June 4: Church
I've never been to a Jordanian church before. So today I visited a Catholic church in Amman for Mass with other members of the Project GO program.
The church we visited was كنيسة الفرير (Church of the Brother/frère? Something like that), a Catholic Church in the middle of Amman. This church was a short walk from Firas Circle (دوار فيراس) which seems to be a commercial area with plenty of shops, both cheap and bougie. Mass was actually quite similar to those that I've attended in America. Since all Catholic churches abide by the regulations and traditions of the Catholic Church, it's not entirely surprising. The priest gave the service in English and spoke with an American accent. The attendees largely looked of foreign origin, either American/British/Western European or Southeast Asian. The church items were in Arabic, including the depiction of the Passion. In a sense it felt like a bubble of English in the Arabic-speaking country outside. The sculpture and artwork visually depicting Jesus and other important Catholic figures were a stark contrast to the artwork in the mosques elsewhere in Amman, which strictly feature no artwork but calligraphy and geometric design.
Afterwards we headed down to Hashem, one of the most famous restaurants in Amman. Walking down from Firas Circle to Hashem was actually a straight downhill walk right into the heart of Wasat al-Balad, the downtown area and old part of the city. This area features the Roman amphitheater, which looks gorgeous when lit up at night. The streets are decorated with Ramadan lights, that shine in bright colors and sometimes have phrases like رمضان كريم (Ramadan Kareem, often said meaning "happy Ramadan") Most of the decorations have stars and moons. Hashem itself is a restaurant that's known for falafel. When you sit down, they basically just bring food: bread, hummus, fuul, baba ghanoush, falafel, fries, tea, and for Ramadan, dates. It's pretty cheap too. I paid 3 JD both times I've been here for a filling meal.
The church we visited was كنيسة الفرير (Church of the Brother/frère? Something like that), a Catholic Church in the middle of Amman. This church was a short walk from Firas Circle (دوار فيراس) which seems to be a commercial area with plenty of shops, both cheap and bougie. Mass was actually quite similar to those that I've attended in America. Since all Catholic churches abide by the regulations and traditions of the Catholic Church, it's not entirely surprising. The priest gave the service in English and spoke with an American accent. The attendees largely looked of foreign origin, either American/British/Western European or Southeast Asian. The church items were in Arabic, including the depiction of the Passion. In a sense it felt like a bubble of English in the Arabic-speaking country outside. The sculpture and artwork visually depicting Jesus and other important Catholic figures were a stark contrast to the artwork in the mosques elsewhere in Amman, which strictly feature no artwork but calligraphy and geometric design.
Afterwards we headed down to Hashem, one of the most famous restaurants in Amman. Walking down from Firas Circle to Hashem was actually a straight downhill walk right into the heart of Wasat al-Balad, the downtown area and old part of the city. This area features the Roman amphitheater, which looks gorgeous when lit up at night. The streets are decorated with Ramadan lights, that shine in bright colors and sometimes have phrases like رمضان كريم (Ramadan Kareem, often said meaning "happy Ramadan") Most of the decorations have stars and moons. Hashem itself is a restaurant that's known for falafel. When you sit down, they basically just bring food: bread, hummus, fuul, baba ghanoush, falafel, fries, tea, and for Ramadan, dates. It's pretty cheap too. I paid 3 JD both times I've been here for a filling meal.
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