Back to Amman

Last night I went to bed early and slept surprisingly well. I was occasionally woken up by the wind shaking the tent. I had to turn on the air conditioning again, it was just too cold without it!
At 9 o'clock we will drive back to Amman - travel time 4.5 hours. It's Friday and the roads are almost empty.

We arrive at our hotel in Amman. I left some things there that I didn't need. Now it's time to play Tetris and fit everything in the suitcase.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to visit Amman. In the evening, I would like to at least experience breaking the fast in the city and eat mansaf, a traditional lamb dish cooked in milk.

The taxi driver drops us off at a completely wrong location, but we only have to walk for 10 minutes: at least we can explore the city a bit. We arrive in Downtown Amman 5 minutes before breaking the fast. Plastic tables and chairs are everywhere, people have already sat down and placed packages of dates, a bottle of water, and cigarette packs in front of them. The holy trinity! The call to prayer sounds, happily people take their first sip of water, light a cigarette, and enjoy eating the dates (yes, mostly in that order. It seems that one can go longer without food than without nicotine).

We are also offered dates. It would be a nice atmosphere if it weren't so freezing cold. Today it's 2 degrees in Amman, and it even snowed in Petra last night. People don't mind, first priority is food. Towers of food are served, people devour it - and 10 minutes later, some are already leaving. The magical moment is quickly over.

The others from the group got lost, there are only two of us left and we are looking for the restaurant that was recommended to us. We actually get mansaf there! Next to us is a group of teenagers who are eating the dish with their hands. I prefer not to do that... It tastes good, the lamb is excellent, but the milk soup is a bit too sour for me. When the teenagers next to us all start smoking, we leave. I notice that this is the first time I've seen more women than men in this restaurant. Especially unveiled women. I found it extreme how few women are present on the street. Everywhere there are men, standing, sitting, talking, waiting. I hardly see any women. It would have been one of the things I would have liked to learn more about from our guide. But he has already said goodbye and so it remains a little mystery. I stop by the restaurant where we had our cooking class, as I wanted to buy something. The chef is not there, but she organizes the products for me over the phone - I wait in the office of the restaurant owner. Interesting insight into his daily life: opposite his desk are two huge screens that transmit live images from at least 30 different cameras in all of his restaurants. Creepy!

The next morning I have to get up early, which is why I'm already back at the hotel at 9 p.m. Now I just have to pack the things I bought today into the suitcase...

Tomorrow I'm going to the beach in Egypt for a few days. Air Egypt lives up to its reputation and cancels my flight. Let's see how I can get there without having to wait 10 hours at the airport in Cairo.