Impressions of Amman

While traveling through the Middle East in mid-June 2015, I had a chance to see the beautiful new Amman Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan. It is especially nice.
In the business-class lounge, the seats are comfortable and the meals quite sufficient. Located on the second floor, the lounge also has an information desk, with the shopping floor accessible below.
A taxi can take you into the city, 20 miles north, to one of many hotels. The one I chose was the InterContinental Amman (Jabal Amman, Amman, Jordan; phone +962 6 464 1361, www.ihg.com), where I spent the night.
Security has been the order of the day in Jordan for many years. Whatever vehicle you use will be throughly checked by dogs, mirrors and people. You also will need to pass through security upon entering and exiting your hotel. Security is common in many places in the Middle East, but this was the highest level of it I had ever seen.
Flying into Amman was most interesting. We could see the huge, stark desert sprinkled here and there with beautiful spots of tended gardens of red, yellow and green — such a contrast!
In and around Amman, I’ve always noticed unusual, yet attractive, yard treatments. Since water is scarce and expensive, they work a lot with rocks, making sprinkler systems unnecessary.
As we drove into Amman, we were constantly passing large trucks that were transporting water either to vegetable gardens that needed to be irrigated or to Syrian refugees living in tented cities in the desert. Visits to the desert camps were not allowed, although I would have liked to have seen them up close.
For such a small country, Jordan is doing a monumental task of helping their neighbors. Hurrah for them!
VIRGINIA SHANNON
Naples, FL