Amman Downtown Jordan البلد /عمان

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN AMMAN?

Amman is the capital and the largest city in Jordan where the majority of the population resides, There you can see modernity mixed with antiquity in a special way.

In the Western Amman area, you see tall buildings, fancy restaurants, big malls, and beautiful new and modern houses built with limestone. Going downtown (Al Balad) you can experience a different essence. Like every country has its own Capital Downtown, Jordan has its own unique Downtown full of restaurants and great stores for shopping. It’s the more authentic part of Amman where you can enjoy a nice walk and see distinct shops; restaurants, coffee shops, souvenir shops, and jewelry stores

THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN DOWNTOWN

You can spend a whole day in downtown Amman and I recommend that you go on an empty stomach. start your visit to the famous Hashim Restaurant to have an amazing breakfast in an open-air area where you fill up with authentic dishes of the best Falafel, Hummos with minced meat, Fattet Hummos, foul, and a dish of vegetables.  They’ve been serving Jordanian food since 1952.

If you are a sweet lover, you should try the famous Kunafah from Habiba Restaurant. It is one of the oldest, authentic and famous Kunafah in Amman. I personally found it too sweet because they add syrup, you can ask them not to add syrup and make sure you have a bottle of water or coffee to accompany the Kunafah.

A place that caught my attention is called Jafra cafe, an old traditional coffee shop with a vintage look. If you just want to relax and have a nice cup of coffee and experience a unique feeling you can visit this shop. This place is amazing, it is full of antique pieces hanging down the ceiling, and the design is just so beautiful. besides the people being so kind and the coffee smells beautiful, there is a nice view where you can experience and see people walking by the shop. They play nice old music by the famous Arabic singer Fairouz. The place is great and the overall experience and the atmosphere are great.

If you are looking for some great souvenirs there are many places where you can find souvenirs representing all parts of Jordan and Dead Sea products at reasonable prices and you can negotiate the price. They sell mugs, bracelets, bags, notepads, picture frames, clothes, personalized and custom-made sand jars of all sizes and so much more.
if you are a jewelry lover, Amman downtown has many stores where you can find one of the best Gold and Silver stores of all kinds, the designs are beautiful and the prices are decent.

They have many Shisha stores where they sell different sizes and shapes.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Jordan’s climate ranges from a more Mediterranean climate to a desert climate, and you can visit any time of the year, but the best time to go would be between March to June and September to November.

FOOD

Jordan is well known for its top-quality dates. I stopped at Khattab Dates shop to buy some. They sell plain dates of different sizes, also they have them coated with chocolate and stuffed with nuts. They have an amazing collection that I bought a variety of them to take back home as gifts.

TRANSPORTATION

To get there it took me about 20 min drive. if rent a car you can park in one of many parking lots there for 2 JD per day. or you can take an UBER for around 3JD per ride.

TIPS WHILE TRAVELING

Jordan is the safest country in the Middle East, even for female travelers. People in Jordan are welcoming and many speak English.

Before traveling to Jordan you should consider that it’s not a cheap country. a meal in a local restaurant– hummus and falafel – will be in the range of JD4. For the more fancy meals, you will pay up to JD 35. The exchange rate is 1.4 USD to 1 JD. Tipping is not mandatory but it is appreciated.

Wifi is available in restaurants and malls. but the best way to stay connected is to buy a local prepaid visitor SIM card at the airport. the price will range from 10 to 30 Jd depending on the plan and the duration.

Don’t drink tap water. I recommend that you only drink bottled mineral water which is available in all shops.