Apr 11

Apr 11 "12 Different Activities to Do Around Amman!" by Laura G.

Banner photo credit: Aseel Alshaar, 2023.

Marhaba!

Here are 12 different places, events, and activities I suggest doing around Amman to experience Jordanian Culture, meet other Jordanians, and/or practice your Arabic!

Hover your mouse over the photos to see the captions :)

Activity #1

A young woman holds up a phone to capture a narrow, busy street in a souq with lots of people and produce. — Visit Jordanian Souqs! This photo is of Souq Al-Sukar (سوق السكّر) in Downtown, which mainly consists of fruits and vegetables. I would also recommend visiting Souq Al-Jum3a (سوق الجمعة) which is like a flea market for clothes and shoes. Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #2

The center area of a busy indoor mall. There are four floors that open to the central atrium, with people on each floor and moving between them using escalators. — Visit Jordanian Malls! This photo is of City Mall. I would recommend visiting: City Mall, Taj Mall, Mecca Mall, Avenue Mall, and Abdali Mall, not necessarily to shop but to look around, eat, and have a good time. I also recommend watching an Arabic movie or even an English movie with Arabic subtitles at the cinema (i.e. at Taj Mall cinema). Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #3

An ancient two headed statue sits on a podium in a musuem. — Visit the Jordan Museum! Mention you are a student to get a really cheap price (less than a dinar). Really cool and dense museum that is surprisingly interactive! Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #4

An art piece depicting a gazelle made out of calligraphy letters hangs in an art museum — Visit the National Gallery of Fine Arts and the Jungle Art Café on top! This small art gallery consists of two small buildings with a park between them. Go with friends to check out art with Arabic calligraphy and of different mediums. The café is also nice with great sandwiches, smoothies, and cookies! Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #5

Trees stand in rows in a grassy park space. Everything is very green. — Visit King Hussein Public Park! Not that much to do, so I recommend having a picnic with friends for the best experience. Another large park/athletic place on my list to visit is Sports City! Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #6

An embroidered bouquet of colorful flowers is on a beige backing. — Take classes around Amman such as an embroidery class! Other classes I have done or hope to do: Dabke (dance) Class at Jadal Institute, Bread Baking Class at Jadal Institute (you can see me working with the dough in the banner photo for this blog!), Mansaf Cooking Class at Deewan Institute, calligraphy, etc. You can find most of these on Facebook as events, on Instagram as promotions/classes/events, or by asking around. Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #7

A screenshot of the Jabal Weibdeh Neighborhood Run online listing. There is a photo of a running group to the right and the run details on the left. — Run with Running Amman! Instead of getting a gym membership, I would recommend this if you like to run. You typically just follow the person in front of you during the run for the route. There are also people who circle back to make sure no one is lost and help guide them. If you are really, really, really slow (like me, who is always the last person during the runs haha), download the app Strava and ask for the route at the beginning so you can go at your own pace without worrying about getting lost! Photo Credit: Screenshotted by Laura G, 2023.

Activity #8

An overhead shot of dishes filled with hummus, falafel, fries, and other Jordanian foods. — Visit new places with your Language Partner! In this photo, I ate at a popular restaurant, Hashems, in downtown with my language partner while we talked about different things. Visiting different places gives you fresh topics for conversation along with new experiences! I will visit the University of Jordan with my language partner too, and I am sure there will be more places to come! Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #9

A small mural advertises Gilgamesh Art Cafe with a coffee mug, books, and a paint set depicted in the mural. — Do Pottery or Stained Glass Art at Gilgamesh Art Café! Speaks for itself: if you like art, this is a great option with a central location next to a ton of nearby restaurants to eat at before or after. Photo Credit: Laura G, 2023.

Activity #10

Practice your Arabic at BlaBla Language Exchange events! Sign up online before you go and bring a notebook to write down new words you learn. Every meeting has a different topic with different questions. I like to join the Spanish-Arabic table, so I can kill two birds with one stone: practice my Spanish and Arabic! Photo Credit: Bla Bla Language Exchange (Amman), from their Facebook Page, 2023