In between my Royal Jordanian flight from Cairo and my connection to Bangkok, I had an enforced layover of 17 hours in Amman.
Since this was a largely daytime layover, I decided to head into the city and take some time to get a taste of the local sights.
In view of the length of the layover, I chose to book a cheap hotel room for the day, if only to have somewhere to shower and rest for a while, as well as having access to power for charging purposes.
I chose the centrally located Hotel Pasha, at a cost of around $34 (£26). The hotel also arranged a private airport transfer for $21 (£16) each way.
The hotel was quite basic, but it was clean, secure and had everything I needed for a one-day layover.
After depositing my hand luggage in the room and taking a quick shower to refresh myself from my early start in Cairo, I was ready to begin exploring the city.
I began at the Nymphaeum, the ruins of a Roman fountain, a short distance from the hotel.
Moving on, I strolled around the city markets, located in the heart of the city and selling everything from spices to textiles.
A short distance from the markets, I stopped at a local bakery for a light lunch, trying some the delicious savoury flatbread.
I rounded this off with some of the local ice cream, which was definitely welcome after a couple of hours of walking.
Next was the Sha’aban area, with the colourfully decorated Rainbow Street.
I finished my short tour with a visit to the Roman Theatre, across the road from my hotel.
Feeling the effects of my early start in Cairo, I then retired to my hotel for a few hours of sleep, before my overnight flight connection.
In total, I spent around four hours meandering around the streets of Amman.
Obviously this is not nearly enough even to scratch the surface of what Jordan has to offer. However it proved to be a pleasant transition from the chaos of Egypt to the serenity of Malaysia, my next destination of the season.
