Amman

Amman is spread across some twenty hills of white stone, and its streets climb and drop all day long. At the top, the Amman Citadel keeps the columns of a Roman temple, a giant marble hand and a view over the rooftops. Just below it, the Roman Theatre is cut straight into the slope and seats six thousand. The city works as a base camp for the whole country: the colonnaded streets of the Archaeological Site of Jerash, the Crusader walls of Kerak Castle, the desert frescoes of Qasr Amra. From Mount Nebo the view reaches Jericho and the Jordan valley. Mansaf comes to the table, lamb simmered in dried yoghurt over rice, and knafeh arrives scalding, all melted cheese and syrup. Down in the old centre the air smells of cardamom coffee, and the shops sell gold, spices and carpets within the same few blocks.