We’ve arrived in Amman at the exact worst time. Three days before a 5-day religious holiday. For many in the country it’s a 10-day holiday. Plus, there’s an election coming up, so that means another national holiday in a couple weeks.
Apparently, even during the days of operation nothing can get done. It’s a personal bureaucratic clot. We missed the day to get a Work I.D. Without a work I.D. we can’t cash checks or fill out forms. The government won’t accept passports to work on visa issues. Without a visa, we can’t leave the country. We also can’t get a residency card. Without a residency card, we can’t contact customs about our belongings. We also can’t take ownership of our car which needs a license and insurance.
The process that should take 3 weeks, could take 6.
So we walk or taxi or Uber around. It does let us play tourist a bit.
Yesterday, we went to the old city to the Citadel.
We shelled out for the guided tour and found out about one of the oldest continuously inhabited places with evidence dating back to the neolithic period some 7500 years ago. This one hill has been swapped around from the Ammons to the Greeks to the Romans to the Arabs. Houses built on top of caves. Churches built on top of houses. Mosques built next to churches.
At bottom of the hill is a Roman Amphitheatre that looks like it could still be used today if safety and fire codes didn’t exist.
Here’s a slideshow of the afternoon along with some catchy music courtesy of the folks at google.
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