So Long Amman

Downtown Amman is a rabbit warren of streets, alleys and stairs which go on forever all in the relative shadow of the Citadel. The Citadel is home to a collection of ruins left by the Unayyads, Byzantines and the Romans and while I was there it was a sanctuary from the frenetic activity in the city below.

On the occasion of my last afternoon in Amman I took the opportunity to do a little exploring. The truth is that I had been limping about for most of my stay due to a mysteriously strained ankle received somewhere between my apartment and the airport in Vancouver. My complaining ankle and the area around the hotel, not being particularly pedestrian friendly, kept me hotel bound for much of my stay with the exception of my dinner adventure (last post).

It was a short and thrifty cab ride from the hotel to the Citadel though my driver offer me a warning as he pointed to a group of parked cabs, “those guys, Syrian cabs,” he said as he waved them off. I am sure there is a story there somewhere but I had ruins on my mind.

For a couple of hours I wandered around the ruins, probably more grateful to just be outside than terribly interested in the specifics of one column or another. Though I could hear the hustle of the streets below there was something calm about being on the hill. There were few people and I had the place largely to myself until I was getting set to leave. Il-balad, or the downtown region was as busy as the Citadel was quiet. I braved the traffic, both foot and auto, to have a brief walk through the shopping of the area and saw heaps of cheap clothes, electronics and jewelry. I’m glad I had the chance to see the area but I was pretty worn out and headed back to the hotel on foot.

Amman is a city built on hills, and as it turns out, just because you can see your hotel doesn’t mean you can walk there. After walking for about an hour I could see the hotel and made in that direction only to come to an over look high above a valley dividing me from a hot shower and something cold to drink. I felt so defeated I wanted to catch a cab, but crippled more by pride than hobbled by a whining left ankle, I pushed on and after another 40 minutes I finally presented myself to be frisked by the hotel security check point.

The first picture, from the Citadel, is of the remaining pillars from the Temple of Hercules built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 to AD 80). The second picture is one of the city. I found remarkable how one city, the ancient city, seemed to give way seamlessly to the new.