From Downtown to the Citadel

Despite sleeping like a log from about 11pm until 8am, I was still very tired when I woke up. However, Zaynee got us all excited to get going because we were heading to Downtown Amman to meet all the students on her program (of which there are only 7) and her CIEE teachers for a traditional Jordanian breakfast!

The whole group at breakfast!

Breakfast in Jordan doesn't entail cereal or muffins or fruit or anything like what we eat in America. Instead, falafel and hummus, tomatoes, spicy sauce and French fries, and naan are common! I remember eating lots of falafel and hummus for breakfast from the Naschmarkt in Vienna when I was abroad, so I didn't find it too strange to be having it for breakfast, but I know Mom, Dad, and Hanaa did! The food at the place we went to was incredible, especially the falafel, and we all ate so much. The royal family also goes and eats here, so it's famous! It was also really nice meeting Zaynee's six American friends on the program, Eitan, Rocio, Nora, Emily, Nick, and Ross, and her teachers. They were all so sweet and so happy to meet us! They even let the students break their strict Arabic language pledge so we could be included in the conversation!

Afterwards, the professors left us, and the seven students and us took a walk around downtown. They all know the city so well, and were great at pointing cool things out to us, like mosques, unique stores, and specialty items, like sugar cane drinks, which Dad bought for us to try. I can't say I was a huge fan, but Mom loved it!

The sugarcane drink stall

We wandered around for about 25 minutes looking at shops and admiring the unique skyline. Jordan is very hilly, but all the buildings look exactly the same: square and beige. It was so cool and so different from anything I've ever seen before!

Man selling naan

CIEE students enjoying the shops

So many random things for sale!

Hanaa, Zaynee, and I in Downtown Amman

Soon we came to the Roman Ampitheater. It was an incredible sight! The steps went up so high, and of course we got to climb up them and see the view of the area from the top!

The typical style of buildings behind me in Amman

View from the top of the Amphitheater steps!

The family in front of the amphitheater

Zaynee, Hanaa, and I, and all her CIEE friends!

Mom, Zaynee, Hanaa, and I beginning our descent

Zaynee and the students took us back through downtown to the al-Huseyin Mosque in the center of downtown. Right next to it, was a large outdoor market selling fruits and vegetables. It was similar to the markets on the Asian side of Istanbul. Everyone was yelling in Arabic for us to come and buy their products, people were bartering and weighing goods, and we were taking in all the sights, from tomatoes to pomegranates to bananas to nuts to spices! It was incredible.

Spices

Fruit at the Market

Market

Rhamed picked us up from outside the Mosque once we finished touring through the market and took us to the Citadel before heading back to pick up Zaynee and her friends and take them to their school for the day. The Amman Citadel is on the very top of a hill in Jordan and provides incredible views of the city from all angles. Additionally, there are a lot of Roman ruins up there! I was very excited to see them, after looking at so many in Budapest last year. We saw the Temple of Hercules, an interesting archeology museum and the Umayyad Palace reconstruction and Mosque too. We were lucky that the weather wasn't too hot or too cold, and the rain held off while we were outdoors! I was amazed by the views, the sights, and the number of wild cats roaming around. They're everywhere!

Amman from the Citadel

Kitty of the Mountain

More views of Amman

Dad and I above Amman 

Resting by the Temple of Hercules

I'm tiny on the Temple of Hercules!

Sister bonding 

Reconstruction of the Temple of Umayyad and Mosque

Interior of the Mosque

Hanaa and Dad leaving the mosque in search of a bathroom...

We spent about 2 hours up at the Citadel, and once we finished, Rhamed was waiting for us. We were quite tired from all that walking, plus the jet lag catching up to us again. Hanaa was hungry and Mom hadn't had her morning coffee, so we decided to go to a coffeeshop before going to the Jordan Museum Zaynee recommended for us. I was very nervous about going somewhere they wouldn't understand English, so I decided to be #basic...and suggested Starbucks! Rhamed took us there in a flash, and we were instantly surrounded by red holiday cups and cosy seats. So #basic. We ended up relaxing with our drinks and pastries for about 40 minutes before heading back to the car in the sudden downpour. Rhamed took us to the Jordanian Museum...and we discovered that it was 3pm and it closed at 2...so sad. So instead, we went with him to pick up Zaynee from school and then go to Rainbow Street, where all the ex-pats hang out.

It was getting chilly and wet, so we walked around the street, which was quite clean we discovered, and eventually made it into one of Zaynee's favourite coffee shops, Turtle Bay Coffeehouse. Mom and Zaynee ordered  drinks while we sat together and relaxed for a few hours. Our next stop was Sufra for another traditional Jordanian meal, and we headed over there as soon as we started feeling peckish.

Dinner time!

Hanaa and Zaynee enjoying the food

The food was amazing, as usual. However, I need to remember that I only have to order appetizers to feel full! The falafel and hummus, tabbouleh, and naan filled me up, and I could barely eat the various meats we ordered for the main course! But we had a great time together and finished off the meal with some pistachio Turkish delight and minty black tea before heading back to the Kindi for the night. Tomorrow, we are up bright and early to follow Zaynee's itinerary for the day!

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