I Didn’t Expect AMMAN, JORDAN To Be Like This!

I Didn’t Expect AMMAN, JORDAN To Be Like This!

Okay, what is up guys? How are you doing? I am coming to you from Aman, the capital city here in Jordan. I have just been on a bus from the city of Akaba which I really really loved and now yeah back here in Aman and today marks a very special day because it is independence day and I am at Carob Hostel. Now I came here to eat the first time I was in Aman and yeah they all remembered me when I came there like you’ve been here before and that’s always a nice feeling especially when you’re in a foreign country. We are going to be heading into downtown a little bit later and yeah, enjoying some good food, maybe meeting some good people. Let’s see. And also seeing some celebrations here in for Independence Day. I hear there’s going to be fireworks later. So yeah, I didn’t plan to come here on Independence Day, but it’s a reminder to me that we’re always in the right place at the right time. Even if you don’t plan it, you’re going to find yourself find yourself having magical experiences, special experiences when you travel and do things from your excitement and spontaneous activity. Oh, spontaneous trips cuz that’s what this is. Aman is a beautiful city, man. I I really like it here actually. Yes, it’s busy. There’s lots of sound going on at different times, but I appreciate the vibe here. And yeah, just, you know, seeing like older buildings and older cars. I really like that. [Music] Okay, we have made it to downtown Aman. And it’s not that busy out. There are quite a few people out and about. I think because it’s in the middle of the day, it’s hot, people are staying in. This really does come alive at nighttime, but yeah, I am enjoying just walking through. I think if you like photography or you like to just witness life, this is going to be a good place to come. And interestingly, nobody cares that I’m here. Like, nobody looks at me like a like I’m a foreigner or nobody really cares that I’m vlogging. It’s nice. It’s a nice feeling. I’m walking without Yeah. stairs or glares. And you don’t get that in every country. So, it’s nice. There’s also a lot of patriotism. You see, cuz it’s Independence Day, the flags are waving. I also see this a lot in Akaba, like people driving with their cars. Yeah, it’s a it’s a nice vibe for sure. Yeah. Nice. Okay. [Music] Well, that was a bit of a f. There’s loads of people like outside trying to get into the Roman theater where we are now and like I didn’t know what was going on. Everyone was just waiting like to go in and then I hear some people ask like could we go in and they said yeah if you have the Jordan pass which I do have. So, they’ve let me in and it stands there right ahead of us. And yeah, again, like many things in Jordan, absolutely beautiful and absolutely huge. The Romans renamed what we now know as Aman, they renamed it as Philadelphia in the 3rd century BC. It wasn’t called Aman like we know today until a later Muslim rule. But yeah, this is uh the Roman theater and it is absolutely beautiful. So, we have made it inside and this is very impressive. If we just walk look around, you can see how big this place is. And I think what’s what’s so impressive about this is it was literally cut into the rock and this could seat about 6,000 people and it would have been used, you know, for plays, theater, all the stuff that the Roman loved and we have come to love today. And yeah, so there’s three tiers. The bottom one down here, this would be used for, you know, royalty and yeah, people of high status. Then the second one would have been used for military and the top one general public. And I think maybe the top one is the best view, but we’ll go up now and have a look. And this is also designed with sound acoustic, so whoever was standing, you know, in the middle could be heard. Oh, we made it to the second tier. Woo. So, I just made it to the top with a really special view. And my my opinion stands. I think that would probably be the best view, but maybe not the best sound. But then they uh they’ll shouting at us to come down. So, I don’t know what that’s about. I think you can go up there normally, but maybe they’re starting a show or something. So, we may go our way back down slowly. [Music] Okay. They told us leave 10 minutes, you can come back. But I’ve moved on to the Odin Theater. And you can see behind me again these Henistic kind of features up on the top. Mr. Close. Okay. All right. No problem. Also closing soon. But yeah, you can see here this is a very well preserved like the stonework and everything looks super well preserved and hasn’t doesn’t look too weathered. Now you can see it is a much smaller theater. This would house about 500 people and would be used for a slightly different purpose. You know, poetry, theater, talks, all of that, debates. And much like the other one, we see that yeah, it would have had sound acoustics. So, if you stand here in the middle, the speaker would have been able to be heed from all around. So, walk up to the top and enjoy the view. And yeah, you can see in the background there is the bigger one. This would also follow a typical ro Roman plan. So if we can see up here, this is the citadel. That’s where we were in the first video. And so yeah, this follows a typical Roman plan where the royal temple and everything that would be up on the top of the mountain. And then what we have here, the theater, the nymphium, this is lower down. Uh he’s telling me I got to go. That’s the thing. It’s funny how many people speak Arabic to me thinking that I’m like local. Sometimes I walk around and people ask me for like directions in Arabic but I don’t know enough yet in one day. So another look there and you can see in over there we have the big 79 representing Yeah. 79 years of independence. Yeah. What a country. What a country to explore the history. The you know there’s more than Petra. There’s so much here. There’s so much. I think I’d have to come back one day and explore more. you know, gash and all these different ruins and history and yeah, special place. Okay, we are out of there and you see again more patriotism. Yeah, people are in a good vibe. Good good mood and yeah, you also see a lot of like people in traditional dresses which I’ve not seen traditional clothing. So yeah, super cool. Sorry, I didn’t speak very good Arabic. How are you? Good. You guys sell the perfume. It doesn’t white. Okay. Can I try it? Can I try it? Yeah. [Music] It’s also nice. I think that this ud is the nicest. He said this is USA. Uso. Okay. Oh yeah. Just smelling good. Wow. Look at all these bottles. He said this is French perfume. Very fancy. Actually walked past the shop a few times and I thought probably going to be, you know, maybe better quality or better price than on the main downtown street. So I stopped. for you. Ah, Shuklan, that’s very kind of you. From India. From India. Okay. Shuklan. Where? Free roll. Okay. Ah, okay. That’s very kind of you. Shukdan. Masal. Happy Independence Day. So guys, if you would like some perfume, he did it a good price for me. I got three there. He did it for 15 JD, which I think is a good price for the quality. And uh if you walk down from the Roman theater along this road, you’re going to see the perfume shops here. Ah, there you go. I flipped the card around. It’s in English, Arabic. I can’t read this, but they gave me incense also. So, that’s really kind. I was not expecting, you know, any gift. But again, yeah, the warm hospitality. And even the guy who was in the shop who gave me the card, he was like salam salam. Even the guy who was in the shop, he gave me the card like I think it was his friend. and he uh yeah, you know, shakes your hand and have a good day for you. Yeah, it was so kind, nice people. Yeah, that’s uh that’s touched me. He gave me incense and just the kindness and when he saw that was YouTuber subscribed and me and his son had a photo. got me thinking actually recently like imagine how many photos you’re in the background of or the subject of and so many times when you travel like people will ask you selfie selfie I wonder what happens to them like where do they go yeah not the first time I’ve come up this set of stairs and a man is a place full of stairs full of hills so if you like walking it’s going to be a good city for Woo. Have a beautiful piece of graffiti right here. And that is also something you’ll see a lot around Aman. So many people are doing like graffiti and street art. And I heard that a large percent of the people that do it are female. So that was uh that was interesting to find out these hills, man. But I also think I’m learning to, you know, when you talk to a camera like this can be kind of awkward. You think, well, people thinking of me, I looked kind of alien, right? But I’m learning in Jordan is to just do it. Like people are actually happy to say like, what’s up to the camera? And yeah, it gives you a positive experience rather than one that you have to fear of. And I started these videos for many reasons. Uh but yeah, of course, like to share it with the people and also at some point in my life, I think I I’ll really enjoy looking back at them. And I think allowing your fear to stop you from doing something that you want to do, you just let that go. And the more I’m doing this, the more I’m learning, oh, nobody cares. Actually, nobody cares. We are now going to get something to eat. And I have visited this place in my first visit to Aman and yeah, the owners are like super friendly. They’ve helped me throughout my travels here in Jordan and amazing tasty, really tasty food and they have a mission that truly matters and so we’re going to go talk to them, eat some delicious food and it’s also set in like a really peaceful and uh yeah nice neighborhood and location. So let’s go check it out. Okay guys, we have made it and we’ve gone for the sha wrap which is absolutely huge. [Music] [Applause] Wow. That is really packed full of flavor. There’s crunch in there. Wow. This is probably the best wrap I’ve ever had. Genuinely very, very good. Also, when I came in here, a bunch of people were from the hospital. So, that’s always super nice to connect with them. And one guy I met in Akaba, the girl here met in Egypt. So, always cool to have these little interactions. Yeah. Yeah. The softness of the bread and the softness of the soya with the crunch of the pickle like goes so so well. Okay. So, despite the size of the meal, I have finished and Sarah’s brought me a dessert which looks absolutely delicious. I’m very very kind of it andh yeah really really so delicious and I’m happy to be ending or coming towards the end of my day with a happy belly and a full belly. Yeah, good good stuff. And yeah, we’re going to speak to Sar now about Yeah, as I mentioned, she has a very important purpose for doing this. There’s a very important reason that she does what she does and yeah, her mission I really respect. And so, yeah, like I said, we’re going to talk to her, see, yeah, where she comes from, a little bit about her. As I, as you guys know, I love to find out stories, and if I can spread the message of of a topic that I believe in and I support, then I will. Let’s get into it. Hi, my name is Sara. Um, I’m uh half Jordanian, half Romanian. I came to Jordan uh 8 years ago. Uh, I opened Bates Sara, the first vegan restaurant to open in Jordan, the second vegan restaurant in the whole entire Middle East. 2024 on Happy Cow platform, uh, rated the third best vegan restaurant in the world. When I moved to Jordan, uh, everything changed. Something changed. So, I decide to become vegan. The issue was that it was very hard to find vegan options in Jordan. And that was the main reason behind the story of Bates Sara. Bets in Arabic means the house of Sara. And uh the reason that I opened this place is because it was a very hard journey for me here to find vegan food. Um everything is homemade. The cuisine is between uh Jordanian, Romanian, Italian, and Hungarian. Our place is free of plastic and free of sugar and everything. It’s a homemade food from the scratch. I’m an activist and a rescue and a humanitarian volunteer. I’m a mother of uh plus 180 cats. We do sterilization, vaccination, we feed them and we put them for adoption. And from our income, we also take care of people in need and refugees in Jordan. the situation of the animals when I moved here. I think why not one of the main reason that I stayed here and I other than my family moved here 20 years ago and I followed them 80 years ago when I opened this place. It was because when I moved here, I uh discovered that we have a very huge problem with the stray animals in Jordan and with abuses against donkeys, horses, camels, uh dogs and cats. So we start some educational programs here in Jordan for the kids because we think in my vision and my family vision is that we we need to change the mentality of the new generation and we need to start it with the kids. So we start to do workshops and in the workshops we always um teach kids how to put water on the streets to don’t abuse the animals if they see any emergency case on the streets to come and ask for help and to fe feed the stray animals because yes animals they do feel pain exactly like us humans. I volunteered inside of Petra for the past eight years uh rescuing donkeys, camels and horses. Um the ground work there was not very easy but thanks God now everything gets better than before. Uh we replaced uh thanks to Paishia and other organizations we replaced the donkeys and the horses with eco golf cars the carts that you will see them inside of Petra. And uh now the tourist needs more more aware about not riding the animals because um animals they they they feel pain at the end of the day and if you don’t give them enough water and food in one point they will collapse. I’m happy about the changes that I can see. I I see a very big way of ch changes in in Jordan and I think people are very ready to learn new things and kids especially the new generation the kids are very receptive and they love the educational programs where we host so many workshops uh clay workshops painting and art everything what it’s related to art but we are including the animals inside of the educational programs I don’t know how long time we will still stay in Jordan because right now we are facing um we lost our place during corona the covid we reopen it after the covid and now we are struggling again from the past two years because unfortunately we are in the region where around us it’s a lot of noise and people are a bit worried to come to visit us even if Jordan it’s a very safe country for me it’s one of the most safe country in the world. I I’m a woman here and I heard many bad stories before coming here and moving here and I was worried also but now after 8 years I can say that there is not another country where I can feel so safe as I feel here. Um there are no thiefs on the street, no big harassments on women. So yeah, I advise everyone to come to visit us because it’s a very very very safe place to be. We have we are the seven wonders in the world. We have Petra that has a very beautiful energy. Wadam that it’s one of the most natural desert in the world. Akaba that it’s the red sea where you can see the beauty under the sea. We have um so much history in Jordan. So I think you need to visit us. Uh meanwhile, I don’t know how for how long time we will still still be here because we are planning for next year to move back to Romania and we are planning to open eco-friendly cottages in the mountain uh where we will have a small sanctuary for uh stray animals and uh also we are hosting tourists from all over the world. Uh in addition um two years ago we open it the first vegan supermarket in Jordan where we do our own vegan products and we also import products from Romania and from Germany. Thank you for watching this. So as you can see a very very very important message and an important cause and yeah really lovely people actually. And so you have that restaurant there, Bites Bites Sara, which is yeah, the restaurant cafe as well as the vegan stool. So if you’re in Aman and you’re vegan and you want some vegan goodness, go there 100%. And then you also have Aman Health Safe. This is the page where they are helping kind of refugees as well as all of the stray animals. So yeah, like I said, a really good cause and it gives you also an insight into the country that you get beyond a tourist. So they’ve been here a long time, so they have a very different perspective on the country than I do. Like I’ve been here for 2 weeks and it’s been an incredible 2 weeks, but I also understand yeah that they have been here a longer time and so have more experience with the people, the culture, all of this stuff. And yeah, she’s also, as she said, they’re not sure if they’ll remain open and so they have set up a GoFundMe. So, I will I will put that up somewhere here. And yeah, please do. You know, you can see it’s a good people. They’re good people and they’re doing a good cause. So, if you do feel like donating, then yeah, please do. As I said, I really recommend their food and to go there because it’s h yeah, really, really tasty. We’re back out into the chaos of downtown. Yeah, there’s uh so much going on. Sounds, flags, all of that. [Music] Okay, you too. Time to get out of here then. Get out of Jesus music. Salam. H mango. Can I have one mango, please? One mango. I don’t know. Small. Small. Small. Yeah. Is how much? Dinner. Bina mango juice. Really good. It is fueling my walk back up to the hostel and I can hear Kyle’s just beep beep going crazy. I think yeah, travel can be very conflicting cuz I get to go home tomorrow, right? I get on a plane, I fly home, but there are people in wars and natural disasters and all of these things and they can’t go home. Where is their home now? So, I think it’s important when we travel to educate ourselves on where we are and the situations that’s happening around the world and around where we travel because ignorance at this point is often a choice. you know, we have Google, we have AI, we have all this stuff. But yeah, I think when I do travel, I like to learn. I do like to learn. I think that’s a really good part of travel and of course to speak to people, not just come here and drink your mango juice and pretend like nothing’s happening. But everyone’s different. I get it. Everyone has different interests. But for me, yeah, I think I value learning about the place I’m in and the culture and everything like that. Okay guys, that is going to wrap it up. I’m boarding my plane right now. Spent my last day in Aman in a wonderful way. Yes, exploring, but also with some really, really special and wonderful people. And that’s always a reminder that travel is part of that, the connection you have with people. But yeah, thank you so much, Jordan. You have been incredibly special for so many different ways. And inshallah, I will be back one day. And yeah, thank you guys for watching. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series here in Jordan and uh it’s been a reminder to take the spontaneous trip because it works out in wonderful ways. Thank you so much for watching as always and I’ll catch you in the next one. [Music]

Join me as I explore Amman, Jordan on Independence Day! I did not expect the celebrationsto be like this!
From the lively streets to the incredible people, this was a day I’ll never forget.
Come along and experience the culture, energy, and beauty of Amman on one of the most special days of the year.

Bayt Sara Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-bayt-sara-help-her-rescue-from-closing

As always, thank you so much for watching. I’ll catch you in the next one.
All the love, peace and joy to ya! 🙏❤🙏

0:00 Walking through Amman
2:26 Roman Theatre
7:15 Buying perfume oil
11:08 Bayt Sara cafe
13:10 Sara’s story
20:47 Independence Day celebrations
23:29 Goodbye Jordan!

#amman #travelvlog #jordan #independenceday