Amman is a city dwarfed by its neighbours. It boasts nothing to match the history of Damascus or Baghdad, the religious significance of Jerusalem or the monuments of Cairo.Tourists frequently bemoan its lack of character, historical sites or greenery, and the unimaginative stone buildings that litter its sprawling hills.The city lacks evidence of a noteworthy past; faceless concrete constructions dominate its skyline and make it difficult for one to form a clear picture of Amman’s origins. Newcomers in search of a historical context are directed ‘downtown’, to the site of Amman’s oldest mosque (built in 1924) and a few Roman ruins but are instead greeted by a chaotic market place, scores of fast-food joints and cafes - all of which boast only a very recent past. 

The ride to Jerusalem, through the alarmingly named ‘Valley of Fire’, in a shared taxi with six other passengers, might well turn out to be interesting. The hills above the Valley of Fire, so named perhaps because of its low altitude and truly hot aridity during summer, looked now more like the green hills of Derbyshire in England sporting impressive craggy outposts amidst a sea of spring greenery