After a whirlwind few days packed with family, emotions, catch ups over delicious home cooked Syrian food and very little sleep, I landed back into London yesterday.
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| Tabouli, stuffed vine leaves and Okra |
I was in Amman, Jordan. It was a very last minute trip, more family oriented than a travelling and sight seeing one. But I couldnt resist doing at least one 'touristy' thing - I went to see the Roman Amphitheatre. Ive already been to Petra, and I would have liked to have visited again but it just wasnt the best option time wise. The dead sea is also on my list. Oh that never ending travel list!
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| Ammans Roman Amphitheatre |
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| A smaller rebuilt amphitheatre next to the large Roman one |
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| This is what the area used to look like...see the pile of rubble on the left...you can just make out the smaller amphitheatre steps - quite the restoration job dont you think? |
Amman is an old city that is modernising very fast. The amphitheatre sits next to a modern park/plaza, which is overlooked by crumbling houses, which have expensive high-end cars parked out front, that compete with yellow taxis and white 'shared' taxis that operate like buses along a given route. You can be set down on a sidewalk that has a footbridge that takes up the entire space but a block away is 6-8 story mall complete with indoor electric go-carting drift track. Its a worn out cliche but Amman is really a city of contrasts.
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| One of the cars with local guys celebrating the Jordanian Independance day |
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| Road side stall selling all sorts of lights and lanterns |
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| It also happens to have been Ammans first post office too |
But all of that was just the back drop to being able to see my mum and brother, its been over a year since I last saw them. I alsohad the chance to catch up with my aunt and uncle and their families, and meet my little cousins. I also put my rusty arabic to some practice. It really is quite shocking to realise how much I forget! I have to relearn how to express myself and communicate while knowing exactly what I want to say in English, frustrating!
Whirlwind as it was, when I arrived home yesterday, all I could manage was to fall into bed and sleep. But it was wonderful and totally worth it.
Have you ever done any crazy last-minute trips?
