Moving on Up to the West Side

March 26
Mecca Street, Amman

Military HQ Still Under Waranty

Two early days in a row. Friday, my first of the break, began at the crack of dawn as I ate a lonely breakfast and hurried out of the house on my way to Cycling Jordan's Amman office in the west of the city. I had scoped the route and surroundings on the computer, but my only experience in the area was through the windows of a car on the way to the Royal Automobile Museum.

Just Looking at Mouthwatering Baklava

West Amman and Mecca Street in particular are the site of Amman's great wealthy buildup over the course of the last quarter century. Chiq restaurants, office palaces, magnificent car showrooms, and two massive malls dominate the scene. But just removed from the central corridor one can find traces of poverty, small fires and feces the traces of the homeless. This is the home of many nouveau riche from Palestine and Iraq, but it also hosts the spillover of many construction sites, both laborers and their materials.

Have Faith, Will Travel

I struck out on foot and caught a cab. At 7:20 I was on Mecca Street, navigating from memory towards the landmarks I thought would find me the back street office. I turned on my mobile as I walked and discovered that my haste and expense had been in vain; weather had made biking an impossibility near Azraq. The trip was canceled, and my spring break lost its primer.

Welcome to Jordan

I continued on, determined to make a thorough examination of Amman's upper crust. I had all day to look for the office and check out City and Mecca Malls. It was lucky the trip had been called off, I wandered the vicinity for hours and never came across a sign of Cycling Jordan. Unruffled, I still enjoyed framing the luxury around me for the camera and making my way through such opulence while listening to Jon Krakuer's Into the Wild.

I wound up in City Mall and perused the deserted gleaming monument to western consumption. Friday starts slow and ends early in the Muslim world. I was surrounded for the first hour by the staff of the stores and the security personnel determined to prevent any indoor photography. I wandered into Amman's Carrefour, an outpost of the massive French international "hypermarket" chain.

Laying the Foundations for the Next Generation

I perused the cookbook section, examined laptops, and investigated every isle in the massive grocery store, lingering in the spices and produce section ruing the fact that memory would have to suffice as I took in the new vocabulary. I returned on foot and over the course of several hours and hilly miles. I got back for lunch and was thankful for the extra time as I wrapped up my application for Senator Kohl and prepped my back for another six o'clock departure to Jett's office on the morrow. It was late when I finally sank into bed and slipped off to sleep.