The flight from Brussels to Amman, Jordan with Jordanian Airlines was on time and uneventful and I was glad to be landing in Amman the capital of Jordan, even though it was late at night.

The problem was that the Brussels flight had a lot of foreigners landing all of whom needed on arrival Jordan visa.  You’re directed to the tourist visa line, which quickly fills, unfortunately there is only one official dispatching these visas, so it is slow going.  Later a second official turns up and we start to make more progress, but it’s almost midnight.  I got through this first step, and with my visa papers in hand moved on to the next immigration line. This took a while, but through and I’m into Jordan!

Finding a taxi and getting to the hotel was straightforward with no dramas and I arrived a the brightly lit Opal Resort Hotel which on first viewing was terrific and included a free mini bar, you don’t get that often, but unfortunately there were no beers in there!

After a late arrival it was not great to have an early start, but that is what I set up because I wanted to pack as much into my day of touring around Amman, the capital of Jordan.  I arranged for a walking tour with Osama, a local guide, to give me some good insights and help me learn a little about this new country.  I got a taxi from the hotel and let’s just say, he was creative with his driving techniques. At one point we were on the wrong side of the road waiting to get through a red light. To be fair all this was done in the spirit of getting me there on time, but it was kinda scary!

I met up with Osama, and we wandered the markets, tried some foods, navigated some great views, and he happily answered my questions.  Arabic is the language here, but I’m not too sharp on my Arabic these days, so it was good that he spoke excellent English.

Once the tour finished I headed to the Jordan Museum and was intrigued to learn so many great things in the modern world have their origins in Jordan.  I was not overly enthused with the ground floor of the museum, it was a little boring and too much facts and figures.  Upstairs though they had a much more interactive set of displays, short videos in the 1001 Inventions from Jordan as a much more enjoyable way of learning about Jordan for me.

After leaving the museum I wandered up and down the main street of Al Balad in Amman, I made a trip up to the Citadel that provides great views on the city of Amman.

And back down the steps to the impressive Roman Odeon Amphitheater on Al Balad,. and noticed something, that there were so few women, especially working.  I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but I decided I would investigate whether it was the way of Jordan, a tradition or religious belief.

I learned that Jordan has the 3rd lowest percentage in the world of females in the workplace at 14.7% of the workforce due tradition and cultural factors.  Later back at the hotel I checked for female staff, there were none, I did not see a single female in my time at the Opal Resort, and it does give a different vibe, not necessarily good or bad, just different, very different.  The tradition in Jordan is that the women are home makers and don’t go to work.

Having got through so much in the day one, I got hungry and decided to make my way to Rainbow Street.  It is where Osama showed me main restaurants and bars area of Amman and I thought it would make a good option to get some late lunch.  Only issue was I had to find Rainbow Street.  On the tour with Osama in the morning we had to been to Rainbow Street, but that was a while ago now!

One of the things I did learn about Amman is that if you see a turn for a street on a map, it won’t necessarily be a street, but a staircase, this was pretty confusing at first, but sure enough these alley way staircases lead you up to the next layer of Amman.  Amman is known for its Circles, circles are the districts and they layer out form the center of Amman and go from 1-8.  Rainbow Street is in Jabal in the center of Amman.

I got myself to Rainbow Street, because miracles do
exist :). I went with a plan of going into a souvenir shop to get a few things and then asked the polite man whom owned the shop for a recommendation of where to go for dinner.  If you want a good local restaurant it’s always best to ask a local, or so I find.  He recommended Sufra Restaurant for an Arabic lunch.  I’m not sure of the name of the shop, or the kind man who served me, but it was a great recommendation.

I had Rashoof, which is an authentic Jordanian thick soup for a starter, and it was delicious, so I might well be exploring how the heck to make it when I get home.  For the main course I got the lamb Lameh to try, and this again was off the charts nice.  Great food, nice restaurant and super service, what more could you ask for with an afternoon lunch in Amman, Jordan. From the restaurant I got a taxi back to my hotel and caved to bed for the day as I knew I was up for another early start tomorrow and an exciting visit to Petra.

Amman is definitely, nice city, nice people. Ultra safe and fascinating to roam around and discover the rolling hills of this capital city.