Oh my goodness, I've fallen behind...
Sorry for not posting in a while, I have fallen into my routine here and as the weekend trips begin to dwindle, I forget to write about the day to day.
I'll start with July 3 because, well, WHOA. Spent most of the day watching the news and waiting to see what would happen in Egypt. I was honestly shocked that the military ousted Morsi, mostly because he was the first democratically elected civilian leader in Egypt and just last year his people seemed to love him. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. It might have been better to wait out his term and do it the right way, the democratic way, if for no other reason than to ensure security and stability in the country. This op-ed in the Times a few days ago made some similar points that I'm inclined to agree with. Oh, well! All of this comes at a very interesting time for my office, the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, as we are in the process of putting together a new program that will include conferences and workshops on how to include Islamist political parties in democratic discourse here in Jordan.
July 4th! Independence Day, minus BBQs, beer, and fireworks. Instead we went to Books@Cafe for drinks and shisha.
Not a bad view... and there were a few fireworks out over the hills so we weren't completely deprived.
And that brings me to this past weekend, which was by far the most relaxing I've had since arriving in Amman. On Friday, Jocelyn, Bryn, and I hopped in a cab to downtown Amman to have lunch at Hashem, a famous hole in the wall/alley restaurant. There are no menus at Hashem. Hummus, hummus, and more hummus are your options. They also have great falafel, which they serve with raw onions, fresh tomatoes, and mint, and ful, a spicy white bean dip. All of these are eaten with fresh pita and a cup of hot mint tea. YUM!
We then climbed (Amman in a city of hills, big ones) up to Rainbow Street. Rainbow Street is the main drag for entertainment in Amman. It runs from the First Circle down to a set of steps leading to City Center (downtown). The streets are lined with restaurants, hookah lounges, and the occasional bar. It just so happens that on Fridays there is a souk (mentioned in a previous post) right off of Rainbow Street, so we walked through again to look at the jewelry and art.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and HOT. Jocelyn had a tea spot in mind she had been wanting to check out so we went to find Turtle Green Tea Bar. What a great spot! They had an amazing assortment of hot and cold teas, as well as coffee. Free wifi, comfy lounging areas, and air conditioning sealed the deal. We stayed there for an hour or two enjoying the ambiance and relaxing.
This was the jasmine green tea/mango puree/red herbal iced tea we tried. Delicious! Ended up ordering a second pitcher.
The tip jar at Turtle Green Tea Bar. Made me laugh.
From there we walked over to Books@Cafe (see above) for some shisha and a view. The bookstore on the first floor carries English and Arabic titles. The second floor, where the cafe is, has a few indoor seats but most chose to sit out on the patio overlooking the hills of downtown Amman.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, at around 6:30pm we set off for Taj Mall (the luxury mall in Abdoun) to meet the rest of the UB group for a movie. In honor of the 4th of July we picked White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jaime Foxx. For a few extra dinar we upgraded our seats to VIP, meaning instead of regular seats in the theater we each had our own oversized leather recliners with tables and cup holders. I ordered a blue slushy and a mixed medium popcorn. The mixed popcorn is half buttered and salted popcorn, half caramel corn. What a fun night!
The weekend adventure didn't end there. The next morning we were picked up and taken to the Dead Sea. The first stop was the Jordan River and the Baptism site (pictures forthcoming). What an amazing experience. It was really amazing to be there and see where these famous, important religious events took place and realizing that you're walking on the same ground as Jesus, John, and all of these other people did thousands of years ago. The significance of it all was something else. My favorite part of that stop, however, was sitting at the bank of the Jordan River and cooling my legs in the water. The reason this was so interesting to me was because just ten feet across the river from where I sat there were groups of people doing the same thing... in Israel/Palestine. Wow!
The Dead Sea was only fifteen or so minutes away from the Baptism site. We paid 10JD each to enter a private beach with pools, snacks, drinks, shisha, and Dead Sea access. Floating in the Dead Sea was... awkward. It's an unusual sensation. A few friends of mine were unfortunate enough to get the water in their eyes. It is, apparently, beyond painful. After taking a dip in the sea at the lowest point on earth, I headed straight for the pool where I relaxed, ate fruit, swam, read... Just like a day at Seaside. It felt more like summer should.
Here I am at the Dead Sea! Spent most of the time there in the shade avoiding the sun but I still managed to get a bit of color.
After leaving the pool we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that looked out over the Dead Sea.
The group! Notice all the new faces? Those are the Belgians. They arrived about a week ago. They are staying in Amman for three weeks and studying business and economics at Princess Sumaya (the university where we take Arabic).
Sorry for not posting in a while, I have fallen into my routine here and as the weekend trips begin to dwindle, I forget to write about the day to day.
I'll start with July 3 because, well, WHOA. Spent most of the day watching the news and waiting to see what would happen in Egypt. I was honestly shocked that the military ousted Morsi, mostly because he was the first democratically elected civilian leader in Egypt and just last year his people seemed to love him. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. It might have been better to wait out his term and do it the right way, the democratic way, if for no other reason than to ensure security and stability in the country. This op-ed in the Times a few days ago made some similar points that I'm inclined to agree with. Oh, well! All of this comes at a very interesting time for my office, the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, as we are in the process of putting together a new program that will include conferences and workshops on how to include Islamist political parties in democratic discourse here in Jordan.
July 4th! Independence Day, minus BBQs, beer, and fireworks. Instead we went to Books@Cafe for drinks and shisha.
And that brings me to this past weekend, which was by far the most relaxing I've had since arriving in Amman. On Friday, Jocelyn, Bryn, and I hopped in a cab to downtown Amman to have lunch at Hashem, a famous hole in the wall/alley restaurant. There are no menus at Hashem. Hummus, hummus, and more hummus are your options. They also have great falafel, which they serve with raw onions, fresh tomatoes, and mint, and ful, a spicy white bean dip. All of these are eaten with fresh pita and a cup of hot mint tea. YUM!
We then climbed (Amman in a city of hills, big ones) up to Rainbow Street. Rainbow Street is the main drag for entertainment in Amman. It runs from the First Circle down to a set of steps leading to City Center (downtown). The streets are lined with restaurants, hookah lounges, and the occasional bar. It just so happens that on Fridays there is a souk (mentioned in a previous post) right off of Rainbow Street, so we walked through again to look at the jewelry and art.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and HOT. Jocelyn had a tea spot in mind she had been wanting to check out so we went to find Turtle Green Tea Bar. What a great spot! They had an amazing assortment of hot and cold teas, as well as coffee. Free wifi, comfy lounging areas, and air conditioning sealed the deal. We stayed there for an hour or two enjoying the ambiance and relaxing.
From there we walked over to Books@Cafe (see above) for some shisha and a view. The bookstore on the first floor carries English and Arabic titles. The second floor, where the cafe is, has a few indoor seats but most chose to sit out on the patio overlooking the hills of downtown Amman.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, at around 6:30pm we set off for Taj Mall (the luxury mall in Abdoun) to meet the rest of the UB group for a movie. In honor of the 4th of July we picked White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jaime Foxx. For a few extra dinar we upgraded our seats to VIP, meaning instead of regular seats in the theater we each had our own oversized leather recliners with tables and cup holders. I ordered a blue slushy and a mixed medium popcorn. The mixed popcorn is half buttered and salted popcorn, half caramel corn. What a fun night!
The weekend adventure didn't end there. The next morning we were picked up and taken to the Dead Sea. The first stop was the Jordan River and the Baptism site (pictures forthcoming). What an amazing experience. It was really amazing to be there and see where these famous, important religious events took place and realizing that you're walking on the same ground as Jesus, John, and all of these other people did thousands of years ago. The significance of it all was something else. My favorite part of that stop, however, was sitting at the bank of the Jordan River and cooling my legs in the water. The reason this was so interesting to me was because just ten feet across the river from where I sat there were groups of people doing the same thing... in Israel/Palestine. Wow!
The Dead Sea was only fifteen or so minutes away from the Baptism site. We paid 10JD each to enter a private beach with pools, snacks, drinks, shisha, and Dead Sea access. Floating in the Dead Sea was... awkward. It's an unusual sensation. A few friends of mine were unfortunate enough to get the water in their eyes. It is, apparently, beyond painful. After taking a dip in the sea at the lowest point on earth, I headed straight for the pool where I relaxed, ate fruit, swam, read... Just like a day at Seaside. It felt more like summer should.
After leaving the pool we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that looked out over the Dead Sea.
Paparazzi caught me off guard!
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