The Duke’s Diwan is a time capsule of early 20th-century Amman, hidden in plain sight on the busy King Faisal Street. Built in 1924 as the city’s first post office, this Ottoman-era stone house later became the Haifa Hotel before heritage activist Mamdouh Bisharat ("The Duke of Mukheibeh") rescued it from demolition in 2001. Today, its creaking wooden floors lead through rooms frozen in Jordan’s past, complete with antique typewriters, sepia photos of camel caravans on dusty roads, and a balcony overlooking downtown’s metamorphosis. More than a museum, it’s a living diwan (gathering space): poets hold readings at the carved oak table, while artists riff under the Arabian archways. Admission is free, and the duke himself sometimes holds court, spinning tales of old Amman over cardamom coffee. Don’t miss the upstairs gallery, where rotating exhibits spotlight Jordan’s underground creatives.

Hattuscha, an UNESCO World Heritage site, was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins, lying near the village of Boğazköy, are an important archeological site and a must-see when in Ankara

First-class performances and concerts are on the program of Culture Days, which is organized by the Salzburg Cultural Society. This music festival is famous for its Classical performances as well as its embrace of experimentation, not shying away from exciting mixtures of genres including hip-hop and hits from the world of musicals.