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1 CITY, 3 NEIGHBOURHOODS
Not the most historic of cities, and often overshadowed by its neighbours Damascus and Cairo, Amman has plenty to offer the visitor. Roba Al-Assi, a native Ammani and vocal city cheerleader, sheds light on the places she loves
JABAL AMMAN
Amman’s favouite hilltop neighbourhood scores highly for culture, cafés with views and staircases. Lots of staircases
In any other Middle Eastern city, Jabal Amman would probably be regarded as the modern quarter. But in Amman, one of the region’s newest capitals, the Jabal is the nearest thing the city has to a historic heart. It boasts none of the colourful souqs or old pasha’s residences of places like Cairo or Damascus, and it’s easier to find an espresso than an Arabic coffee or a rooftop bar than a Mamluk mausoleum, but don’t take that to mean that it’s lacking in character.
A good place to take the pulse of the neighbourhood is along cobblestone-clad Rainbow Street – the road signs used to say Abu Bakr Al-Sideeq Street, until the residents voted to change the official name to match the one everyone calls it by, after the Rainbow Cinema.
On a corner along here is a modest bakery, easy to miss if it wasn’t for the enticing aroma of freshly baked bread that wafts out of the doorway. It’s known as Abu Ghosh [1] (Rainbow St, near First Circle), after the owner, who works his red-brick furnace from early morning until he closes in the late afternoon, taking raw dough from stacks of wood racks and turning it into thick, baguette-like kaak, which is baked to order only. On a battered wooden table are DIY fillings: a plastic bag of thyme, a box of cream-cheese triangles and the bakery’s speciality, grilled eggs. There is no better breakfast in Amman.
A little way down the road, peaceful Viewpoint Park [2] is the ideal location in which to eat your sandwich. The view takes in the downtown chaos in the valley below and the Roman Citadel on the hill opposite. If it’s chilly, you can always warm up with a hot cup of cinnamon caramella from the nearby branch of Cups & Kilos [3] (Rainbow St), which is Amman’s most popular homegrown coffee chain.
While not everybody is interested in buying the organic herbs and hand-crafted jewellery it sells, the Wild Jordan Centre [4] (Othman Bin Affan St, +962 6 463 3542), designed by local star architect Ammar Khammash, is a stunning structure and definitely worth seeing. It has a basement café with terraces that offer more fine views, not to mention one of Jordan’s only organic restaurants.
The centre is the home in Amman of the Royal Society of Conservation for Nature, one of a number of worthy organisations that have headquarters locally. A short walk away, the Film House [5] (5 Mango St, +962 6 464 2266) is home to the Royal Film Commission, which has turned an attractive 1930s villa into a hub for audio-visual arts, with regular movie screenings. The films are shown in an outdoor amphitheatre against a mountainous backdrop.
If there is one element that definitively characterises Jabal Amman, it’s the stairs. A snakes-and-ladders-like profusion of staircases connects the neighbourhood to the lower districts of Amman. There is a beautifully crumbling flight of stairs next to Wild Jordan. Don’t be concerned that it appears to lead to a private home – many do, crossing backyards, passing front doors and descending beneath washing lines, but these are public paths. The Wild Jordan stairway passes Masrah Al-Balad, an old theatre recently renovated and now used for concerts and other cultural events. At the bottom you find yourself in the busy traffic of downtown, to which the only sensible response is to flag down a taxi and ride back up to Rainbow Street again.
JABAL LWEIBDEH
To see the best in contemporary art in Amman head for the slopes above Downtown
The modern stone villas built into the hillside of the Lweibdeh district are small and tasteful, with none of the kitschy additions that mar much of the contemporary architecture in other parts of Amman. Breaks of pine trees offer the dwellings natural shade from the summer sun and scent the air with a delicious woody smell in the rainy winters. The neighbourhood’s little corner shops, family-run patisseries and earthy vegetable stores belong to a time before supermarkets and chain stores. There is a feel of authenticity about Lweibdeh: no frills, no props, no Ammani teenagers playing it cool.
The laid-back nature of this part of town has traditionally led to it being favoured by artists and the galleries that represent them. It’s not a bohemian art scene, though, but one of good taste and high culture. One of the art centres here, Darat AlFunun [1] (down the hill from the Luzmila Hospital, +962 6 464 3251), or the “little house of the arts”, is perhaps the most beautiful spot in all of Amman. It’s actually three houses, all dating from the 1920s and set in beautiful gardens, at the bottom of which are the remains of a small sixth-century Byzantine church that the centre uses for open-air movie screenings and exhibitions. The house café, set amidst evergreen trees with sweeping views of the surrounding hillsides, is a fine spot for afternoon tea.
While Darat Al-Funun and the nearby Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts [2] (Hosni Fareez St, +962 6 463 0128), the country’s premier showcase for contemporary Arab and Islamic art with a 2,000-strong collection of works, represent the artistic elite, Lweibdeh is also home to many smaller, more experimental art venues. Notable among these is Makan [3] (Nadim Al-Mallah St, +962 6 463 1969); housed in a small villa behind Al-Saadi Mosque, this alternatively minded venue often showcases work deemed too daring for more established galleries, such as Diala Al-Khasawneh’s 2008 exhibition The First Bra Boutique, which told the stories of different women and their first bras.
Once you’ve had enough of art, head for pretty Kuleyet Al-Sharia Street. Running from the Sharia Mosque to Paris Square, this is the heart of Lweibdeh. It is where you’ll find Al-Khal [4], a falafel shop that aside from the regular repertoire of deep-fried chickpeas also does Amman’s best mfaraket beid (our local version of an omelette). Automat
[5], on Paris Square, is a great old manaqeesh snackbar. Running off the square (it’s actually a circle) is what’s known locally as Butchers’ Street, which is always heavy with the aroma of charred kofta. It’s also where you’ll find Abu Murad [6], which serves terrific arayes (minced meat) sandwiches.
Those with a sweet tooth are also catered for on Jabal Lweibdeh, particularly at Fairuz [7] (Al-Sharia St), one of Amman’s older patisseries, which does top-notch millefeuille and eclairs. For a purer cocoa hit, head to Chocoholic [8] (Al-Sharia St, +962 6 464 0888), a new coffeeshop serving an array of drinks with chocolate as the prime ingredient, as well as sheesha.
ABDOUN
No longer centred on the Circle but still a city hot-spot
There was a time when driving round and round Abdoun Circle in Amman was the coolest thing ever. So what if there wasn’t an awful lot to do if you pulled over and got out of the car, except perhaps look in at the Prana nightclub or hang out at the then-hippest branch of McDonald’s? It was the 90s, after all.
More than ten years on and Abdoun is still cool, with new attractions including, just down from the Circle, the super-illuminated Abdoun Bridge, referred to locally as Jisr AlNogeifeh (Slingshot Bridge) because of its uncanny resemblance to a rubber catapult. The centre of attraction has shifted though, and the BMWs and other smart kids’ cars now cruise down the road in New Abdoun.
One of the first draws at this end of town was the restaurant Blue Fig [1] (Al-Ameer Hashem Bin Al-Hussein St, +962 6 592 8800), renowned for its striking post-modernist architecture (it is designed by one of Jordan’s top architects, Khalid Nahhas) as well as for its chic and sophisticated ambience: work by local artists on the walls, fusion and world music on the decks. The place is still hugely popular, with a menu that is sufficiently accomplished and inventive to invite repeat visits. Shame the chairs are so uncomfortable.
The trail blazed into New Abdoun by Blue Fig has since become well trodden. Bunzy Buns [2] (off Al-Ameer Hashim Bin Hussein St), which opened a few blocks down, staked its claim with plush purple couches and a serve-everything-in-a bun-including-soup food menu – gimmicky to be sure, but it works. American restaurant Bennigan’s [3] (Abdo Shammoot St, +962 6 592 0769), a popular tavern-themed diner back in the US, quickly filled up with Abdounis drinking mocktails and eating burgers. Aping real-world geopolitics, the Canadians soon moved in next door in the form of Java U [4] (Saed Abdo Shammoot St, +962 6 592 0716), a Canuck coffeeshop serving both hazelnut Americanas and cherry sheesha. Cultural assimilation at its best.
A more traditional face of Abdoun can be seen at a tiny intersection right off Cairo Street, a five-minute walk west of Abdoun Circle. This is where you’ll find Al-Osra [5] (Hisham Al-Hajawy St), a falafel shop that stays open late feeding hungry crowds well into the night. The staff serve their offerings so mechanically that they would put a factory line to shame, but the food still tastes great. Along the same street, the college students gather in their cars sipping hot coffee from Cups & Kilos [6], while the school kids cluster round Frankfurter [7] for hotdogs.
And what of Abdoun Circle itself? Well, it remains an essential stop-off for a works. American restaurant Bennigan’s [3] (Abdo Shammoot St, +962 6 592 0769), a popular tavern-themed diner back in the US, quickly filled up with Abdounis drinking mocktails and eating burgers. Aping real-world geopolitics, the Canadians soon moved in next door in the form of Java U [4] (Saed Abdo Shammoot St, +962 6 592 0716), a Canuck coffeeshop serving both hazelnut Americanas and cherry sheesha. Cultural assimilation at its best.
A more traditional face of Abdoun can be seen at a tiny intersection right off Cairo Street, a five-minute walk west of Abdoun Circle. This is where you’ll find Al-Osra [5] (Hisham Al-Hajawy St), a falafel shop that stays open late feeding hungry crowds well into the night. The staff serve their offerings so mechanically that they would put a factory line to shame, but the food still tastes great. Along the same street, the college students gather in their cars sipping hot coffee from Cups & Kilos [6], while the school kids cluster round Frankfurter [7] for hotdogs.
And what of Abdoun Circle itself? Well, it remains an essential stop-off for a blast of retro cool. Gerard’s [8], many people’s favorite ice cream store, still serves the city’s best cold refreshments, as well as deliciously hot sahlab during the chilly winter months. Tché Tché [9] also thrives; the café chain is now 20 branches strong, stretching across the region from Bahrain to Egypt, but here on Abdoun Circle is where it all began, and the original is just as packed and hazy with sheesha smoke just as it has always been.
There’s even a new generation of trendy kids making the McDonald’s fashionable all over again.
Q&A Philipp Dennert
Why Jabal Amman?
It has soul. You feel that people love this neighborhood. It has a familiarity that I prefer over the coldness and anonymity of other areas.
What are your favorite spots in the area?
My old house with its two lemon trees, seven cats and blue door. There’s a restaurant called Abu Omar (Mutran St), which I love for the mutabbal, and Abu Khaleel, Amman’s oldest Chinese restaurant (Rifaah Al-Tahtawi St).
Is Jabal Amman too popular for its own good?
The franchise restaurants and tourist-oriented places are moving in, and these threaten the authentic spirit of the neighborhood. A balance has to be found that doesn’t cause Jabal to burn out but keeps it as an asset for the city that tourists and residents alike can enjoy.
Q&A Tamer Al-Masri & Michael Makdah
Tamer Al-Masri and Michael Makdah are the founders of Jo Bedu, an arts community that organises cultural events. They also have a Jo Bedu Store on Lweibdeh’s Khayyam Street.
Why did you choose Lweibdeh as a base for Jo Bedu?
We’re a brand that thrives on creativity and culture, both of which are a big deal in Lweibdeh.
What are your top three spots in Lweibdeh?
Jo Bedu Store, Jo Bedu Store and Jo Bedu Store. Just kidding! That would be Paris Square, Darat AlFunun and Khayyam Street.
How popular is Lweibdeh with Amman’s youth?
Not very; it’s still mainly older residents and the artistic crowd that you’ll find up here. As more cafés open, it will hopefully attract some younger Ammanis – that’s the only thing that’s missing here.
Q&A Ameen Malhas
Ameen Malhas is the owner of Champions, a popular clothing store that first opened its doors in 1992, right beside Abdoun Circle.
Abdoun was literally a village in 1992. How did you know it would become so popular?
The decision to open here was based on my mother’s gut feeling that the kids walking to the Orthodox Club would need something to do beyond burn in the sun. Those kids in white shorts with tennis racquets were the original Abdounis.
What makes Abdoun special?
It’s a commercial heaven, and that draws Amman’s youth and nouveau riche.
What’s your favourite thing about it?
It’s the only place in the city that’s got a proper network of pavements.
What are the things in Abdoun that you just can’t do without?
I love Noodasia because it’s got great sushi and a wide variety of Asian food. And of course the ever-popular Gibraltar Bookshop, which is where I feed my literary and media addiction.
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