A whirlwind tour, part one
Spent last weekend (28-31 January) on a brief business trip to the Middle East, stopping off in Jordan and Egypt.
Amman, the capital of Jordan is a hilly, fairly sedate city with a fairly strong western influence (at least compared with Egypt). Certainly it has the only branch of Hardee's (a US regional burger chain) that I have seen outside the States. Jordan is a surprisingly green country at this time of year and thoroughly pleasant after the cold of northern Europe.
Arriving after dark on Friday evening, and due to fly to Cairo 24 hours later, I decided to get in some sightseeing while I had the chance. I hailed a taxi outside the hotel and arranged for the driver to guide me round some of the city's landmarks: The Roman amphitheatre, King Abdullah Mosque and The Citadel. The latter was closed, but a friendly security guard was persuaded to allow me inside by a small financial contribution. The Citadel is pretty impressive, even after dark. As the name suggests, it is a fortress located high atop one of the city's many hills and it contains ruins from many civilizations: Roman, Byzantine, Ummayad, among others.
My driver then decided to take me to a local bar, which, as I entered, I realized was a brothel. At which point I kindly asked him to drive me back to my hotel!
Jordan seems pretty wealthy, certainly compared to some of its neighbours, but life for many of the country's Palestinian refugees is less than wonderful. A small shanty town we passed just outside Amman is indicative of the living conditions many endure: basic housing, medication and sanitation, and nothing more. This is largely due to the official stance of both the Jordanian government and the Palestinian Authority (that these people are in Jordan only on a temporary basis, even though many have been there since 1967, and some since 1948).
After a lavish Lebanese meal, I was lucky enough to have time to drive down and see the Dead Sea. As my hosts pointed out the places where Jesus was baptized and where Moses is buried, the age and importance of this place hit hard.
Amman, the capital of Jordan is a hilly, fairly sedate city with a fairly strong western influence (at least compared with Egypt). Certainly it has the only branch of Hardee's (a US regional burger chain) that I have seen outside the States. Jordan is a surprisingly green country at this time of year and thoroughly pleasant after the cold of northern Europe.
Arriving after dark on Friday evening, and due to fly to Cairo 24 hours later, I decided to get in some sightseeing while I had the chance. I hailed a taxi outside the hotel and arranged for the driver to guide me round some of the city's landmarks: The Roman amphitheatre, King Abdullah Mosque and The Citadel. The latter was closed, but a friendly security guard was persuaded to allow me inside by a small financial contribution. The Citadel is pretty impressive, even after dark. As the name suggests, it is a fortress located high atop one of the city's many hills and it contains ruins from many civilizations: Roman, Byzantine, Ummayad, among others.
My driver then decided to take me to a local bar, which, as I entered, I realized was a brothel. At which point I kindly asked him to drive me back to my hotel!
Jordan seems pretty wealthy, certainly compared to some of its neighbours, but life for many of the country's Palestinian refugees is less than wonderful. A small shanty town we passed just outside Amman is indicative of the living conditions many endure: basic housing, medication and sanitation, and nothing more. This is largely due to the official stance of both the Jordanian government and the Palestinian Authority (that these people are in Jordan only on a temporary basis, even though many have been there since 1967, and some since 1948).
After a lavish Lebanese meal, I was lucky enough to have time to drive down and see the Dead Sea. As my hosts pointed out the places where Jesus was baptized and where Moses is buried, the age and importance of this place hit hard.
Labels: On the road
posted by Justin Toland at 5:40 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home