Out of Egypt and onto Amman, Jordan

From Alexandria we flew to Amman, Jordan. At the Alexandria Airport, a guy running the security check openly asked John for backshish. Really?! Then something worse happened. One of our bags was tagged for further security. It turned out our electric kettle was in violation. Nevermind it's nowhere on their 10-foot poster of 50+ disallowed items --"the list is not up to date." Whether the two incidents are related, we will never know. John was livid exasperated, nonetheless. The kettle went back into the bag. I left my passport at immigration and went back to check the bag in as hold luggage.

Egypt may not be the most underdeveloped country we have been. It is the most depressing. Their eyes are all on the material difference between them and the global north, when the greater difference lies in ideology. Egypt is not with the modern world where those incidents are not condoned.

Amman is better than Egypt. There is no incessant honking. People are polite and friendly.  There are proper Ramadan lights.  We got charged for regular prices for food. There is still  minimal/unnavigable public transport. Taxis are metered but drivers try every ploy to overcharge tourists. There are no mini or super markets that display prices on the shelf.

Amman itself is one of those places that grew from a village of a few thousand to a metropolis of multi-millions in the span of 100 years or less. It does have some excavated Roman ruins that attest to an older past, and is referenced in the Bible as Rabbath-Ammon, capital of the Ammonites. We used Ammon as a base for visiting Madaba and Jerash.

Note to fellow travellers: The airport bus does not stop at 4th Circle. Going downtown, it is better to get off at 7th Circle rather than continuing all the way to the North Station.

The scene of the Kafkaesque incident at the airport. ;-)


In the air over the Nile Delta, looking towards the Alexandria Harbour.


The main channel of the Nile snaking its way through the delta.


The southern end of the Suez Canal.


Our plane flew south over the Sinai towards Aqaba (1st below), avoiding Israeli airspace, then north to Amman with great views of the Dead Sea to the west (2nd below).




After landing in Amman, we rode the airport bus to the 7th Circle, then took a taxi downtown. Below is a shot out the taxi windshield as we neared our hotel (Beirut Hotel).


While looking for dinner, we walked around downtown, passing the Roman Theatre and fish market.




Up the hill from our hotel we spotted a queue in front of a small restaurant and walked over. Fifteen minutes later we came away with a couple of new friends, and a containers of hummus and fuul (stewed fava beans). A few doors down there was a queue at a bakery and we bought some fresh pitas. Best takeout of the week!


View from our hotel window towards the Grand Husseini Mosque over the mostly quiet streets of downtown Amman.


Out for an after dinner stroll to enjoy the Ramadan lights and night markets.












Our second day in Amman the Roman Theater was open. Wow!