Today is the Sabbath Day for the Jordanians, so traffic was nil because nobody was working. I went for coffee with Ken and a client around lunch time, and then Ken and I drove down to the First Circle. By the way, Ken is a ADS cohort that is based out the Erlanger Office. He has been in Amman a few years.
Amman is laid out as "The Circles" being geographic locations. The First Circle is old Amman, where the city was first settled. No, I don't know the year. The First Circle has many English speaking people and is a tourist area. I saw a place called Chili Way, and Ken told me it was very similar to a Gold Star. HELL YEAH, can get my chili fix. They also have a pancake and waffle joint called the Bake House. The First Circle is on a hill side, with the Roman Citadel on the hill directly on the other side. There is about a 500' elevation difference, but you can't tell because the hillsides are littered with roof top restaurants.
The Roman Citadel has ruins and an amphitheatre dating back to 1 AD. Back in the Jesus days. A great deal of what is written in the bible took place within 100 miles of this location. JC's baptism site, the incarceration and execution of John the Baptist, Mt. Nebo where Moses led the people from Egypt to the Promised Land, and much more.
The "Circles" are basically roundabouts with a bypasses that goes underneath the four way intersection. The Circles get progressively larger the father away from downtown Amman. For example, my hotel is located near the Third Circle. The further away from the first circle, the newer the buildings are.
I also got to see the apartment that I will be moving into next week. It is in an embassy area, so there are armed guards at each corner of the block. El Concord, the sub contractor has hired another security guard outside of the building. He gets paid 40 JD a week because of the long hours. That works out to about $70.00. Ken told me the guy that does maintenance at the building washes his car also for 1 JD inside and out. He makes 15 JD (about $26.00) a week and that is considered a good salary in Jordan. So, if you think you don't get paid enough in the US, you need to quit bitching. Think about this for a second. The average lunch with a Pepsi or Coke, runs from 6 to 7 JD. (About $10 to $12) I have no idea how the maintenance man supports a family.
The apartment is nice. It is a fully furnished, 3 bedroom, 2 bath,with a full kitchen. It is about 850 sq ft. so it is much bigger than the hotel room. It already has a new mattress, new curtains, linens, wireless Internet, and satellite TV. The only things I will need to purchase is laundry detergent, and groceries. It has a balcony for all bedrooms and living room that has a fantastic view of the city. I will provide photos once I move in. The good part is, the apartment is all mine. I will not be sharing with anyone else. It is within walking distance of 3 or 4 supermarkets, a large shopping area, and English bars. It is located near Sixth Circle.
The US media portrays this area as there is a suicide bomber on every corner. Simply not the case. The four days that I have been here, I have seen nothing but generous, respectful people, that will bend over backward to help you out. Jordan has always had the tendency to avoid conflict and war, it has been that way for hundreds of years. Jordan is a safe haven for Western negotiations with the rest of the Middle Eastern countries. In some ways, they are like Switzerland.
No comments:
Post a Comment