Jordan's tourism has been in a bad way, and most of the three- and four-star hotels have closed. Too bad for us. We were forced to hole up in a li'l ol' five-star dive in the middle of Amman.
I got only one really lame photo of the exterior of the hotel. Believe me, this does not show the beauty or the luxury of the place.
Everything about this hotel screamed "elegance" and "refinement" (except perhaps me). Oh, it really probably whispered. Screaming isn't too elegant.
I spent some time sorting through my gear and getting stuff ready for the next day's travel before heading downstairs to have a drink before dinner.
Arriving in the lobby, I wandered around until I found Shelby and her mom, Linda, in the hotel bar. Directly behind where they were seated, they pointed out the swimming pool area, outfitted for a very elegant wedding. Shelby even got a brief video of part of it. Unfortunately, even though she'd shared it with me and despite my newly-honed video skills, I couldn't save it for you, but what I can share with you is:
Food.
Food became an all-important part of each day, and each meal we ate, as mentioned before, seemed better than the last. The cuisine at the Hotel Kempinski Amman was probably the finest yet both in terms of taste and presentation. Our dining room space was elegantly-appointed and inviting. The photos below were from our breakfast.
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| My finished product--and it tasted even better than it looked. That orange juice was fresh-squeezed. |
Despite our enjoyment of the five-star luxury treatment at Hotel Kempinski Amman, we schlepped our luggage downstairs and got it loaded on the bus for the next stage of our journey: exploring a bit of Amman, Madaba and then onward to PETRA.
Our first stop was at the King Abdullah Mosque, just a couple of miles from the hotel.
The exterior was stunning.
This is the only mosque in Amman that openly welcomes non-Muslims, and then only on certain days. Luckily this was one of the days.
Our guide, Zac, directed us into the gift shop and indicated that the women should go to the back area where lovely robes awaited us. We needed to be covered from head to foot. Even though we'd already dressed ourselves properly, so we thought, we donned this:
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| This photo, courtesy of Linda Carey, shows us at our "best." Oh, my. |
The men, on the other hand, had no special dress other than to have long pants.
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| Linda Carey's photo of Zac, our guide, which shows the incredible ceiling and the size of the mosque. |
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| Amazing calligraphy adorned the walls and ceilings. |
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| The men line up as Zac, second from left, shows some of the men in our group how to pray.
It would be difficult not to be overwhelmed by the beauty of this building and the art it contains.
Next stop: The original Philadelphia. |
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