University Street — known locally as Sharea al-Jamea — runs along the northern edge of the Yarmouk University campus and is the social spine of Irbid. This half-mile stretch contains a density of internet cafes, student restaurants, juice bars, shawarma stands, falafel shops, and cheap clothing stalls that reportedly gave it a claim to the highest concentration of internet cafes per capita anywhere in the world during the mid-2000s.
The street buzzes from mid-morning until late at night, packed with students and families. It is the best place in Irbid to eat a cheap meal, watch people, and get a feel for daily life in a Jordanian university city. Cardamom coffee and fresh juice stands are scattered throughout; the shawarma here is quick, cheap, and good.