Picturing Jordan

Sharing Jordan with the world — one picture at a time.

Saint Thaddeus Church in Amman

Easily one of the most unique buildings in Amman Even if the number number of mosques in Amman didn’t outnumber churches by a factor of ten, the Saint Thaddeus Armenian Apostolic church would still stand out. It caught my eye once a few weeks ago and then I started seeing it every time I glanced at Jabal Al-Ashrafieh. After weeks of squinting and asking myself “Is that an Armenian church?” I finally went on an epic scavenger hunt and found it. Read more →

Camping in the Dana Biosphere Reserve

Just after sunrise at a camp in the Dana Biosphere A few weeks ago I slept in a tent on the cusp of Jordan’s Rift Valley. Wild Jordan has regular hiking and camping trips to the reserve and they are very affordable. The staff are friendly and genuinely care about nature conservation. Trips to this and other national parks are part of an impressive government effort to preserve Jordan’s natural spaces. Read more →

Beautiful Hand-Painted Woodwork

Beautiful hand-painted wood panels on the ceiling There’s an old Syrian man who does this fantastic hand painting on wood panels in Amman. A few flats in our building have them installed on the ceiling, but this one takes the cake. I’m not sure if it’s typical for the region or not — the man was referencing pictures from a Russian art book — but they are exquisite. Read more →

Don't WhatsApp and Drive

Billboard in Amman cautions against using your phone while driving I can’t even read Arabic but I’m pretty sure that billboard is telling people to put their fucking phones down while driving. It’s like an epidemic here. I’ve never seen people look less at the road while driving than here in Amman. Read more →

Eid Mubarak in Your Neighborhood Dumpster

Sheep carcass lazily discarded in neighborhood dumpster As Muslims around the world are busy wishing each other a blessed Eid al-Adha, some poor bastard has to clean up this lazily discarded sheep carcass from my local dumpster (note the entrails spilled below). Keep it classy, Jordan. Read more →