Noon Arabia: A Day in Jebel Amman

This post was first published on Notes by Noon.

I lived in Amman for two years and a half and have since visited it several times, so it was nice to be back once again for the Arab Bloggers Meeting. I spent my first day with a close and art loving friend in the part I missed most, Jebel Amman. Our first stop was at Sufra Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in Jebel Amman, which offered a wide variety of jordanian appetizers and main courses accompanied with freshly baked bread just out of the ‘tanour’.

We enjoyed the view while savoring a delicious meal and to warm ourselves up for the walk ahead we had some red tea with ‘miramieh’.

Traditional tea with miramieh (Sage leaves)

It was a nice sunny day, not too cold, so it was perfect weather for us to enjoy an afternoon walk in the quiet streets of Jebel Amman. Our first destination was to the art gallery Nabad.

A lovely orange tree at the entrance of Nabad Gallery

Artworks by Architect and Designer Jamal Joucka

A beautifully crafted piece by Artist Abeer Seilkaly

Metal artwork by Iraqi artist Himat Mohammed Ali

We stopped to enjoy the view from one of the roof tops before entering Wild Jordan. The beautiful structure was built by architect Ammar Kammash.

Wild Jordan is a socio-economic and eco-tourism division of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, it has a gift store and a cafe offering light and healthy snacks overlooking Jebel Amman.

Most of the material present in the building is eco-friendly and recycled

A graffiti on the staircase leading to the Soap House

Our third destination was to the Soap House, which was set in a beautifully restored old house with a great view of Jebel Amman. The aromatic soaps and creams were made from all-natural ingredients ranging from olive oil, orange, lemon, honey, lavender, rosemary, sea minerals and salts.

A beautiful display of the range of products

Jordan River Design and Bani Hamida are a landmark in Jebel Amman and one of my all time favorite desitnations, so I couldn't miss it. The embroidery project was set up in 1988, offering women in the area an extra income to embroider traditional and contemporary home furnishing, gift items and artifacts preserving the local heritage.

Hand made bed sheets with traditional and contemporary designs

Hand embroidered cushions reflecting the heritage

Our last stop was at the Jacandra Art Gallery, where I fell in love with the photography work of Charlotta Sparre, Sweden's Ambassador to Jordan, who was re-assigned recently to Egypt. With an exquisite style she produced a beautiful collection of photos from the Arab cities she had visited. I added Cairo and the East and West Bank to my art collection.