Every town has a souk (market) selling everything from meat and live chickens, to clothes and jewellery. The gold is usually 18kt or above and there is no charge added for the craftsmanship of items like bangles, chains and earrings.
Tourist-oriented towns offer many handicrafts, including mosaic; mosaic schools train young people to work with the colourful, locally hewn stone.
Another distinctive local craft is ostrich-egg painting: the paint is applied with needle pricks and designs can take weeks to complete.
Other hand-crafted items include sand jars, hand-blown glass and embroidered clothing. Bottled Holy Water from the river Jordan can also be purchased, as can skin-care products made of Dead Sea mud.
Shopping hours:
Sat-Thurs 0930-1330 and 1530-1800; some open as
early as 0800 and close at 2000 or even later. Some shops are closed on Friday except for
the souks which usually open from 1600.
Nightlife in Jordan
For many Jordanians, an evening's entertainment
is going out for a meal. Amman does have nightclubs in the modern
districts, mostly attached to 5-star hotels. Many high-end hotels have
popular bars. Some cinemas in Amman show English-language films, and
there are cultural centres for concerts and exhibitions.
Outside the capital, nightlife is thinner on the ground. The Dead Sea resorts offer a variety of entertainment (not usually open to non-residents), as do the 5-star hotels in Wadi Mousa and Aqaba. In smaller towns, the local coffee shop sometimes doubles as a bar for locals
Outside the capital, nightlife is thinner on the ground. The Dead Sea resorts offer a variety of entertainment (not usually open to non-residents), as do the 5-star hotels in Wadi Mousa and Aqaba. In smaller towns, the local coffee shop sometimes doubles as a bar for locals
