Jordan - Lebanon Trip Blog
25 June
We decided to leave early in the morning in an attempt to beat the traffic, planning to use our United Lounge passes for breakfast and a little preflight relaxation once we were checked in.
We parked at the Mt Elbert shuttle lot, a process that took about 20 minutes from entry into the lot to arrival at the terminal for check-in. Given the lower cost ($8 vs $15 per day), it's definitely worth it for the 20 days we'll be parked here.
Check-in went reasonably well and the TSA lines for premium passengers was short. We arrived at the United East lounge with nearly 90 minutes to relax and out gate not far away for the flight to Dulles.
We checked one bag that contained almost entirely clothes for the Beirut part of the trip, then planned to carry on a roller and back pack each. My pack included photo gear: Canon 5D Mk III; 16-35mm f/2.8L Mk II from Mike Cutler; my 70-200 f/2.8L Mk II; my 24-105mm f/4L and 50mm f/1.4; tiny tripod, charger; sling bag; laptop; backup hard drive; memory cards and batteries; etc.
Our connection through Dulles for the overnight flight to Vienna is fairly close at only 1:10, so we treated the Lounge time as lunch, taking a step towards shifting timezones in three steps--two hours to IAD, six to Vienna, and another hour to Amman.
The flight went well to DC and we arrived almost 20 minutes early. We were worried because this was supposed to be our closest connection. It gave us time to walk around a little before the redeye to Vienna. We also put a final charge into our phones.
The Austrian Air flight boarded on time and had quite a few empty seats. I like flying the smaller wide-body planes like the 767-300 for this flight as it gives us two seats on the side and no worries about some stranger on the aisle seat. Becky took the aisle seat this time and I settled into the window. We taxied quite a while and were hung up in a traffic jam as the flights to Europe for the evening queued on the north runway. We finally took off almost 45 minutes late and were only able to make up about 20 of those minutes enroute. The flight was smooth, though, and generally quiet with good food and service from Austrian. I took advantage of the complimentary wine service to pre-game my 10mg Ambien with two nice glasses of red, then popped my pill just prior to eating the chicken dinner. By the time the serving trays were cleared, I was ready for sleep having pre-positioned my eye mask and set my Pandora off-line selection to the Phoenix Channel for some lighter alt-rock across the pond.
I think that I managed almost five hours of sleep, waking as we crossed the North Sea coast. Becky slept a little, too, and neither of us felt too bad as we landed at about 0850, almost 30 minutes late.
It was a long walk to the connecting Austrian flight to Amman and we wondered if our bag would make the connection. Still, the walk felt good after the short night and long flight. We had about 20 minutes to arrange ourselves and freshen up between arriving at the next departure terminal and then loading the shuttle buses to our Airbus 319 parked on the tarmac. It was surprisingly warm in Vienna, causing us to check the weather and see that all of Central Europe was experiencing an early summer heat wave.
The 3.5 hour flight departed on time and was again quite smooth. The little Jordanian kid seated behind helped me acclimate to the new time zones, kicking the seat constantly to keep me awake. Becky had a more peaceful time, though, and managed an extra 90 minutes of shut-eye.
I received a note from United saying that our bag, in fact, did not make the connection in DC, so upon landing we decided to head straight to the baggage service counter. On the way, we cleared the visa counter, displaying our Jordan Passes that included pre-paid visas on arrival. That really smoothed things out. We went to the baggage counter and gave them our info, bu they seemed to have trouble locating our bag--not good. In the mean-time, though, Becky went to the bathroom and, on the way, walked by the baggage carousel and saw our checked Osprey bag--problem solved.
From there, we were quickly waved through customs without inspection and exited to the main reception hall where our driver from the Marriott was waiting in a nearly new Toyota SUV.
The ride was almost an hour due to rush hour traffic. The highway had the distinct look of one of the Chinese “:One Road” projects we’d seen in Africa: new airport, big, newly paved six lane highway, etc. Our driver didn’t speak too much. He just said that he lived in Amman but was originally from Madaba.
We checked into the hotel and were greeted by a very friendly staff. We were informed that we’d been upgraded to an executive room with a king-sized bed and access to the Executive Suite on the 12th floor, so that made us very happy. The staff at the hotel was uniformly very, very attentive and friendly. The security was quite good, too, with pop-up barriers, a pretty extensive inspection of the SUV when we arrived, significant stand-off from the road, metal detectors, etc. All in all, one of the better Marriotts we’ve visited and well worth the price. We were glad we booked it for this night and then again for two more when we would return from our Intrepid Excursion.
After a shower and a few minutes of light unpacking, we headed to the Executive Suite for their happy hour and food. The spread was excellent with chicken skewers, hummus, baba ganoush, salads, drinks, etc--more than enough for a meal.
After our heavier than expected “light snack,” we left the main exit and got a taxi to the Citadel. Before going, we were told by several that the Citadel was already closed at 6pm but that the Roman Amphitheater was open late. We heard the reverse of that, too, as well as both being either open or closed. Our taxi driver told us the Citadel was closed, too, but we drove there anyway. It turned out that Google was right--the Citadel was open.
Our Jordan Pass got us easy entrance into the park area of the Citadel and we were treated to tremendous sunset views of the hills of Amman including the Amphitheater, giant Jordanian flag on a hillside, and the Roman ruins. The Jordanian locals there were very nice, too. Several asked me to take their photos and I handed out several of my cards.
One family asked me to take their photo with the dad’s iphone--he had two young daughters--but the mother was excluded from the photo as she was wearing a full burqa. The father then asked if he could take a photo of the two of us with his daughters and we agreed. Another teenage girl asked if I would take photos of her and her younger sister and I agreed--giving them my instagram handle and email address to forward the shots.
Throughout our self-guided tour we saw a young couple posing and taking photos. They looked to be engaged and were taking many posed selfies and photos of each other. Near the end of the tour, I asked if I could take a few photos of them. He agreed and it was at this point that I realized that they were both deaf. They were very appreciative of the shots, too, and I again gave him my card. He emailed me later that evening with one of their selfies attached to remind me of their identity and I forwarded four shots to him with a promise to send more, if he liked, from what I’d posted on my website.
I also took photos of another group of young people at their request and added significantly to my insta follower count.
The Citadel was really beautiful all evening as during the Golden Hour the shots of the ruins with the city as backdrop came out well. The guards started to move everyone towards the exits, though, as we neared 8pm and I made a note of that if Google asked for any info during later use.
From the Citadel, we chose one of the many taxis to take us to the Amphitheater. Our guide offered to drive us all over Jordan for as many days as we’d wish--something that, if seemed, every driver offered. He was quite proud to point out that he was cited by name in the Lonely Planet’s guide to Jordan, handing us a highlighted copy. We took his card and told him that we would call upon our return if we needed anymore help. Along the way, he stopped at an overlook of the theater and then dropped us at the square in front.
The square was alive with action--families with kids everywhere, in-line skaters, soccer balls, basketballs, blade scooters, hookahs, women in all manners of dress, lots of young men, hawkers selling food, etc. The amphitheater was, in fact, closed, though and we could only enjoy the views from the outside.
We then walked towards Habibah Sweets, a mandatory stop, we’d been told by many, for freshly made Kanufeh, the national dessert of Jordan. The streets were jammed with cars and people and we used Jordanian pedestrians as blockers while we crossed the road to Habibah.
We were visiting the original location of Habibah & Sons and were lucky that there was no line. A plate to share cost 1 JD ($1.60 US) and we took our plate upstairs after taking a few photos of the chef. The place sat maybe a total of 30 people including the upstairs seating area, but there were plates of Kanufeh and Baclava that could’ve served 100 each. Signs indicated that the Habibah family would deliver almost anywhere in Amman, plus they had another three locations in the city if one was outside of the downtown area.
The kanufeh was excellent: a bed of mild, white cheese about a quarter inch thick topped with what they described as wheat shavings (more like coarse whole wheat flour) soaked in a sugary syrup, lightly flavored with rose water, and also topped with crushed pistachio. It was delicious and unlike any dessert I’d ever tasted. Becky enjoyed it, too.
We thanked the manager and chef on our way out, took a few more photos, and then hailed a taxi to return us to the Marriott. A driver rolled down his window, and responded “Four J D” when I asked how much to go to the Marriott. I countered with “Three J D,” and he smiled, waved us in, and we departed. The traffic was down a little from the afternoon, but the three mile drive still took almost fifteen minutes of honking, swerving, acceleration, braking, and only the most subtle and carefree pedestrian avoidance.
The day had gone well, so we decided to press out luck and return to the Executive Lounge for a nightcap. We entered and the same server whom we’d had earlier greeted us. It was after 9pm and the Lounge was largely deserted even though the sign said it was open until midnight. We asked the server for a beer and he apologized and said that the bar was closed. A minute later, though, he returned with two fresh pints of Carakale Jordanian Lager, from the only craft brewery in Jordan, and said that “A man which such a nice woman deserves a beer.” I agreed. He also brought us a plate of brownies and we both agreed that this was a pretty amazing first eight hours in Amman.
We returned to the room, trying to stay awake a little longer. I quickly uploaded photos and did a fast first pass through post-processing in time to post the first day’s shots while Becky got ready for bed. We decided on setting an alarm for 7:00am to get into the right time zone and both were in bed and close to asleep by 10:30pm. I took an Ambien for a little help and the next thing I knew it was 5:30am--I was awake at the same clock time as usual in the Mountain Time Zone.
27 June
We returned to the Executive Lounge for breakfast and were just as pleased as we were with dinner the night before. Excellent service and wide choice of options from some traditional English to local yogurts and breads.
We left the hotel by taxi at 8:30am and headed towards the King Abdullah Mosque--the only one in Amman open to tourists. Our driver offered to give a tour around the whole city, but we declined.
At the mosque we both had to put on long robes since I was wearing shorts and Becky needed to put her scarf. We passed through a souvenir shop that seemed to be run mostly by a group of young women (sisters) that spoke excellent English. The older mensat in the back and watched them, smoking their cigarettes and seemingly guarding the camel hair rugs from afar.
The mosque was not really that impressive--in size of decoration. We spent about 20 minutes walking around it after paying out 2 JD entry fee. Becky had no restrictions on where she could go.
After the mosque, we passed back through the souvenir shop and were given some very hot tea while the young ladies explained to us the most important souvenirs of Jordan: mosaics and decorated ostrich eggs. Both were beautiful as were the camel hair rugs and decorated plates. The eggs started at 150 JD and many of the camel hair prayer rugs were 500 JD or more. We enjoyed the tour, but begged off of any purchase by reminding them that we would return in eight days and didn’t want to commit to anything (or transport it) before then. Of course, we were offered special deals to buy today and free shipping to the States via DHL was included for free, but we held our ground.
We jumped into a metered taxi (finally) from there to go to the Jordan Museum. We discovered that this museum doesn’t take the Jordan Pass, but paid the 5 JD each for entry and went inside.
This museum was extremely well-done, focusing almost entirely on the pre-Islamic history of Jordan, from prehistoric times through the Bronze, Iron, and Classical eras. I found it rather surprising that they had so little about the Islamic era, but the displays informing us about the other ancient cultures throughout Jordan was very extensive and well-curated. We spent a solid two hours there before moving on.
The next taxi took us to “Rainbow Street” where we expected to find many small restaurants and coffee shops. We weren’t disappointed and quickly settled on what looked something like an outdoor pizza joint called “Fatatri.” They had nice umbrellas for shade and, by spying on the plates of the other patrons, served what looked like flatbread, but was called “feteer.” I’d call the Jordanian stuffed quesadillas. They were crispy and folded, freshly roasted and lightly charred on the outside, filled with a mild but salty white cheese and then a variety of vegetables and herbs very much like Mediterranean style pizza (e.g. caprese, margarita). We had a diet soda each and enjoyed two “halfway” servings of the feteer, sharing the Cypriot and Caprese styles.
We then walked down Rainbow Street looking for a taxi, but had no luck in the midday heat.
It was clear that the main street was well below us and that Rainbow Street was stop on of Amman’s many (seven, they claim) hills. We had to navigate down some very steep steps about 100 feet before arriving at a main artery road and then jumped into a tax with a passenger already in front.
Our driver explained how much he loved Jordan, but spoke no other English. His seat was broken in the reclined position, so Becky and I had to squeeze into about one-and-a-half seats in the back. Still, he got us back to the Marriott in one piece, gouging us for a fare of 7 JD.
We’d arranged for a late checkout at 2pm, but were just arriving at that time, The main desk folks were very good about that, though, printing us a fresh key. We decided to try the Executive Lounge one more time for a final coffee and succeeded. The lattes were excellent. We also enjoyed the view east from the 12th floor and congratulated ourselves on the insight needed to book this great hotel. The servers once again gave us water bottles to go and we did just that--heading back to our room to grab out bags and go to the lobby. I checked out and also gave the front desk our biggest bag to hold until we would return on 4 July from our touring, dropping the suggestion that we looked forward to our return and hoped that we would be treated just as well then (i.e., upgraded to include the Executive Lounge!)
Not wanting to leave the air-conditioned luxury of the Marriott, we decided next to just hang out in the lobby for an hour or more before walking the 650 meters (according to Google Maps) to the Grand Palace Hotel and our meet-up with our Intrepid guide and group slated for 6pm.
Becky enjoyed the chance to relax and I used the time to write most of what you’ve read above...