I (Aisha) live in Jabal Al-Weibdeh, near downtown 'Amman albalada. If you look at this here map, you'll find it in the South East Corner or 'Amman. I love this neighbourhood because it reminds me a little bit of Kensington in London. Everything is so beautiful and white and there's an Institut Francais in the centre and so you hear French everywhere you go. There's even a Paris Circle, which is quite popular on Tuesdays.
In all honesty, apart from a French institute, it doesn't have much more in common with Kensington. A lot of expatriates live in Weibdeh when they move to 'Amman I saw my Middle East History TA from Georgetown on a random street this week.
The Jordanian National Gallery of Arts is here, and so is the famous Blue Mosque (or the Abdullah Mosque), and a ton of cafés and tea shops. I really don't want to call it the hipster part of 'Amman, but I just did. My favourite place to study at the moment is The Tea Gallery, which has an aquarium shaped like a television! The baristas probably think I'm weird because I just keep staring at it.
A lot of people know Weibdeh for the nightlife, but I think you should take the time to see it during the day. It's worth it.
I keep getting lost whenever I go on walks, and the more I see of the neighbourhood, the more it reminds me of these two songs:
New Soul by Yael Naim
Boomerang by Lucy Schwartz
The obsessed amongst of us should remember the second song from the very end of Arrested Development.
Enjoy your weekend, friends!