Out and About in Amman - Alone

Well, today...I took the plunge - went into Amman on my own and made it back to the hotel - just like a big person.

This morning I camped out at a local cafe and had a couple of cups of local coffee - I know where the expression "puts hair on your chest" originated! After drinking the liquid part of the coffee, there remains a sludge at the bottom of the cup that mimics primal ooze.
The cafe owner thought it was a good idea to ask me how old I was. I answered "jiddan" - very.

I sat outside and did some Arabic homework as the coffee worked its magic.  A young man sat down and, after establishing that I was an American,  told me he was going to Canada in a month and wanted to know everything I knew about that country. He was surprised to learn that I knew nothing except that it was cold and green. "Why you not know?" he asked. I explained that I wasn't Canadian, but American. "It's all North America, right?" was his response.

Under the invigorating influence of the coffee I decided to take a cab - alone - and visit the King Abdullah Mosque and an art gallery.

I practiced in front of our concierge saying, "jaami' malik Abdullah" (mosque King Abdullah) and was pretty proud of my rendition. When I tried it out on the cab driver, his response was "It's OK to speak English."  Oh well.  We had a good laugh.

I had a good time chatting with him. Somehow though my request to go to the mosque got sidetracked and I ended up being driven about the city.

Here's a castle high in the hills.

The driver told me the owner was not just rich, but "very, very, very rich."

"What does the owner do?"  I asked.

"Nothing, he's rich," was the reply.
.

Palestine is off in the distance

And here's The Everest Hotel. Super expensive so said my driver.

He told me he knew of a place where Dead Sea stuff was on display. I said "scrolls" and he said "yes, yes."  Wrong. He knew a place where Dead Sea stuff was not just on display, it was for sale. 

I think somewhere along the line there was a breakdown in communications. Somehow my driver buddy got the impression that I was either rich or gullible or both.

The store personnel were quite helpful, however, being misled about my ability to buy: a cup of tea appeared and I soon found out that one can purchase many many beauty/hygiene aids from Dead Sea products: soap, creams, mudpacks, shampoos and and and...  All costing a bunch. The salesman gave me a tiny vial of sand. When asked if it came from the Dead Sea, he admitted it was from Amman. Still a nice gesture.

Finally, I told my friendly cabdriver that I had no money to spend and that I was ready to leave. "No problem," says he. "I will lend you money." Swell.  I declined and somehow our friendly relationship declined from then on.

I also paid more for the ride than I was prepared for, but I should have told him "no more sightseeing" at some point. I'm learning.

I was then delivered to the Mosque. A stunning building.

I didn't see the notice about the visitors' entrance and proceeded to walk around the inner colonade until an official-looking fellow appeared to tell me "door two, door two." I then went looking for "door two"which I never found, but did see the sign to the entrance.

Actually it was the entrance to a small inside bazaar. A fellow approached and I asked him if I needed a ticket. "No ticket here, but you have to wear a gown."  Eek...and I was directed to a room filled with black and brown gowns, which looked much like my graduation gown except they had hoods.

So...I covered myself up.  Mind you I was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved top anyway.

I could then buy a ticket and enter the Mosque proper, leaving my shoes at the door.

Several people were inside, resting, sleeping and praying.  No sounds were heard.  I sat for a while and then made my way to another smaller room - presumably for women.

While the exterior of the Mosque was lovely; the interior was little more than a large (or small) room with many rugs and quiet.

After returning my "coverall,"  I asked directions to the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts which I knew was within walking distance. (I had a map!) 

A small park separates the two buildings of the gallery.

I liked this piece and was intrigued by the tic tac toe game someone thought to scrawl on it.








No grass in this park.

I was quite impressed with the gallery's collection.

"Southern Scream" a 2006 tryptych by Khalid Khreis.



Bader's Mahasneh's "untitled" (2012)




Since I had visited Wadi Rum last weekend, I was interested in this photograph of the area by Rana Naber (2005).

Dina Haddadin's "Unknown Margins" (2012)

Kuram Nimri's "Retaliation" of oak wood and stone.

It was late in the afternoon,the gallery was closing and I had no chance to look through the gallery's second building.

I went looking for a taxi to take me back "home."

Amman is really hilly and my game plan has been to walk down (rather than up) hills whenever possible.  At the bottom of this particular hill was a major thoroughfare: King Hussan St.  A left turn onto the street and what do I see...a PUB.

So far we've been to two places that serve alcohol.  One was a sports bar and the other was a bookstore/bar/restaurant. Both served their purpose  which was to provide us with beer, but they were still missing a certain ambience.

And here was a place called "PUB" and I had found it on my own. Unfortunately the windows were covered so I couldn't peer in. 

"What the hell?" crossed my mind and I pushed on the door and found myself looking into a small place with a neat little bar, one male customer and a bartender (who turned out to be the owner).

I asked if it was OK for me to come in - thinking maybe I  (a woman) wouldn't be welcome.  Turned out I was so I grabbed a bar stool and ordered a beer. I chitchatted to the owner and his girlfriend, who had appeared, and had a great time. I will certainly return.

My cab ride back to school was a success.  I told the driver where I wanted to go in my broken Arabic.  He repeated my directions back to me, I guess to make sure we were talking about the same place.  Apparently we were, because I ended up back at school, as requested.  A small step for mankind!

I stopped and order a garlic (yummy) pizza to-go and walked back to the hotel.

A great day.