two large hills on either side, there's a wonderful archaeological site from where you can see magnificent views of the city and an extremely large flag of Jordan from the top of the hill to one side and a less approachable side on the other with an amphitheatre and market at the bottom.

The city has an interesting history being passed from the Egyptians, Hebrews, Assyrians, Persians and Greeks. Little of this is left though because much of Old Amman was destroyed by a series of natural disasters and it lacks the ancient feel of neighbouring Damascus, Jerusalem and Cairo. There's not an awful lot to see and a day would suffice for the sights on offer but it's a hassle free city with decent accommodation options and good connections to nearby sites such as Jerash or the Dead Sea. Jordan is not the cheapest of Arab nations and the prices may seem a bit of a shock if you've come from Egypt. Despite the lack of traditional sightseeing places, I found it to be a relaxing place and ended up spending several days there.

It is also a relatively liberal place amongst the Arab world but there are a lot of refugees from Iraq and Palestine, so better to not talk about politics and don't get your salaam mixed up with your shalom! There are also good, cheap flight connections to the rest of the world with Air Arabia in particular. The Jordanian Dinar is a relatively strong currency but the dollar can also be widely used and there are lots of them at exchange places perhaps due to the proximity to Iraq. Suburbs vary from endless flat blocks to wealthy villas built by people living in the Gulf countries. A previously fun way to arrive in the city was by train from Damascus but the line was closed when I visited and still is to my knowledge.

Summary: Head to the citadel