2026 Quick Spring Adventure – Amman, Jordan
Welcome to Jordan, my 76th country.
Those of you paying attention might have noticed that the region around Jordan is in a bit of an uproar right now due to the Orange Mad King. It’s sandwiched between Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. I had booked my tickets from Thailand to Barcelona back in January, looking forward to a week in Jordan along the way to check out all of the old stuff. Quelle surprise that Donnie had a stroke and decided to light another piece of the world on fire.
Here’s your standard summary for Jordan:
– Cool Ranch Doritos: No, and they tried to trick me with the same blue bag but it had sweet chili flavor
– Spain & Wise Debit Cards Work: Yes
– Airalo Worldwide Telephone/Data/SMS eSIM Works: No. My Airolo either expired or didn’t work with a local carrier so I got a local SIM card for a week
– VPN Works: Yes
– Cost of Living: $$
– Currency: 1 Jordanian Dinar (called Jody by the locals) = $1.4104 USD, €1.2084 Euro
– English Language Issues: Strong English everywhere
– Language: Modern Standard Arabic is the official language, but the Jordanian Arabic dialect is common
– Government: The kingdom operates as a constitutional monarchy
Your Short History Lesson:
The territory of modern Jordan has been inhabited since the Paleolithic period, with major Neolithic settlements like ‘Ain Ghazal (c. 7250 BCE) producing some of the world’s oldest known human statues. During the Iron Age (c. 1200-332 BCE), the region was divided among the tribal kingdoms of Ammon, Moab, and Edom, which frequently clashed with the neighboring kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The Nabataeans established their capital at Petra around the 4th century BCE, controlling vital trade routes until the kingdom was annexed by the Roman Empire in 106 CE and named what is now Amman Philadelphia! Following the Islamic conquest in 636 CE, Jordan was ruled by various caliphates and later became a secondary province of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until 1918. The modern state emerged after World War I and the Great Arab Revolt. In 1921, the British established the Emirate of Transjordan under Abdullah I. Jordan achieved full independence on May 25, 1946, becoming the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country’s 20th-century history was defined by regional conflicts, including the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, after which it annexed the West Bank, and the 1967 Six-Day War, which resulted in the loss of that territory back to Israel. Under King Hussein, Jordan signed a definitive peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Today, under King Abdullah II, the kingdom operates as a constitutional monarchy and serves as a major regional host for millions of refugees.
When the war broke out I started checking airport and flight statuses every day, calling American Airlines to plead to get me on a flight around the region through Hong Kong or Helsinki, but no-go – no seats available for the entire month of April. They did manage to move me from a connection in Doha to Abu Dhabi because Doha was 100% closed for weeks while Abu Dhabi was running a small but increasing number of flights. In the end my flights changed date and time 3 times. The 777 I had was ancient and the seat was awful, but I did manage to enjoy my 9 hour layover in Abu Dhabi in the business class lounge, with a sleeping cubby, 6 restaurants, 4 bars and a shower. My flight to Amman was good, no alcohol until we’re in the air. The flight path went across Saudi and then a hard right turn north to Amman to avoid pew-pews flying through the air.
I arrived, paid 40 Jody for my visa-on-arrival, got a SIM card and paid about 3 Jody for a bus that would get me near my hotel in the city center. I avoided getting ripped off by a taxi driver for the short trip, Uber runs here and was great. Checked into my hotel, grumpy guy at the front desk. Nice bathroom, fridge works, strong Wifi, safe door doesn’t work and the safe isn’t screwed into anything – you could just walk right out of the hotel with it…
I explored the pretty bleak neighbourhood. All buildings are sandstone yellow and there’s a layer dust everywhere. I walked to a nearby shopping mall, had dinner in the food court and heard a prolonged siren from outside followed by a big fwhump – and I saw people’s heads pop up from their tables and look around, so this event caught their attention even after a month of war. Then another siren later. Dozens of sirens through my whole visit. I read that aerial activity is happening high in the sky from Iran to Israel and Israel to Iran or Lebanon, going over Jordan airspace but nobody has been hurt here. Walking home was cold and windy, and me who didn’t put on my jacket or long pants before heading out – lesson learned.
The next day I did a major walk around the sprawling city, first to Amman Citadel, about 1 hour by foot, nicely downhill. Walked up to Rainbow Street, uphill. Stopped at a cool cafe, lots of chunky wood furniture, brought in from Turkey I was told, then walked downhill to the Roman Theater – wow. Very imposing, laid into the side of a steep hill. I got there after closing and was amused watching people try to get in. It was like the bouncers at a nightclub, some people were let straight in, others argued with lots of handwaving and not let in. I took a picture of the gate and slowly walked away. As I was prepping for my Uber ride, a security guy came up and asked if I took pictures of the police at the gate. I said well no, I took a picture of the gate and the theater. I showed him and he asked me to delete it, so I did. At this point there was another air raid siren for a minute, then shortly after was the sound of a fighter jet but I was surrounded by high buildings and couldn’t see it. I took an electric Uber back to my neighbourhood and a place called “Boulevard” with restaurants and cafes one after another. Walked home, 17,000 steps for the day. So far, life here seems normal except for the occasional siren.
The next day I had a 6am pickup for a full day at the ancient city of Petra and the desert region of Wadi Rum. My driver was Mahmood, excellent English and hates Trump and supports the Barcelona football club. We had one other Korean guy with us on the trip. Mahmood had absolutely no tours for the entire month of March and we were his second and third customers in April. I feel so bad for the people of the region, everyone’s life is being affected by the loss of tourism, prices for food and fuel going up, danger lurking around every corner. 3 hours later we arrived at Petra – this is the place with the famous carvings in the side of the sandstone walls. I’m going to have a hard time deciding which pictures to show you. Walking into Petra is a long downward slope, this is going to suck coming back up! Staggeringly beautiful sandstone canyons carved by wind and water. There is a concrete path through the narrow parts to make it easier for walking but other places have a rough dirt and rock path. I counted a total of 28 tourists at Petra today. Only about 8 were definitely not from the region. At times I couldn’t see another person on the walking path. There were more guys trying to get me to hire guides, horses and donkeys or sell souvenirs than tourists. Petra normally sees 4,000 visitors on a busy day. This is directly a result of Trump’s war. I walked all the way to the old city center and back up, about a 3 hour round-trip, knackered when I got back to the entrance. Enjoy the pictures.
We then drove to 2 hours to Wadi Rum, a famous desert region. We met up with a young guy on the side of the road where some old trains were on display. He had an open bed pickup truck with a bench down each side. This is our “desert Jeep ride”, and the Korean guy and I jumped in. We drove straight into the desert, with expanses of red and yellow sands and weathered sandstone hills poking through. Star Wars and The Martian were apparently filmed here. After a loop through the desert, Mahmood picked us up and we drove 4 hours back to Amman. Dinner at The Boulevard again. 20,000 steps for the day, legs aching.
The next day I made a deal for a ride with Mahmood to the Holiday Inn resort on the Dead Sea. First we drove to the famous mosaic town of Madaba. Stopped at St. Gregory church, 200 years old, but built over a 6th-century mosaic map – the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land. Originally part of a Byzantine church floor, it was rediscovered in 1884 and is now one of the most important archaeological treasures in Jordan.
After a quick hummus and pita breakfast, we drove to the resort. I got changed and went down to the water, very long and steep set of steps next to a series of freshwater pools. I am literally the only person here besides a lifeguard and a towel guy, I’m told this place can hold 800 people on a good day. More impact of the war. Water is COLD but this is once in a lifetime so I persisted. I can only see down about 6″ due to the heavy salt and mineral content, I thought it was a steep dropoff but it’s very gradual. The beach is rocky and not well looked after, but the war has been going for 6 weeks so I don’t blame them. I floated in a V shape with my feet and head right out of the water. The water feels strangely oily due to the mineral content. I came out and rinsed off in a cold freshwater shower, the salts rinsed off easily. I laid on a chair covered by a towel because it’s still cool and overcast. Walking back up to the restaurant just after 1pm I heard echoes of about a dozen booms to the north. Ruh roh. I discussed my onion issues with the waiter, literally everything on their special no-customers set menu has onions, but in the end the chef made me a mixed grill without the onion items. I got a full salad, hummus, soft cheese, bread, an enormous pile of meat, 2 glasses of red wine and I’m stuffed. I think they were just happy to have customers! I managed to fit in the cake for dessert though… A French couple was in the restaurant when I arrived and a single Chinese lady arrived as I was leaving. We are the ONLY 4 people in this massive resort. I walked down to the only pool that’s open, fell asleep on a deck chair listening to podcasts. Mahmood came back 4pm and we drove home. We talked about Tesla, Elon, SpaceX, investing and AIs the whole way back. He offered a ride the airport day after tomorrow for 20 Jody and I agreed.
After a day of absolute rest, Mahmood drove me to the airport. Fast check-in, through security and immigration and into the Crown lounge. Plane was an Airbus A320 NEO with very nice seating. Enormous multi-course lunch and 2 glasses of red wine. Beware – they FEED you in Jordan. Massive entertainment display, watched the F1 movie again. The flight went straight south then turned right over Cairo and across the Med to avoid any zoom-zoom bang-bangs.
So I’m now home in Barcelona, enjoying my own soft bed again. Take care friends, in this crazy world!
