The King’s Highway: Mint Tea and Flatbreads

After my long day of travel, and late night, I was feeling a little shell shocked when I awoke, the breakfast buffet in the hotel didn’t look particularly exciting, but it actually tasted pretty good. The Arab-world staples of mint tea and flatbreads were present, as were sides of hummus, halloumi and slices of processed meat.


I’d enjoyed my breakfast from a roof terrace with excellent views of one of the most popular sites in Amman, the Roman Theatre – from Amman’s days as Roman Philadelphia – so that’s where I’d be heading, just as soon as I got moving…


From the bottom, the theatre didn’t look like it stretched that far up the hillside, but as I worked my way upwards towards the top, I soon realised that the top tiers banked up sharply and it was much higher than it looked. The walkway at its pinnacle offered great views down over the lower tiers of the theatre and the forum beyond. Across the valley, the sunlight reflected off the buildings, another of Amman’s big tourist draws – the Citadel – perched on top.

Weaving my way through packed streets, lined with barely moving traffic, and with street sellers set up on the pavement, I made for a popular, long-established, Ammani restaurant, Hashem. Renowned since 1952, for its falafel and hummus, so that’s what I would have, alongside the mint tea and flatbreads, of course. At 2 Jordanian Dinars (£2.24) all in, that might not be the last falafel and hummus of the trip.


The sun was lowering in the sky by this time, so I made the steep climb up to the Citadel. The site of an old Bronze Age fort, the focus of my attention became the splendid ruined pillars of the Roman-era Temple of Hercules.

After I’d waited for the light to change, then to change again, eventually I remembered that I had a bike to put back together again…

6 thoughts on “The King’s Highway: Mint Tea and Flatbreads”

  1. Hi Michael good luck for your big trip looking forward to seeing the pictures of the places you visit and hearing your stories have an amazing trip x

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  2. I had no idea that Amman would be so white, but unless you are using a filter, the camera does not lie and the city is indeed made of a very pale limestone. The ampitheatre is a great piece of architecture. I’m guessing that the top seats are the cheap seats!
    And if your dinners are all as cheap and tasty as this one, then your budget will hopefully stretch to whatever princely sum you’ve paid for bike box transfer and storage!
    Good luck with the bike assembly and the first stage of the King’s Highway.

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    1. Well, I didn’t pay too much attention at the time, Elaine, but looking at the other buildings around and about I’d say they were probably a sort of chalk coloured (or sand coloured? 🤔) sand stone. I was using a filter, but not one that should be adding any color.. Yes I’d say so, you wouldn’t have any Caesars clambering up there, which is a shame as it offers the best view! Indeed, since my initial spending extravaganza I have discovered that things are really very cheap here, most times I go into a shop my armful of things costs 1 JD!

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