I understand that talking dirty may not be for everyone, if you have travelled anywhere in the developing world you will have an appreciation for my reflection on Toilets, Bathrooms, Restrooms or Water Closest however so named. My primary goal is to encourage everyone to visit Jordan, so this reflection is not meant to scare you away. 

Let me start by saying I have a standard 1 to 10 rating scale for Toilets, Bathrooms, Restrooms or Water Closest around the world. For my visits to Jordan, it has gained rations from -4 to 8.5. Over a sample of up to 30+ facilities, most scoring in the high 3 to low 4, the average would have been close to a 4. Let me go on to explain my rational, so don’t get squeamish on me. Remember I am compensating for cultural differences, that is potential a high on what I call the International Crapper Rating scale or ICRS (pronounced as it looks, I see arse).

Starting with the choice of traditional squat receptacle or a western style pedestal is always a good place for a baseline. I have to confess, most of my public facilities experiences have a western choice available.

Once you have chosen your cubicle the next level to assess is if the door locks. A door you will find does not guarantee privacy, so employing a humming, coughing, singing combination I find works most of the time.

Floors are one element of the rating scale, you hope as I always do that it has a high rating. Though Jordan, like most developing countries there can sometimes have an issue with waste to receptacle competency of the end user. The eastern standard of an available hose in each cubicle can sometimes add to the state of the floors, so tread lightly.

Toilet paper is not always available in public toilets as demand has outstripped supply, the supply schedule is insufficient or it just is not a standard provision. Advice in this regard is the same for all countries, carry your own.

Bin, having a refuse receptacle in each cubicle is standard for most countries, especially those that don’t have a waste treatment infrastructure to accommodate the load. This could stem from being in a remote location, to age of the pipes or to the treatment facilities further down the system. Needless to say there may be an olfactory element that you have to adjust to or compensate for when using a toilet facility.

Hose, now this is a cultural element that like most western people I have not mastered. It can also be related to the availability or not of toilet paper.  I say try it, give anything a go, who’s to say which system is better.

Not a fan of flushing. This is not a pleasant element of the whole assessment process, though it is one that has to be acknowledged.  As I have no solid evidence or rationale for not flushing, I can make no comment of that part of the previous visitor. What I will make comment on is being on the receiving end of a non flusher. For this example of the Jordanian experience I will refer to, comes from the antiquity at Jerash. This is the site that received my -4 rating. The summary goes like this, four cubicles, which consisted of a squat, and three western pedestals.  Squat was clean, one western cubical had no toilet seat, al la Greece and the other two were full of human waste or vegetable matter. I did my best to encourage the the disposal of the vegetable matter to no avail. So as a non-squatter, I squatted. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

So with that, I hereby rest my case for the prosecution.

A side bar observation before I go,

Rubbish more specifically plastic bags in Jordan.  There is other rubbish issues such as cigarette butts and plastic drink bottles, though the plastic bag is Jordan’s number one disgrace. It was not uncommon to see plastic bags literally, as far as the eye could see. Our standing joke was to say they were the fields for the cultivation of plastic bags. We would talk about strategies to tackle the problem such as reduce the use, education about disposal of rubbish, recycling, to people being allocated a small area that they kept clean, to reintroduce national service and utilize the military to clean up the country. though my one personal opportunity to discourage the use of a plastic bag failed miserably in Aqaba, when we needed a new shirt. I struggled to educate the nationals I am with how am I going to tackle it for a whole nation. If I had the opportunity to speak to King Abdullah I would say, I have found your country to be fantastic from the ancient monuments to the beautiful people, seriously you need  to address the issue of the rubbish. When Jordan’s lack of tourist visitor crisis is resolved, tackling the rubbish has to be closely linked.

Honestly you will have the best time in Jordan, pack your bags come visit with me.