Exploring Amman

We started the day with a group meeting. Turns out that 13 of our 15 are friends or friends of friends. Some have known each other for years. Our pretrip group is eleven — all retired from varied occupations, all quite friendly and accepting of the two strangers. Nad or Nadek, our guide, is personable, organized, majored in archeology, lived in Canada for two years so his English is great, even down to idioms.

Amman is the capital and largest city in Jordan. Its history goes back to ancient times with many invasions and conquerors. The king traces his lineage back to Mecca. Huge numbers of refugees from Palestine have greatly added to the population and traffic is horrendous.

Our bus drove us through the very modern section with government buildings, mosques, Coptic churches, offices, one of the royal

palaces. We toured the Citadel - originally built by the Romans and later rebuilt and expanded during the Byzantine and Islamic eras. Enjoyed the small museum and the view of the Roman amphitheater and forum down below.

We then drove a few blocks before getting off to stroll through the older city center with its crowded streets lined with small shops. Vendors selling everything imaginable for tourists and locals alike. We walked through the vegetables and spice market, stopped to try a fresh fig and later a treat made with a thin flat dough covered with olive oil, thyme, and sesame seeds, then baked. Lunch was at a nearby small restaurant and served family style with two kinds of hummus, fava beans, two kinds of flafels, pita bread, mint tea.

We had a three-hour break to relax in the hotel which was greatly appreciated as I only slept a few hours last night. Dinner was in a

very nice restaurant featuring Jordanian barbecue — a variety of starters followed by barbecued chicken, lamb, beef, and spiced sausage. Fruit for dessert. A pair of Egyptian waiters kept us laughing throughout.