Temple of Hercules

day 1 and 2

Day 1 and 2 were a blurr. The hotel is nice and close to a lot of site seeing but I didn't realize how cramp and packed Amman was.  It's very hectic and hard to think with people speaking a different language all around you. 

There are several different languages spoken throughout Jordan and Amman. These include Adyghe, several Arabic dialects, English, Domari, and Jordanian Sign Language.

• Keef halak? (How are you?)
• Shu-kran (Thank you)
• Marhaba (Hello)
• Assalam-o-alaikum (Peace be with you)
• Aafwan (You’re welcome)
• Yallah (Let’s go)
• Ma’taam (Restaurant)
• Gway-say (I’m good)
• Fatoor (breakfast)
• Fatoora (receipt/bill)
• Sha’ey (tea)

The transportation wasn't bad. I've noticed just being here this short of a time that taxi is the best way to get around if something is not walking distance.  The bellhop at my hotel told me that western women will often get groped by local men on public transportation like buses. So I will defiantly steer clear of that. The weather has also been fantastic.The climate throughout all of Jordan is Mediterranean, so there really isn’t a bad time to visit. The summer temperatures tend to be very hot and dry by day and cool by night. Even during the winter months, between November and April, temperatures tend to vary between 61 – 72 degrees Fahrenhei which is exactly the weather i've had! I went to see theThe Citadel hill of Amman, known as Jabal al-Qual'a, which is home to the Temple of Hercules which is said to have been constructed under the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelies who reigned from 161 to 180 AD. It has been inhabited for centuries, important as a military and religious site. It dates back to Roman and Byzantine times.

here!!

Arrived in the Queen Alia International Airport and booked a 6 night stay at the Arena Space Hotel. It's only $430.90 (or 301.94 Jordanian Dinar) for 6 nights and is only 12.4 miles from the airport so my cab was very cheap. That was a verrrry long flight but I actually spent alot of it researching some history about Amman. I found out that Amman has been inhabited by several civilizations. The first civilization on record is during the Neolithic period, when archaeological discoveries in 'ain ghazal, located in eastern Amman, showed evidence of not only a settled life but also the growth of artistic work, which means that a well-developed civilization inhabited the city at that time. In the 13th century BC Amman was called Rabbath Ammon by the Ammonites.  Eventually after the Egyptians, Persians, and Assyrians took control of the civilization the Romans took it over, but it was during the Ghassanian ear that the city took the name Amman from the previous title of Philidelphia.  The city was actually destroyed by earthquakes several times.

Tomorrows the Day!

I'm leaving tomorrow for Raleigh, my flight is at 5:40pm.  I'm packing light and the weather is supposed to be sunny!

FLIGHT DETAILS

Sun. Jan. 1 (Arriving Jan. 2) Raleigh, NC to Amman, Jordan

Raleigh (RDU) to New York (JFK)

American Airlines 4537 operated by AMERICAN EAGLE

Economy / Coach Class (N) , Embraer EMB-140

Depart 5:40pm  Arrive 7:30pm

Duration: 1h 50m

Layover: New York (JFK) 3h 0m

New York (JFK) to Amman (AMM)

American Airlines 7200 operated by Royal Jordanian

Economy / Coach Class (N) , Airbus A340

Depart 10:30pm  Arrive 5:00pm +1 day

Duration: 11h 30m

Total trip time: 16h 20m

Finally Found a Flight!

I was originally planning on going to Amman, Jordan in November but it worked best with my school schedule to go in January,  the best price I could find was a round trip flight January 1st-7th.  I'm leaving from the Raleigh North Carolina airport as I am from High Point North Carolina. Unfortunately I have a layover in New York at JFK for about 3 hours and then I'm on a connecting flight to Amman Jordan! That flight time is 16hours! I have no idea what i'm going to do in a plane for that long but hopefully it's the international planes with the TVs in the seats haha.  This roundtrip flight was $1350.00, leaving me $400.00 in spending and hotel money.  I looked around and I think Expedia had the best prices so thats where I got ticket