On the morning of Christmas Eve, a shuttle bus came to my hotel in Bahrain to bring me and the other stranded passengers back to the airport to catch our flights. I was a bit nervous that I was going to get there only an hour before take-off, but fortunately I already had my boarding pass and my bag was checked through. The lines for immigration and security were also really short so I got to the gate in plenty of time. It was just a short hour-and-a-half flight to Amman so by the time we arrived it was just after 11:00am. As I unfortunately feared, my checked luggage didn't make it to Jordan with me, most likely because it was sitting in the baggage claim area in Bahrain waiting for me to pick it up. That meant I was spending a third day in the same clothes I had been wearing since India and would have to go back to the airport the following day to pick up my bag since Gulf Air wouldn't deliver it.
I took an airport bus and then caught a cab to my hotel from the bus station. I'm pretty sure I overpaid for the fare, but I wasn't really in the mood for bargaining and didn't even really know the going rate at the time. After checking in, I had a late lunch at the hotel and then walked a short distance down the street to the neighboring Roman Theater. I hadn't even realized the Romans had made it all the way to Jordan until I saw that they had built a theater there. Man, those Romans really were everywhere! The theater also featured the small folklore and popular culture museums, which I walked around for a little while. There was one outfit on display that reminded me of just what the Virgin Mary would have been wearing after she gave birth to Jesus. Clearly it was a very appropriate location to spend Christmas Eve day.
In the evening, I walked through the downtown area up to the artsy Rainbow Street area to go to an English language church service at an Episcopalian Church. One of the pastors at the church is a British ex-pat who led this particular service. The church wasn't very big, but the service was pretty well attended by other foreigners who live in Amman. The church was nicely decorated for the holidays and it helped to put me in the Christmas spirit. The only kind of funny thing that happened was that there wasn't anyone to play the piano so we had to sing all the carols acapella. Even still it didn't sound all that bad. After the service, I stopped at a nearby coffee shop for a hot chocolate and decided to also treat myself to a piece of cake. The cafe had a Christmas tree lit up and they were playing Christmas songs over the sound system so it was a nice way to end the night.
On Christmas Day morning, I had to take a car to the airport to pick up my bag, which had finally arrived from Bahrain. The manager of the hotel found someone who agreed to bring me there and back for only 20 dinars and even helped me figure out where to get my bag by speaking Arabic to thep people at the airport. I was still feeling under the weather as a result of my sickness and lack of sleep so I basically just took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening after finally changing my clothes, I tried to walk to a nearby hotel that was supposed to have a Christmas turkey dinner. Unfortunately, the directions on my GPS map led me astray and I ended up having to go back to my hotel to recheck the address. It turns out I had the completely wrong location for the hotel and it was far enough away that I had to take a cab. When I finally got there I enjoyed a nice (though slightly pricey) dinner buffet complete with a beautifully-decorated dessert table. When I had first arrived at the hotel restaurant, they first asked if I was a guest, then if I had a voucher or reservation. I was like, "no, but can't I still eat here?" It didn't seem to actually be a problem and I don't know why they gave me the third degree since once I got inside there were only two other couples dining. Maybe people had reservations for later that night, but it seemed a shame that all that food would just go to waste otherwise.
It appears that I maybe overdid it just a bit at the buffet, especially since I still was suffering from a weak stomach. As a result, I was up every two hours or so that night going to the bathroom. The next day, my stomach was still upset so I barely even got out of bed. I slept in late and then spent hours on my computer surfing the internet because it was the only thing I felt capable of doing. My roommate, Jessica, a young Chinese woman who lives in London, was very sweet about asking if there was anything I needed. Even the hotel manager came to check on me at one point since he hadn't seen me downstairs all day. I finally got up in the evening to have a bland dinner of plain pasta with olive oil. I really didn't want to risk trying to eat anything more heavy.
On Tuesday, Jessica invited me to join her and a British hotel guest, Brian, at a coffee shop in one of the newer parts of town. We took a cab to the mall where Brian ordered a coffee and Jessica and I got smoothies. I had plans to go to a doctor so Brian called his Jordanian girlfriend, Dina, to see if she had any suggestions. She worked right down the street and agreed to meet up with us to show us where to go. When I explained my symptoms she said it might be easier just to go to the pharmacy first. Dina walked over with us and spoke with the pharmacist in Arabic (even though the pharmacist also spoke English). The pharmacist gave me an anti-parasitic to help clear out my intestines. After thanking Dina for her help, Brian, Jessica and I went to another mall where had lunch at the food court before going back to the hotel. It wasn't a very exciting day, but I was still trying to take it pretty easy.
I had planned to leave for Petra in the morning, but when Jessica told me she was taking a tour van there the following day, I decided to spend one more day in Amman and leave for Petra with her on Thursday. On my final day in Amman, Jessica and I met up with two Jordanian brothers and their Egyptian friend, Mohammed, who was staying at our hotel, to go up to the city's Citadel. The old part of Amman is apparently built on about seven different hillsides with the central one containing the ancient citadel. There were amazing views of the surrounding area from the top and it was very interesting to see how the site had been adapted through time to house Bronze Age caves, Roman temples, Byzantine churches and Islamic mosques.
After walking around the site and the small attached archaeological museum, the five of us went to a nice restaurant near Rainbow Street, which I think raised money for some wildlife organization. One of the Jordanian guys pointed out that the building, which featured high ceilings and huge windows with beautiful views of the city, had been a gift from the United States. I kept making jokes throughout the meal that everyone had me to thank for their dinner.
Once again, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and after enjoying a three-course fixed meal I was stuffed to the gills. Jessica, however, wanted to try one of the local pastries so on the way back to the hotel downtown, we stopped at a local place for dessert. We all tried kunafa, which is basically melted cheese topped with a sweet shredded dough. It was pretty good, but I was so stuffed that I could only have a few bites. The best part of trip to the pastry shop was listening to the Jordanian brothers, who are Palestinian by heritage, discuss their thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They seem to be a bit more well off than the average Jordanian and have both lived abroad so their viewpoints were clearly more liberal than most of their fellow countrymen. It was still really cool to hear their perspective since in the United States, you generally just get opinions from a US-centric point of view. Both seemed to understand the nuances of the situation and why the solution is not just "cut-and-dry." It was definitely a fascinating way to spend my last night in Amman.
I took an airport bus and then caught a cab to my hotel from the bus station. I'm pretty sure I overpaid for the fare, but I wasn't really in the mood for bargaining and didn't even really know the going rate at the time. After checking in, I had a late lunch at the hotel and then walked a short distance down the street to the neighboring Roman Theater. I hadn't even realized the Romans had made it all the way to Jordan until I saw that they had built a theater there. Man, those Romans really were everywhere! The theater also featured the small folklore and popular culture museums, which I walked around for a little while. There was one outfit on display that reminded me of just what the Virgin Mary would have been wearing after she gave birth to Jesus. Clearly it was a very appropriate location to spend Christmas Eve day.
In the evening, I walked through the downtown area up to the artsy Rainbow Street area to go to an English language church service at an Episcopalian Church. One of the pastors at the church is a British ex-pat who led this particular service. The church wasn't very big, but the service was pretty well attended by other foreigners who live in Amman. The church was nicely decorated for the holidays and it helped to put me in the Christmas spirit. The only kind of funny thing that happened was that there wasn't anyone to play the piano so we had to sing all the carols acapella. Even still it didn't sound all that bad. After the service, I stopped at a nearby coffee shop for a hot chocolate and decided to also treat myself to a piece of cake. The cafe had a Christmas tree lit up and they were playing Christmas songs over the sound system so it was a nice way to end the night.On Christmas Day morning, I had to take a car to the airport to pick up my bag, which had finally arrived from Bahrain. The manager of the hotel found someone who agreed to bring me there and back for only 20 dinars and even helped me figure out where to get my bag by speaking Arabic to thep people at the airport. I was still feeling under the weather as a result of my sickness and lack of sleep so I basically just took it easy for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening after finally changing my clothes, I tried to walk to a nearby hotel that was supposed to have a Christmas turkey dinner. Unfortunately, the directions on my GPS map led me astray and I ended up having to go back to my hotel to recheck the address. It turns out I had the completely wrong location for the hotel and it was far enough away that I had to take a cab. When I finally got there I enjoyed a nice (though slightly pricey) dinner buffet complete with a beautifully-decorated dessert table. When I had first arrived at the hotel restaurant, they first asked if I was a guest, then if I had a voucher or reservation. I was like, "no, but can't I still eat here?" It didn't seem to actually be a problem and I don't know why they gave me the third degree since once I got inside there were only two other couples dining. Maybe people had reservations for later that night, but it seemed a shame that all that food would just go to waste otherwise.
It appears that I maybe overdid it just a bit at the buffet, especially since I still was suffering from a weak stomach. As a result, I was up every two hours or so that night going to the bathroom. The next day, my stomach was still upset so I barely even got out of bed. I slept in late and then spent hours on my computer surfing the internet because it was the only thing I felt capable of doing. My roommate, Jessica, a young Chinese woman who lives in London, was very sweet about asking if there was anything I needed. Even the hotel manager came to check on me at one point since he hadn't seen me downstairs all day. I finally got up in the evening to have a bland dinner of plain pasta with olive oil. I really didn't want to risk trying to eat anything more heavy.On Tuesday, Jessica invited me to join her and a British hotel guest, Brian, at a coffee shop in one of the newer parts of town. We took a cab to the mall where Brian ordered a coffee and Jessica and I got smoothies. I had plans to go to a doctor so Brian called his Jordanian girlfriend, Dina, to see if she had any suggestions. She worked right down the street and agreed to meet up with us to show us where to go. When I explained my symptoms she said it might be easier just to go to the pharmacy first. Dina walked over with us and spoke with the pharmacist in Arabic (even though the pharmacist also spoke English). The pharmacist gave me an anti-parasitic to help clear out my intestines. After thanking Dina for her help, Brian, Jessica and I went to another mall where had lunch at the food court before going back to the hotel. It wasn't a very exciting day, but I was still trying to take it pretty easy.
I had planned to leave for Petra in the morning, but when Jessica told me she was taking a tour van there the following day, I decided to spend one more day in Amman and leave for Petra with her on Thursday. On my final day in Amman, Jessica and I met up with two Jordanian brothers and their Egyptian friend, Mohammed, who was staying at our hotel, to go up to the city's Citadel. The old part of Amman is apparently built on about seven different hillsides with the central one containing the ancient citadel. There were amazing views of the surrounding area from the top and it was very interesting to see how the site had been adapted through time to house Bronze Age caves, Roman temples, Byzantine churches and Islamic mosques.After walking around the site and the small attached archaeological museum, the five of us went to a nice restaurant near Rainbow Street, which I think raised money for some wildlife organization. One of the Jordanian guys pointed out that the building, which featured high ceilings and huge windows with beautiful views of the city, had been a gift from the United States. I kept making jokes throughout the meal that everyone had me to thank for their dinner.
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