4th March: A wet afternoon exploring Amman

After a relaxing morning and yet more pancakes with fig jam and date syrup, we checked out of the Mariam hotel (resisting the temptation to tell them how terrible dinner was) and caught a taxi to Amman. We probably could have taken a bus, but given the miserable weather and the minimal price difference we simply couldn't be bothered. Perhaps we had become too accustomed to being driven around for the past month, thanks to the generosity of my parents in India and the absence of convenient public transport in the south of Jordan.

About halfway to Amman our driver received a phone call from his wife to say that their infant son had been taken to hospital. Understandably shaken, he transferred us to another taxi and sped back to Madaba with our best wishes.

We had consciously sacrificed tranquility for location at the centre of Amman's old town, but were nevertheless slightly taken aback by the five-storey Jordan Tower Hotel rising up from the central crossroads. Our room was basic but had a good heater, and the rest of the hotel was comfortable and welcoming (and surprisingly quiet).

The rain continued to fall so we sheathed ourselves in waterproofs before heading out to explore. Just 100 metres away we found the Roman Amphitheatre, rising grandly up the slope of one of Amman's original seven hills (now expanded to 14). Taking care on the slippery steps we climbed up to the top, trying to imagine it filled with 6,000 spectators in the 2nd century AD. On either side of the theatre were two museums: one exhibited local costume and a few sections of mosaics; the other had old furniture and a couple of looms (but was closed for refurbishment, as we found out when we were shooed out by an old lady who emerged from a cupboard).

Enjoying the weather in Amman

Climbing up the slippery and very steep steps

View from the top of the amphitheatre

The faces were slightly creepy

Traditional head-dress

Looms in the Folklore Museum

We splashed our way past a line of columns, the last remnants of the Roman forum, towards the Odeon. After a quick tour of the small open-air auditorium we headed across the main road and up the other side of the valley towards the Citadel.

The remainder of the Roman forum 

The Odeon; nothing showing that morning

As we climbed up through the winding streets, past some kids demanding payment for offering directions, a woman beckoned us over and showed us a hidden path between the houses. This led us up into the Citadel from the rear, bypassing the entrance gate and the ticket office. Immediately ahead of us stood the imperious columns of the Temple of Hercules (those that remained). After stopping to admire the 2nd century AD temple and the view over the hills of Amman, we wandered through the ruins towards the ticket office (mostly at Clem's insistence, I must confess).

Temple of Hercules

Looking down on the amphitheatre (mid-right) from the ruins of the Citadel

Byzantine church

Sadly our honesty had no positive impact on the weather, which remained cold, wet, and windy. We made our way back across the Citadel to the ruins of the Umayyad palace, whose 8th century AD foundations had been excavated by a joint Spanish and Jordanian team. This was an appropriate reflection of the geographical scope of the Ummayad empire, which stretched from the Iberian peninsular to Afghanistan.

Entrance hall to the Umayyad palace

Interior of the entrance, with its reconstructed dome

Slightly damp main courtyard of the palace

Colonnaded street

Not much left of the mosque

We then sought shelter from the rain and the wind, but not the cold, inside the seemingly refrigerated National Archaeological Museum. We had a brief wander around the interesting exhibit, highlighted by a couple of statues that the sign claimed were the oldest statues ever found (and at 8500 BC that seems relatively credible).

The oldest statue known to man, apparently

A two-headed statue from the same period, around 8500 BC

We passed by the Temple of Hercules again, then headed out of the main entrance, around the walls, and down the hill towards our hotel. We stopped off for a very late lunch at a place called Jerusalem, which served us a couple of very tasty chicken dishes. On our way back to the hotel we passed through the old souk, teeming with fruit and veg sellers, and the 2nd century AD fountain of the Nymphaem.

The elbow and hand of Hercules, all that remains of a giant statue

A hand holding a thunderbolt, sitting near the Temple of Hercules

The walls of the Citadel

Late afternoon sun shining on the Nymphaeum through a hole in the darkness

We spent a couple of hours at the hotel, drying off, sipping at tea, and working on the blog. We then wandered back into town to meet up with Andres, one of Clem's friends from Bruges who was studying Arabic in Amman for four months. We met him at books@cafe, one of Amman's more modern bar-slash-restaurants, for a very enjoyable evening of swapping stories about Jordan.