Amman, Jordan

Trip Start Jul 25, 2007
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Trip End Oct 16, 2007


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Sunday, August 26, 2007

Arriving in Amman, you immediately realize that you are definately not in Kansas anymore. Most of the signs are in Arabic only, the airport is circa 1965, and the city is crowded, frantic, and very conservative. Virtually all of the women are in Hijabs or Burkahs, and very little English is spoken. Fortunately, I met a very nice guy at the airport who runs a group of illegal taxis. He was trying to flag down westerners to get them into his cabs, driven by guys that are about 16 years old. I was a bit wary at first, but once I told him that I was Canadian, he insisted on taking me to my hotel himself. With a reasonable price arranged in advance, we skirted the guards at the exit to the airport and headed to his very nice Mercedes. This guys name was Ibraham, and he has become my new best friend. His english is excellent, and after he dropped me at my hotel, I got his number and told him that I might call him later to go out. After walking around the city for an hour, two things became clear: 1) This is not a city that can be seen properly without a lcoal guide, and 2) that about 20 percent of the population has a guy with a machine gun standing in front of their house/store/office Amman, Jordan
Amman, Jordan
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Now this might have something to do with the location of Amman. If you go north, you hit Syria and Lebanon. South you have Saudi Arabia, East is Iraq and West is the West Bank. You choose...Hamas, Hesbollah or Al Quieda...
Having said this I am really enjoying myself. The people are very nice, and are weary of all the troubles around them. I called Ibraham, and he came to the hotel and took me all over Amman, showed me all the sights and seemed to know the guards at every location. At the temple of Hercules, it was closed, but when he arranged for the guard to let us in anyways it only cost me a bribe of about $4. He showed me the American Embassy with tanks all around it, and the ancient Roman Theatre. Then he drove me to the top of a mountain where I could see into the West Bank, with the Dead sea below. It was strange returning to the Sheraton and having to go through a car search in the parking lot and then a metal detector in the lobby, but it was bombed last year by a suicide bomber from Al Quieda, so now they are taking no chances. Ibrahim pointed out a car in the lot that was being thoroughly searched, and told me that the lisence plate on the car was from Iraq, and that therefore this was standard procedure. Tomorrow I am renting a car and driving 400kms into the high desert, to visit Aquaba, which I have always wanted to see, and then it is on to Petra. Since the only map I have is in Arabic, wish me luck!!      
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