Little Boxes

My first impression about Amman came hours after I had arrived… The plane landed, I was rushed to the hotel, I made a few fool-hearty hellos then I slept. At 5:30 am, I awoke – eyes wide open – to a reverberating spiraling voice beckoning the faithful of the city to prayer. All was still… the sun had just dawned leaving a blue cast to the…. Boxes.
Amman, Jordan is a city of little boxes tossed up on 7 hills and convoluted to fit the ideological mold of a “modern city”. Individually, these boxy buildings are nothing but slabs of grey concrete with perfect rectangular eyeholes… Little more ingenious or beauty than a concrete parking garage.
However, in the early morning or with a carefully achieved viewpoint, Amman morphs. The thousand and one holed buildings become honeycombed in shape… The dusty monotony of the concrete becomes a clear grey calm against the blue sky. The call to prayer beckons the soul to tranquility and you submit.
My first day in Amman has been just that… submission. A calm acceptance to the drudgery of jet lag and the pace of orientation. We saw sites, we ate food, and we go to know one another. All very routine and predictable in a way… the city itself breathed calm and I submitted.
Even the unexpected news of my home stay assignment with a family brought little surprise. Maybe this will be how all my time is here? Calm and relaxing learning. Peace in the face of surprise. Gentle submission to the greater powers above.


Pictures are to come, as soon as I unpack my bag (next few days)