Amman: Where the Falafel is Good and the Hummus is Even Better

We are so caught up we are posting photos taken today!

Except this photo was taken yesterday. We are now in Jordan and exactly half way through our 11 months of travel. We can't believe we're only half way, but we are feeling great and going strong. This is our half way-through celebration dinner of pita, hummus, and falafel. The food in Jordan is really, really good, and we've been a lot of places, and so we really mean it when we say this food is good.

Though also an Arabic speaking country, Jordan already feels quite different from Egypt. In Cairo everything was grandiose and elaborate - big, fancy buildings, bright colors, and bold prints. In Amman, almost every building is rectangular and white. There is a simplicity, but also an orderliness and, perhaps, cleanliness. For instance, the people selling fruit on the streets wear gloves. They might be smoking a cigarette in the gloved hand, but at least they're wearing them! Amman seems a little less conservative than Egypt as well, at least in terms of dress code. We have seem numerous women of various ages walking around without headscarves. So far there is also less hassle than in Egypt. We visited a very touristy place today and none of the vendors asked more than once if we wanted to buy. Amazing!

Another neat thing about Jordan is that the entire country is within 4 hours of the capital. Today we hopped on a minibus for an easy 40 minute drive and arrived at Jerash, home to the remains of Gerasa, one of ancient Rome's decapolis cities. Here are a few shots of the truly impressive ruins. (We really liked it, if you can't tell.)

As of now, you know exactly where we are!