Summer in Jordan

الثلاثاء 19 حزيران 2007

Written by Waleed Tarteer

roba's pictureSummer has arrived in Jordan. So has the heat, the endless days of sun and clear skies and traffic jams caused by cars from outside of Jordan. For the student body, we are now enjoying the summer in every way we can, starting with sleeping in. Our parents are more lenient and allow us to go out with friends, or go swimming and then going back to sleep.

For the unfortunate ones who have to work, the evenings are filled with concerts and weekends filled with shorts trips to various summer places around Jordan.

There are lots of things that we can do during the summer. Things such as going to watch movies, sipping lattés at the various cafés, playing sports (biking, swimming, tennis, karting), and a lot more. I asked a few people about what they like to do during their summer vacation:

Mohamed A., who is taking the tahjihi exam next year, said he gets to spend more time with his friends. “I like to stay out with my friends all day long.”

Zeid E. uses the warmer temperatures and longer evenings to work on his jump shot. “I love playing basketball, so that’s what I’m usually doing.”

Rania S. likes to watch movies at the cinema, then there is Yazan who loves to do anything but stay at home. music festival

Other events around Amman include music festivals. The Mayor of Amman will host a music festival taking place in various places in Amman, Thursday 21 June 2007.

• Downtown Amman – 7:30 pm Musicians playing different instruments in downtown Amman.
• Ras Al-Ain – (Amman Municipality Plaza “Palm”) at 7:30 pm Mahabeesh (traditional folk) and Macadi Nahhas (modern folk).
• Al-Balad Theater – 8 pm Omar AlFaqir featuring Zein Awad.
• Al-Hussein Park – (Open Theater) at 8:30 pm DAM (Palestinian rap group) and Cronix (hip hop dancers).
Events provided by Jazarah.

A fun thing to do is go-carting. The picture is of the first carting race in Jordan at the automobile club. It looks like these guys enjoyed their time while they are racing and carting.

While summer is a great time to spend with family and friends, there are also some problems that all Jordanians – most people everywhere for that matter – face during summer time.

Amman is well known around the region for the horrendous traffic problems that spike during the summer period. One of the main reasons for the road congestion are the visitors who spend their summers here in Jordan. The number of cars with Saudi, Dubai, Kuwait plates adds to the traffic problems that are already existent in Jordan.

carting Another big problem is that it’s difficult to find a taxi, which is surprising with all the taxis in Jordan. With so many taxis running around, one would think that it wouldn’t be a problem, but why is that a problem? What is solution for it? It’s a problem because there are a lot of people who do not own a car so they have to waste lots of time searching for a taxi or a bus to go back to their home or to get to work.

The other problem is that sometimes cafés and restaurants are full and there isn’t room or place for you to sit. It seems that along with the warm temperatures, the season of making sure you have a reservation arrives as well.

Any evening of the week, popular places in Jebel Amman, Abdoun and Jebel al-Webdeh are busy and there is a waiting list simply for a table. Maybe that’s the worst problem for most customers that they make plans and then when they arrive the hostess tells them sorry guys, but there’s no place right now, can you wait for a moment.

Although with all that problems summer stays the best for all of us isn’t it?

Editor’s note: Roba took the picture of a flower. See her pictures here.

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