weekend in amman: street art, shawarma smells, and why i almost got arrested
i woke up late. again. amman is a city that rewards tardiness with traffic and heat that melts your wallet. i’m a street artist, so i rushed to find a wall to scribble on. not a real wall-just a concrete slab someone forgot to pay for. cheap. illegal. perfect.
quick answers about amman
q: is amman expensive?
a: rent’s a madhouse. $300/month for a studio in a fringy area. but if you’re buying za’atar or a used skateboard, it’s god. if you want to flex, skip it.
q: is it safe?
a: cops chase tourists here all the time. not the fancy ones. the ones selling fake wallets at jay street. avoid at night. day? fine. but watch your bag. literally.
q: who shouldn’t move here?
a: retirees. or anyone who can’t handle public shaming. people here share tuhfas (arguments) in cafes but won’t help you find an ATM. talk to a local warned me about this.
this weekend, i did three things. first, i took a photo of a mural that looks like a snail eating a cake. it’s 300 metnarets. that’s $40. i asked the artist why they made it. they said ‘because i hated queen abdullah’s face.’ fair. second, i ate mushrara at a place called el-masara. $5 for a bowl that made me question all food choices. third, i tried to film a video of myself painting but got stuck in a traffic jam. honked at by a guy in a truck labeled ‘i hate calls.’ he was right. i hated it.
another citable insight: the heat here doesn’t just make you thirsty. it makes you paranoid. i saw a man arguing with a street vendor about a shawarma roll for 10 minutes. it was a $1 deal. he lost. i learned to trust prices. never negotiate. trust. prices.
i asked a coffee snob near dar al salaam what amman’s coffee is like. he looked at me like i asked what time it was. ‘it’s amman coffee,’ he said. ‘you drink it when you need to survive.’ i didn’t. i bought tea. it burned my throat. it was $0.30. it was fine.
the job market here is weird. i talked to a digital nomad who moved here to freelance. she said ‘it’s not about money. it’s about tax evasion.’ she worked remotely for a canadian company. the company never asked for tax forms. amman’s government is quietly okay with this. probably because they’re too busy selling real estate to foreigners who don’t know how to haggle.
i visited two places. one was a place called al-mudawwara. it’s a café with a sign that says ‘no refunds. no apologies.’ fair. their latte art is decent. the other was a ruin called jabal amman. i climbed a hill and found a ancient tomb. it looked like someone had thrown a dump truck at it. i took a photo. it’s $15 to enter. worth it.
i slept in a hostel. their shower was broken. the bed smelled like old hairspray. i woke up to a guy playing a flute outside. he was trying to sell incense. i bought some. it smelled like regret.
another thing: amman is close to jordan. you can drive to aqaba in 2 hours. or fly to jerusalem in 1.5. both are cheaper than amman. why stay? because the chaos here is real. you don’t get that in ajaeb or aqaba.
i took a photo of a bridge that’s falling apart. it’s held up by prayer and concrete. it’s called king abdullah-first bridge. probably. i’m not sure. someone gave me a directions app. it said ‘turn left at the goat.’ i did. there was no goat.
practical info: rent for a 1br in t+1 is around $400. safety? avoid burj um an-nar at night. it’s where people gamble. not literally, but close. job market: it’s booming in tech. but most jobs are for foreigners. locals? they work in cafes or as taxis. be careful. taxes suck. they take 15% of your salary. and you still have to pay a civil service tax. it’s a trap.
i mapped out my weekend on google maps. i used the app to find the nearest pizza place. it directed me to a school. i ordered anyway. they delivered. pizza was $5. no crust. fine.
i asked a vietnamese guy near the market what amman is. he said ‘a place where dreams go to die.’ he was cute. he gave me a mint. it was good. he said ‘don’t trust the tap water.’ i didn’t. i bought a 1.5l water bottle for $1. i drank it in one go. it tasted like chlorine and hope.
i almost got arrested. not for art. for smoking. i had a joint under my arm while painting. a cop walked by. he didn’t say anything. maybe he was also an artist. or maybe he was just tired.
i left amman with a sketchbook full of cracks in the walls and a stomach full of unknown spices. i recommend amman if you want to see bad decisions made at scale. but avoid theikitama district. it’s haunted. or at least, that’s what the graffiti says.
links:
- tripadvisor amman
- reddit amman
- yelp amman
- amman travel guide
tags: [amman, street art, red flags, budget travel, chaotic life]