Two Cities within One

The imbalance of the city of Amman has surprised me the most since my arrival to Jordan – which has been two weeks now!! In contrast to the east, West Amman, as the city’s economic center, appears to be a different world with abundant and even luxurious residential districts, cafés, bars, clubs, five-star hotels, art galleries, and shopping malls. With a growing bar scene and an increasing nightlife, West Amman is becoming more modern and liberal, creating a dichotomy with East Amman. As the historical center of the city, East Amman is more traditional and older than the West. Small stores, single-family houses, and various historic sites dominate this “city”. Despite the difference of building structures and Westernized stores and restaurants between the east and west, Amman seems to have a differing population within each part. Although years ago Amman was divided primarily along religious lines with Christians in the East and Muslims in the West, the defining aspect of an individual in East or West Amman is no longer religion, but rather the East tends to be more conservative with its residents holding a more traditional viewpoint towards the future of Amman compared to their counterparts in the west (generally speaking). 

I guess it is not hard to fathom the construction of new buildings, and the desire of a community, a city, and a region to develop their infrastructure and livelihood. Yet what is striking to me is to witness the imbalance of Amman. Within in Amman especially (and other locations), an increasing economic polarization is separating one Jordanian from the other – just check out the wealthy Abdoun compared with the gritty reality of downtown Amman. 

Despite Jordan’s Islamic conservatives who kept Jordanian life – religious, political, and cultural – under close rein in the past, it will be interesting to see what becomes of Amman and its differing West and East, especially as the new generation of educated and outward-looking youth desires a more Westernized culture. Despite the contrasts of the east and west, Amman is a multicultural city with multiple ethnicities, including Palestinian and Iraqi refugees and guest workers from Egypt, Syria and South East Asia, and there is undoubtedly a diverse vision for its future.