Welcome to Jordan, Mama + Papa!

Saturday + Sunday, January 18 + 19

9 am. The end of the university stress seamlessly transitions into a much more pleasant program: Mama and Papa decided to take a week off to visit me in Jordan. So, I head to the familiar place at 7th Circle where the buses to the airport depart. Although I miss the first bus, I still manage to arrive at the airport on time to welcome Mama and Papa with Jordanian cookies that I bought from our regular bakery in the morning. As usual, we take the bus and a taxi to return to our apartment and leave all the luggage there.

Unfortunately, this week is not the best time for a vacation weather-wise in Jordan. The gray, thick cloud cover doesn't exactly give Amman the best lighting. However, that doesn't stop us from exploring the streets of Amman a little bit. We start by walking through a charming alley in Jabal Amman, lined with various artist galleries, and then pass by the university (which is closed today) and descend the Zajal steps to downtown. We walk through downtown to the market where the stalls are fortunately open in any weather. I introduce Mama and Papa to my regular vendors (my market friends, as I call them), and as a result, my Syrian nut friends want to give me the roasted nuts for free today. We buy nuts, figs, bread, olives, and halawa, and then find a place for dinner.

Lea recommended a restaurant in downtown that is supposed to serve authentic and affordable Jordanian cuisine. And it does: rice, lamb, köfte, and more are abundant and delicious. Another thing that is quite authentic to Amman is the excessive use of plastic. However, here it is taken to extreme levels: single-use bottles, tablecloths, plates, and cutlery. In the end, all reusable items on the table are collected, the corners of the plastic tablecloth are gathered, and everything is disposed of in the large bin in the kitchen. Welcome to Jordan.

8 am. I get fresh bread, hummus, and fatteh with Mama and prepare a birthday breakfast for Papa. The clouds also contribute to Papa's special day and make room for the blue sky that hides behind them, at least for a while. So, we can stroll past the beautiful stairs at Cultural Café, admire the beautiful graffiti on the way to Weibdeh, and end up in the National Art Gallery, where the Jungle Fever is located on the second floor. While Mama and Papa explore the gallery's exhibition, I join Sophia and Rose a little late, as they have already started our Arabic lesson at Jungle Fever.

After our lesson, Mama and Papa join us, and we sit together with Sophia for a while, enjoying a lemon mint drink (which Mama also instantly loves, just like Sophia and me). Then, we take a look at the small shop next to Jungle Fever, where wonderful handmade items are sold, and then we are joined by Lea. We have arranged to visit Amman's famous blue King Abdullah Mosque with her.

It is the most popular mosque among tourists, as can be seen by the fact that there is a separate entrance for external visitors. It leads directly through a huge souvenir shop where all kinds of cheap merchandise are sold. Women can also borrow a robe with a hood here, without which they cannot enter the mosque. Then, we have to pass by a gatekeeper, where we pay 2 JD per person, and then we can enter the mosque without shoes.

From the outside, it looks magnificent, but inside it is rather simple. Contrary to our expectations, there is no mosaic on the walls. However, there is the typical carpet found in mosques, which indicates the direction of prayer (in Islam, the direction towards Mecca is always prayed towards), and a few colorful windows in the lower part of the dome. There is also a huge chandelier that almost covers the entire area of the round room. Behind a taxi driver who gives a small private tour of the mosque to his two passengers, we also learn a few details. While he explains the times of the 5 daily prayers in Islam, why men and women pray separately, and how to properly position oneself on the carpet, two boys play football with a small ball behind him. There is definitely enough space for that.

Mama, Lea and I then take a look at the side room where women pray, which is not accessible to men. It is like a much smaller version of the main building, where you can also see what is happening in the main building on a screen. Therefore, men should not see women whilst praying so they can fully concentrate on God, while women have the faces of men in front of them through the screen while praying. This logic doesn't really make sense to me.

Originally, we planned to watch the sunset from the Citadel this evening, but the cloud cover has closed again by now, so it wouldn't be very meaningful today. Instead, we decide to buy our Jett bus tickets for our trip to Petra and Wadi Rum, which we will start tomorrow, and then have dinner at a restaurant in Weibdeh. We have been here with our chaotic group during the semester, and I know that apart from the charming and rustic decor, they also serve good food and lemon mint. And we are not disappointed. It is definitely a worthy birthday dinner.

Goodbye at the airport

First dinner together in downtown

The next morning: this bakery here has the best freshly baked bread

... this is what the finished birthday breakfast looked like :-)

On the way to Weibdeh:

Graffiti by Amman's most famous street artist

The blue mosque from the inside

Back in Weibdeh: there are really nice small craft shops here

On the way home, we take a small detour through Rainbow Street, where it always sparkles in the dark