Thursday, August 4, 2011

JORDAN

AMMAN
Bakeries, Coffee, Ice Cream, Juice & Tea
Turtle Green Tea Bar – 46 Rainbow Street (Jabal Amman, 1st Circle); 011-962-7-9554-0601; cafe popular with expats and young Jordanians; in addition to tea, light fare.
Sugar Daddy’s – Fawzi al-Mughrabi Street (Abdoun, Abdoun Kurdi Plaza); 011-962-6-593-3032; sugardaddysbakery.com; American-style bakery.
Bars & Nightclubs
Canvas – Taha Hussein Street (2nd Circle, behind Grappa); 011-962-6-463-8212; dance club and cocktails; also “art lounge” and cafe.
Flow – Mazen Seedo al-Kurdi Street; 011-962-79-978-7777; nightclub; don’t bother going before midnight.
Hotels
Four Seasons Amman – Al Kindi Street (Jabal Amman, 5th Circle); 011-962-6-550-5555; fourseason.com/amman; plushly furnished and airy rooms.
Grand Hyatt Amman – Hussein Bin Ali Street (Jabal Amman, 4th); 011-962-6-465-1234; amman.grant.hyatt.com; comfy if corporate feeling.
Kempinski Hotel Ishtar – Dead Sea Road (Sweimah); 011-962-5-356-8888; kempinski-deadsea.com; 114-rooms; pale stone exterior; monumental reception hall that cascades down through terraced levels with split-level villa clusters anchored by free-form pools with direct sea views; within easy trekking distance historic sites (from Petra to Jerash’s Roman ruins); excellent food and spa; New Year’s is especially good time to go; rooms on 2200 line best because closest to sea itself.
Restaurants
Books@Cafe – Omar Ibn al-Khattab Street 12 (Jabal Amman, 1st Circle); 011-962-6-593-3032; booksatcafe.com; lovely deck-terrace (in back through seemingly hidden door that takes you through series cavernous rooms); cocktails and water-pipes.
Café des Artistes – 22 Rainbow Street (Jabal Amman); 011-962-6-463-8239; serene, 2-story café; also sells small supply crafts.
Cantaloupe – 10 Rainbow Street (Jabal Amman); 011-962-7-7773-3333; cantaloupe.jo; breathtaking city views; gastropub with wraparound terrace.
Canvas – Taha Hussein Street (2nd Circle, behind Grappa); 011-962-6-463-8212; “art lounge” and cafe.
Fakhr el-Din – Taha Hussein Street (2nd Circle); 011-962-6-465-2399; fakhreldin.com; encyclopedic menu of Levantine cuisine.
Grappa – Taha Hussein Street (2nd Circle); 011-962-6-463-8212; Italian.
Salute – Taha Hussein Street (2nd Circle, behind Grappa); 011-962-6-463-8212; quiet, small.
Yoshi – Mithqal Al Fayez Street (3rd Circle); 011-962-6-464-0903; yoshi-jo.com; sushi.
Shopping
Books@Cafe – Omar Ibn al-Khattab Street 12 (Jabal Amman, 1st Circle); 011-962-6-593-3032; booksatcafe.com.
Love on a Bike – Muaath Bin Jabal Street (1st Circle); loveonabike.com; gallery.
Soap House – 8B Rainbow Street (Jabal Amman); 011-962-6-463-3953; in historic villa; carried handmade olive oil soaps, blown-glass bottles, and popular Trinity cosmetics.
Sights & Sites
Children’s Museum – Saeed Khair Street (King Hussein Park); 011-962-6-541-1479; cmj.jo.
Darat al-Funun – al-Saadi Street (Jabal Webdeh, Paris Circle); 011-962-6-464-3251; daratalfunun.org; villa complex converted into galleries.
Jara Souk Friday Market – Jabal Amman; website currently contains “malware” and should not be accessed.
Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts – Al-Muntazah (Jabal Al-Lewaibdeh); 011-962-6-463-0128; nationalgallery.org.
Rainbow Cinema – Rainbow Street (Jabal Amman); 011-962-679-822-8830; among Amman’s oldest theaters; Rainbow Street named after it; recently renovated.
Royal Automobile Museum – Saeed Khair Street (King Hussein Park); 011-962-6-541-1479; royalautomuseum.jo; Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost used by Lawrence of Arabia.
Wild Jordan – Othman Bin Affan Street; 011-962-6-461-6523; rscn.org.jo; showroom and lively café of Royal Society for Conversation of Nature.

AQABA
Hotels
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel – Al-Hammamat Al-Tunisyya Street; 011-962-3-209-3209; doubletree.hilton.com/Aqaba; overlooks Red Sea’s Aqaba Gulf (on Jordan’s southern coastal tip); full-service, upscale hotel in business district; short walk to sea shore and all major shopping areas; near airport.
Sights & Sites
Wadi Rum – Desert Highway; wadirum.net; UNESCO World Heritage Site; also known as “Valley of Moon”; largest wadi in Jordan; best known for connection with T.E. Lawrence, who based his operations here during Arab Revolt (1917-1918); home to Zalabia Bedouin who, working with climbers and trekkers, participate in eco-adventure tourism; Khaz’ali Canyon is petroglyph (etched into cave walls) site, depicting antelopes and humans; Jabal Rum is Jordan’s 2nd highest peak, covered with snow; highest peak is south of Rum, close to Saudi border, Jebel um Adaami (popular trek from Rum village).

MA’IN
Hotels
Evason Ma’In Hot Springs & Six Senses Spa – 1 Hammamat; 011-962-5-324-5500; sixsenses.com/Evason-Ma-In; 97 rooms, about 1 hour southwest of Amman; recently renovated; famous for hot springs access (waterfalls), where Herod supposedly bathed; spa devoted to mineral-rich waters’ healing properties.

MUJIB (UNESCO Biosphere Preserve)
Sights & Sites
Mujib Nature Reserve (Arnon) – Wadi Mujib; 011-962-6-533-7931; www.rscn.org.jo/RSCN/HelpingNature/ProtectedAreas/MujibNatureReserve/tabid/94/Default.aspx; gorge that enters Dead Sea at 410 meters below sea level; world’s lowest nature reserve; magnificent biodiversity (over 300 plant species, 10 carnivore species, and numerous species migratory and permanent birds).

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