It was a long drive back from Aqaba, but podcasts passed the time and we got to the hotel around 4pm. Eager to stretch our legs, we took an Uber to Darat Al Funan, an initiative to support the arts and artists of Jordan and the Arab world.
It is housed on a hillside, in six renovated buildings which were built in the 1920’s as homes for prominent families.
Most of the pieces highlighted the struggles in the Middle East like these from Abdul Hay Mossalem. On a base of glue and sawdust they look cheerful with their bright colours until a closer look reveals the subject matter. Here is Gaza and Martyr …
The watermelon is a motif we have seen time and again during our trip, having been adopted as a symbol of Palestinian resistance, particularly against the Israeli occupation, and here is Story of a Water Melon by Khaled Hourani.
There was also a display of drawings by artists in Gaza including this by Basil Al Maqousi which made the horror of Gaza too real.
On a lighter note, students from Jordan University have been designed chairs using architectural details of the building as inspiration …
… and here are a couple of the buildings …
… and the renovated Roman temple in the garden!
As we set off to find something to eat, the heavens opened, but fortunately we took cover and then an Uber to stay dry and enjoyed the opportunity to eat away from the hotel at Shams El Balad, a family run cafe in an old villa.
Although we had a short drive through Amman on our first day, it wasn’t until the end of our trip that we had a better look. Amman is named for the Ammonites who lived here in the C3rd BC and is today capital of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. We began at the citadel where there are Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad remains. The Roman Temple of Hercules dominates …
… built at the same time as the theatre down the hill …
… and the Corsa Maximus or Main Street …
… also used later by the Umayyads and leading to the Umayyad palace.
We didn’t spend long in the museum which contained lots of bits of old pottery, but did look at the Neolithic statues left in a buried cache by the earliest settlers 9,0000 years ago, known as the Ain Ghazal statues.
Afterwards we headed down the hill past colourful murals …
to the hustle and bustle of downtown Amman …
… with vibrant veggies hidden down a side street.
We ordered a glass of lemon and mint in a first floor cafe …
… and watched the world go by until it was time to be off to the airport.
It’s been a quite a workout this trip, in both mind and body! Standing overlooking the Holy Land was moving, the desert was beautiful but also inhospitable and Petra was every bit as impressive as we had hoped and we were so lucky to miss the flooding.
We’ve enjoyed learning not just the history, but also issues that affect modern Jordan and the political tightrope the country treads … and talking of treads, we walked around 50 miles in 10 days!
Our tour certainly packed everything in and ticked all the boxes, but we are looking forward to returning to a much slower pace next time we go off travelling together … very soon!
Off Travelling Together 