The Dull Colors of the Rainbow
After they closed off Rainbow Street for over half a year for “renovation”, the top part of it is finally open again, unveiling to the public a partially cobalt-covered road, bigger sidewalks, and nothing much else.
Most of the stores are still dull and irrelevant to the “culture” the street is supposed to represent, including a handful of dust-covered clothes shops that were cool 40 years ago, overpriced antique stores, and several gun-collector paraphernalia shops. On the corner, Rainbow Theatre, the first theatre to stage daily shows in town, is rundown and appears to be out of order. The few bookshops scattered on the street do not really deserve to be labeled as bookshops, due to the measly quality of their books and the lack of diversity.
A little into Rainbow Street, there’s the Saudi Embassy, with its fence so high you cannot see anything of the actual structure inside. There’s some sort of governmental organization with a plethora of multicolored flags waving hideously in the air. Right across from it, there’s the British Council, with barracades stacked and patterned with “you’re not welcome here” on its tiny sidewalk, and several armed security personnels standing threateningly outside, glaring at any happy teenager who tries to park anywhere near the vicinity.
Abu Il Dahab Center, which spells happiness in the hearts of a lot of Amman’s 20-something population, stands dark and shutdown somewhere in the middle. It breaks my heart to see it looking so forlorn and empty. When we were children, it housed two stories of arcade games, and going there was always the ultimate treat of the year. Some of my best childhood memories were formed in those halls, running around during the birthday parties and learning how to bowl on a kids-sized bowling lane right across from the cafeteria that served Slush Puppies. As we grew out of the games, we moved our outings to the last floor of Abu Il Dahab, which had the only bowling alley we ever bowled at, as well as some pool tables, a few computers, and a cafe. We would always bowl for a few hours, sit around and laugh for a few minutes, then go downstairs to Falafel AlQuds and eat falafel on the sidewalks. Then we would hail several cabs and we would all go home.
The restaurant and cafe scene is slightly less dull, as Rainbow Street is home to some of Amman’s most beloved eateries, the most successful one being Falafel AlQuds, established in 1966. Their stock for the day usually runs out by 7:30 PM, and thereafter, you resort to going to the late-night sandwich places, like RnB or Batata (and who doesn’t love Batata?). For breakfast, The American Bakehouse around the corner has been a favorite to fafi Ammanis for ages. There are several gorgeous coffee houses on Rainbow Street as well, my current favorite being Coffee and News, where we sometimes sit on the sidewalk and drink our coffee. There’s Duinde Gallery, which has unfortunately been closed for a while, and Basement, which college students seem to love. Towards the end, there’s La Calle, the streets only bar, masquerading itself as an Italian restaurant.
During all the time in which Rainbow Street was closed for cobbling, I was hoping that the grandeur of it will somehow be regained, but somehow, I found it more old and forgotten than ever. I know it is too early to tell, but hey, at least half of it is back.
