Al-Pasha Hamman

On the weekend I went to the bathroom. A Turkish bathroom. With many other women in attendance. And it was just lovely. Al Pasha Hammam (Hammam is Arabic for bathroom, Hamam is the Turkish word) is, like many of the interesting things in Amman, located in the Old Town area. The exterior is beautiful stone and wood work covered in vines. When you enter, you are greeted by a beautiful hall with fountains, blue and purple lanterns, greenery and a relaxed ambience. 

But the real treat, of course, lies within the bathing area, and the ritual of the hammam. We're talking visits to the sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and a large hot marble stone on which you can lie while sipping chilled hibiscus tea and contemplating whether to return to the jacuzzi or steam room. All the while, one can marvel over the arabic star lanterns that cast incredible shadows over the stone arches and the colourful bottle inlays in the dome ceilings. And when you are feeling so relaxed you could just about melt into the hot stone, you are beckoned for a scrub and massage, during which I definitely melted. After the massage, the new friend I went with (she's a mum in Charlie's baby group and a hostess with the mostest for baby group get togethers) who was well experienced in the ways of hammam had brought a facial mask which she sweetly shared with me. We applied it and went to a lounge area and had a hot hibiscus tea this time, and chatted away. She has had an amazing life. Hubby and I have been a little homesick lately, and that afternoon was the perfect antidote as I discovered a new place I love, and even more importantly, made a new friend and felt a little more connected to Amman. 

Souk Jara

Souk Jara is on every Friday in Dowtown Amman throughout the summer. For some reason visiting the Souk made me nostalgic for Darwin's dry season markets and the incredible Asian food that we would always have there. Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls and Indonesian satay for breakfast, so naughty, so yummmmm. There was certainly no Asian food on offer at Souk Jara, but we met up with the lovely Heidi and Joe and their baby daughter Sofia, whom we met earlier in the month at Ma'in Hot Springs. Joe, being Lebanese, was the authority on the best Arabic food to sample and so he and Dave went off and bought a round of pancakes filled with halloumi, thyme, turkey, lettuce and tomato, as well as freshly made lemonade infused with plenty of mint. I think the turkey in the pancakes is a bit of the American influence on Jordan, and also seems to be a substitute for pork products. For example, you can get "turkey bacon" here. Anyway, we happily feasted and chatted away soaking up the summery souk vibes.

One brilliant thing about the Souk was the abundance of juice vendors very enthusiastic to give everyone free samples. They seem to give so much away that we questioned if they actually sell any or make any money. We ended up feeling sorry for these ridiculously generous juice vendors and bought some of our favourite sample, strawberry and kiwi fruit. They kind of seem surprised to have made a sale.

After sampling the Souk's food and abundant juices,  we perused the Souk's wares:

One of the most interesting things for sale was Sadam Hussein memorabilia,  including this old Iraqi currency:

Also, there were beautiful dresses made out of Jordanian keffiyeh, the red and white headscarves that the Bedouin wear. I would have definitely bought a dress for Charlie, but she already has one that was very kindly given to her at her first birthday party. Such a sweet souvenir of our time in Jordan.

Ma'in Hot Springs, Where I found my Happy Place

We just spent the weekend (which is Friday and Saturday here in Jordan) at Ma'in Hot Springs. A short one hour drive from Amman, it was the perfect little getaway. Dave picked me up from work on Thursday afternoon, and we drove on down, literally, to 264m below sea level, where boiling hot fresh water springs out all over the place (109 places to be exact), creating some amazing waterfalls, rivers and steamy rockpools. Some were way too hot to swim in.  One of the swimming pools was 65 degrees celcius. I dipped a toe and promptly decided to give that one a miss. King Herod the Great (the very same who ordered all sons under the age of two to be killed, hoping to murder baby Jesus) spent a few months in the first century AD hanging out in the Ma'in Hot Springs hoping to heal his decrepit body. The ruins of King Herod's palace is just a few kilometers south. I'm not sure how it went for King Herod, and being a mass murderer, I hope it went badly. But all I know is, Ma'in Hot Springs is where I found my happy place. You know, when people suggest when one is stressed out, or when you're doing some Yoga or meditations "to go to your happy place"...well, now I'll think of exactly this place and moment:

That's under a waterfall that was about 35 degrees celsius. Perfect warm bubbly bliss.

To truly appreciate this happy place, I need to start from the beginning. We started Friday at 6:30am (due to Charlie's insistence it was time to get up) with a bike ride and swim.

Donkey parking. Funny. And donkeys do get parked there. There was a goat grazing area just next to the donkey parking area. The Middle East never ceases to amuse. 

We had a swim in the gorgeous pool that is pictured in the beginning of this entry, and had the pool to ourselves. We then had breakfast, with a sweet view:

After the energetic start to the day, we spent the rest of the day relaxing at the resort (Evason Six Senses), perusing the Middle Eastern architecture books in the library to get inspiration for our future home, eating more, chatting to another couple from Lebanon and Sweden with a 5 month old baby who also live in Amman (we swapped numbers - new friends - yay!), swam some more, went for a walk, had a lazy swing in the play ground, lounged about under an olive tree and generally did nothing much at all in very beautiful surrounds.

  

On Friday night, we had a babysitter look after Charlie (while she slept peacefully after her day of leisure) and Dave and I tackled a steak and bottle of red. 

Needless to say, on Saturday morning we woke up perfectly content, and wandered down this path to check out a new waterfall.  

Where we found this awaiting us:

 
 

And my happy place.

Byblos, the oldest city in the world

A couple of weeks ago we visited Byblos, in Lebanon, which claims to be the oldest constantly inhabited city in the world. (Damascus in Syria and Jericho in the West Bank of Palestine also claim the same title). Byblos, known as Jebail by the locals, was established in 6320 BC.  Whether it is the oldest city or misses out on this by a few years or even a few hundred years (to be forever contended), there are the most incredible things to see, and the ruins span the ages and empires from Neolithic and Bronze Age remains to  Ancient Egypt, from Phoenecian to Persian to Hellenistic to Greco-Roman to Crusader to Ottoman to French colonial. And modern day Byblos, which surrounds the ruins, felt and sounded quite a lot like Cronulla in the thick of summer. We were even served some pizza by a Cronulla boy. We knew he was from Cronulla as soon as he said "No worries" to our request for a high chair. He then told us that when he is in Byblos, he is a good boy because his mum is there, and when he is in Cronulla, well, he is a bad boy. He didn't provide any examples of  what "bad" could be, but I had a few ideas.

Here are some images from Byblos:

Crusader castle with mosque in background

Remains of Persian castle and lion carving, over 2500 years old

Roman amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean



The well around which it is believed Byblos was founded. Spot the yogi soaking up the ancient energy.



Ancient Byblos with Modern Byblos beyond, and the cove we named "Cronulla"





We loved the flowers amongst the ruins

Great Byblos restaurant where Charlie befriended the locals, especially one handsome local. (We're just friends Lockie, I promise! - C)

The next morning we pursued Charlie's (my) obsession with swimming in all the world's seas (which this year have included the Timor, Andaman, Dead and Red Seas) and headed to a town called Batroun for a swim in the Mediterranean. Charlie was a big fan. (She wasn't into the Dead Sea - too salty for her little eyes, or Timor - too much .... e Coli). 

As Charlie and I had our Sea fix, it was Dave's turn and we headed into Lebanon's mountains for some....you guessed it....rock climbing!

We arrived in a little village named Lalouq, which is one of Lebanon's ski resorts in the winter. Before we had even unpacked the car, Dave had organised a rock climbing guide for the very next day. That afternoon, we had a picnic and explored the mountains, still a little snow capped.

And the next morning, Dave got up close and personal with the mountains while Charlie and I admired from below.

 Back in Beirut, the main attraction for Charlie was this elephant. We'll be heading back to Beirut to see this elephant again. And the damn tasty french food.