The New Neighborhood

After all of this philosophizing, I think I should add some stories about my new life here. I have a new apartment, a new neighborhood, a new job, etc.

I now live in Shmeisani, which was the "place to be" in Amman about 30 years ago. Everyone who got in on the game then still lives here, so the population is a bit more aged to my eye. I gather that development of this area started when the Arab Bank set up its headquarters here - this is one of the most important banks in the region, and it quickly attracted other businesses, banks, and affluent house owners.

My neighborhood is charming and residential, filled with 3- to 6-story apartment buildings and houses, all the requisite white limestone of Amman. As we sit on our balcony and enjoy the night breeze, my flatmate and I can see the bustle and life of the 20 or so families whose apartments face us on the opposite side of the street.

Last week there was a wedding celebration in the building across from us, and a bunch of men dressed in embroidered vests and hats serenaded the house with drums as different family members danced in the middle of the circle. All of us neighbors came out on the balcony to watch and clap along. The head drummer was ostensibly taking such pleasure in his drumming that his powerful "THWAP"s resounded all the way down the street - I could feel them in my bones.

It turns out, after a few weeks here, that I love living in Shmeisani. This is in part because I can walk not only to the office and to my gym, but also to cafes, the supermarket, and just about everywhere I need. It's also very central in terms of getting to other places in the city. Finally, a piece of pedestrian heaven in a car-filled Amman!

When I walk to work, I pass HRH Prince Hashem's Bird Garden, one of the stranger places I've seen in Amman. This an old-time menagerie about the size of one square city block, filled with cages of chickens, turkeys, and even squirrel-like rodents. There's also a playground and a picnic area - families really seem to like going there on the weekends. There's even a sign in Arabic on the door that says "Families Only," which I assume implies that young men cannot go in there by themselves to goof off or ogle the girls.

On my way to work I also cross Culture Street, which is in my opinion one of the funnier misnomers of Amman. Apart from a Burger King and a few other restaurants and banks, there's not really much to be found there. The most interesting part is perhaps the young tribe of skaters who use the sloped stairs in the wide center median of the street to do stunts and hang out. They remind me exactly of the "skaters" I used to know when I was in middle school and high school, and they discuss the "tricks" they hit in accent-less English.

The rest of my walk is pretty uneventful, unless you begin to count all the different obstacles that have been placed on the sidewalks to make them unusable. Everything from rubble, to chairs, to trees, to rows of cars - everything except pedestrians! I'm not really complaining though - my walks to and from work are among my favorite parts of the day. So far it is not hot enough in the early or late parts of the day to keep me from walking, though we will see if that lasts into August.

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Author's note, posted three days after original post:

It has been pointed out to me by someone who has lived in Shmeisani for a very long time that a couple of my above comments are incorrect. First of all, Shmeisani's development was not stimulated specifically by the Arab Bank's establishment in the area, but rather it was simply the next area in a succession of new development in the city, starting with the first and second circle areas and moving outwards. It also helped that the area was zoned "A," which means that lots are larger (more room for people who are looking to build large villas), and also an expectation of keeping your house in better repair.

Secondly, Culture Street was recently named during the year that Amman was the Arab cultural capital for a year (this is a rotating honor). Contrary to my impression, which was of a street named in an attempt to generate culture, it seems that this street was chosen because of its already-existing culture, mostly created through a wide pedestrian median where people can gather on benches to talk. And it is true - there are quite a few people out there, particularly during breezy summer nights.

So, I am very appreciative of being corrected, and I'm glad this post helped me to learn something. As always, I love for this blog to be more dialogue and less just me talking, so your comments are very welcome.