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As George Washington University student Lindsey McGuire finishes up her semester with us in Jordan, read about her day trip with a few of her fellow classmates to the historic city As-Salt.
One Saturday, my friends and I hopped in an Uber and journeyed to As-Salt. This historic Jordanian city is located less than an hour away from Amman in the Al-Balqa Governorate. The first king of Jordan, Abdullah I, originally choose As-Salt as the country’s capital, although it was later changed to Amman. Arriving in As-Salt, I could instantly see how different the city is from Amman. Instead of the white limestone buildings I was used to in Amman, As-Salt’s hills are covered with buildings made of yellow sandstone. Staircases cover the city, winding up and down the hills and through narrow alleyways. Comfortable shoes are a must for anyone looking to visit As-Salt– we found ourselves climbing all over the city to visit its famous landmarks and take in the views. Photo Credit: L. McGuire, Fall 2018
We began our day in As-Salt by traversing up and down the famous Al-Hamam Street, where you can purchase anything– clothes, spices, souvenirs, fresh produce, and more. I purchased a few scarves from a vendor and we stopped at a cafe to drink tea with mint and eat lokma, fried dough balls similar to donuts but coated in a sticky sugar syrup. After our dessert, we decided we were still hungry and headed to a restaurant where we ordered traditional foods like hummus, fattosh (a chopped vegetable salad with fried pita croutons), and mufaraqah (eggs with potatoes and seasonings). I indulged with my favorite Jordanian drink, a bright green limon oona’na made of lemons and mint. Photo Credit: L. McGuire, Fall 2018
After our delicious lunch, we stopped in the As-Salt Ecomuseum gift shop. The museum happened to be closed that day, but the gift shop had many beautiful handmade gifts like keffiyehs, olive oil soap, and ceramic coffee mugs. The cashier at the gift shop gave us maps of As-Salt and pointed out some key sites, such as old churches used by both Christians and Muslims. With those tips, we left the shop and wandered up and down the stairways of As-Salt, trying to find the best views of the city. As the sun started to set, we hopped in another Uber and made our way back to Amman. Photo Credit: L. McGuire, Fall 2018
