Middle East - Anthony Ham [289]
Al-Khalidi Medical Centre (Map ; 4644281; www.kmc.jo; Bin Khaldoun St, southwest of 3rd Circle)
Italian Hospital (Map ; 4777101; Italian St, Downtown)
Jacob’s Pharmacy (Map ; 4644945; 3rd Circle; 9am-3am)
Palestine Hospital (Map ; 5607071; Queen Alia St)
University Hospital (Map ; 5353444) Situated in the University of Jordan complex, northwestern Amman.
Money
Changing money is easy and the Downtown area especially has many banks, ATMs and moneychangers. Click here for information and the Downtown map for locations.
Post
Central post office (Map ; 4624120; Al-Amir Mohammed St, Downtown; 7.30am-5pm Sat-Thu, 8am-1.30pm Fri)
Customs office (Map ; Omar al-Khayyam St, Downtown; 8am-2pm Sat-Thu) Diagonally opposite the parcel post office. Come here to send a parcel overseas.
Parcel post office (Map ; Omar al-Khayyam St, Downtown; 8am-3pm Mon-Fri, to 2pm Sat, to 3pm Sun)
Telephone
The private telephone agencies around the Downtown area are the cheapest places for international and domestic calls.
Communication International (Map ; Nimer bin Adwan St, Downtown)
Tourist Information
Jordan is one country where tourism complaints are taken seriously. If you have a question or problem, call the toll-free Halla Line ( 800-22228).
Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities (Map ; 4642311; Al-Mutanabbi St, Jebel Amman; 8am-9pm) The information office on the ground floor can answer most queries, or call the Halla Line.
Wild Jordan Centre (Map ; 4616523; www.rscn.org.jo; Othman bin Affan St) The place for information and bookings for Jordan’s nature reserves, including Dana and Wadi Mujib. There’s also an excellent craft shop (Click here) and a superb café (Click here) that sells organic food, making the centre worth a visit in its own right.
Visa Extensions
If you are staying in Jordan for longer than 30 days, you must obtain a (free) visa extension. Request your hotel to write a short letter confirming where you are staying. Your hotel will also need to fill out two copies of a small card, which states all their details (you fill in the details on the back). Take the form, the letter, a photocopy of the page in your passport with your personal details, your Jordanian visa page and your passport to the relevant police station (depending on which area of Amman you’re staying in; ask at your hotel). If you’re staying Downtown, go to the 1st floor of the Al-Madeenah Police Station (Map ; 4657788; upstairs, Al-Malek Faisal St), opposite the Arab Bank.
After getting a stamp, take your passport to the Al-Muhajireen Police Station (Markez al-Muhajireen; Map ; Al-Ameera Basma bin Talal Rd), west of Downtown, where you’ll be granted a stay of up to three months. From Downtown take a taxi (600 fils) or service taxi No 35 from along Quraysh St. Police stations are usually open for visa extensions from 10am to 3pm Saturday to Thursday, although it’s better if you go in the morning. Extensions are generally granted on the spot.
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
The restored Roman Theatre (Map ; admission JD1; 8am-4pm Sat-Thu, 10am-4pm Fri Oct-Mar, 8.30am-7pm Apr-Sep) is the most obvious and impressive remnant of ancient Philadelphia. The theatre is cut into the northern side of a hill that once served as a necropolis, and can hold 6000 people. The theatre was built in the 2nd century AD during the reign of Antoninus Pius, who ruled the Roman Empire from AD 138 to 161. Performances are sometimes staged here in summer. The wings of the theatre are home to two quaint museums, the Folklore Museum (Map) and the Museum of Popular Traditions (Map); you can enter both as part of Roman Theatre admission. The museums have well-presented displays of traditional costumes and jewellery, as well as a mosaic collection.
The row of columns immediately in front of the theatre is all that’s left of the Forum, once one of the largest public squares (about 100m by 50m) in imperial Rome. On the eastern side of what was the Forum stands the 500-seat Odeon. Built about the same time as the Roman Theatre, it served mainly as a venue for musical