When people think of a “city built on seven hills”, they typically think of Rome. But Amman was also initially built on seven hills, or jabals. Today, it covers 19.
Jabal Weibdeh has been our home for the past year and a half. It’s one of the oldest neighborhoods in Amman, and essentially marks the line between more historic East Amman and the more “modern” West Amman. This makes Weibdeh a hipstery, artsy mesh of old and new.
And friends, the street art around here is pretty amazing.
What’s around
Weibdeh has been a great place to live as an expat who works remotely and doesn’t own a car. There are coffeeshops close by that I can escape to for a change of scene, plus numerous bars and restaurants within walking distance. You can easily find vegan juice bars (if you’re into that) as well as a beer garden or two.
Our apartment overlooks the valley separating Weibdeh from Jabal Amman. We are a 10-ish minute walk from Downtown and a 12 minute walk from the shops and cafés of Rainbow Street.
At the center of Downtown Amman is the amazing Citadel archaeological site, which we can see from our apartment balcony. And because so many people have mentioned it since I moved here: yes, Coldplay held sunrise and sunset concerts here in 2019 to launch their Everyday Life album.
Downtown is also where you’ll find the Roman Theater, built during the time when Amman was the capital of the Roman Empire (and known as Philadelphia).
Our apartment sits in between two of the best art galleries around: Dar Al-Anda and Darat al Funun. And I do literally mean in between – one is located 100 meters to our left and the other 100 meters to our right.
Darat al Funun also boasts ruins of a sixth century Byzantine church and an old cave.
Why it’s really special
I really love the vibe in Weibdeh. It’s very laid-back, but at the same time the community here is staunchly proud of the neighborhood’s history and roots. Last year, there was a big push against plans to build Starbucks here. People wanted to protect local businesses and prevent gentrification from stealing the neighborhood’s soul. If or when that Starbucks ever does open, I plan to keep buying local.
But apart from the sites and the art and the food and the vibe, Weibdeh was mine and Wouter’s first home after getting married at the end of 2019. It’s where we spent an intense COVID lockdown with neighbors who became like family, and where we’ve built an incredible network of friends. It will forever be the place that started my “expat-ing.” In that sense, Weibdeh will always be special.
