Eating in and out in Jordan

Allan is struggling to keep his weight down, due to the delicious food prepared by family and friends in Jordan. We start this blog post with a visit to a restaurant in downtown Amman, the bottom of a very winding road as Amman is situated on 7 mountains --- it was a hair-raising way to start lunch. Then very heavy rain came pouring down and set the downtown area awash --- a rare and most welcome event!

Still, we were unperturbed and crossed flooded streets to reach our destination --- the Jerusalem restaurant.

Our friend Jawad had made the arrangements, and Nuha, Muna's sister-in-law joined us for the feast.
It started with a traditional Bedouin dish of stuffed lamb's neck.
Served on rice with a side dish of soup and yogurt, it is simply delicious. So tender, succulent and flavoursome - it is a specialty of the restaurant. Not a resaurant for vegetarians.

This was followed by "kinafe", the traditional sweet made of cheese, a type of roasted shredded vermicelli, and sweet syrup. The little shop selling this delight has been in the same place for years and years and there is always a queue, even in the rain! People normally sit outside on some stone seats or on the edge of the pavement . We stood in the rain, and enjoyed our Kinafe piping hot --- yummy!!!
Family members cook often, like every day, and have stoves to match the needs of feasts when family members visit - it is common to go to family dinners with 10 - 15 people present.
There are several types of bread common in Jordan; this one is Allan's favourite --- a large thin round loaf good for eating with, well, just about anything.
They also eat all kinds of green things --- most of them Allan would pullout of the garden as they are considered weeds in Australia. This one is called "Khubbayzi". When cooked, it actually tastes nice. Still, if times get very hard, they know how to eat cheaply!
This traditional Persian dish of "musamma" is made with chicken in a rich sweet sauce of pomegranate paste and walnuts --- one of Allan's many, many favourites --- certainly, on the list of 30 top ten favourite meals.
All around the Middle East, "hummus" is very popular. Made from ground boiled chick peas, it can be garnished with all kinds of toppings --- in this case lamb, but often with mushrooms, a garlic oil dressing, pine nuts, etc. Hmmmmmm, yummy.
Chicken is very versatile, and this is with "freekreh", a young or "green" smoked wheat, cooked somewhat like rice, and served with baked/fried chicken and roasted almonds. Made from wheat before it fully ripens, it has a unique taste and is a special treat. All kinds of garnishes decorate the table --- olives, radish, fresh spring onions, and "torshi lemon", in this case --- lemon slices with chili and black cumin, some pickled in vinegar and some in olive oil (both very yummy).
"Kubbih" (a Lebanese dish) comes in various forms --- this one being the most popular. Stuffed inside a thin shell of finely ground meat, cracked wheat (burghul) and onions and seasoned with pepper and cumin, is coarser cooked meat with walnuts, and then the whole thing is deep fried. When Allan first had this food, made by Muna's mother, Naz Delshad, he was mesmerized, and not knowing their name, referred to them as "cannon balls" --- luckily for Allan, Muna makes them too.

Kubbih can also be served raw; these shown below, however, are a vegetarian version made by Nadia (one of Muna's numerous cousins), who kindly invited us to break the Fast at her home.
Nadia also made a variety that was cooked in a yogurt sauce rather than fried.Rice is eaten nearly every meal, and it comes in many varieties, this dish has roasted almonds and pine nuts.

Salads are a welcome starter dish, and lots of varieties have already been enjoyed.
Another staple food is "falafel", a popular take-away food (beats western fast food hands down!); it is made of chick peas, dried broad beans (both soaked, peeled and minced), fresh parsley and coriander, onion, and garlic, and is deep fried. These falafels are the traditional shapeand are stuffed into flat "pita" type bread with salad, vegetables and tahini dressing. Then there is another larger variety, "mother of falafel", which are stuffed with onions and red pepper and are chili hot.
More hummus, this time with chick peas on top and garnish --- great food for vegetarians.
The local cauliflowers are yellow in colour, sweet and delicious. Muna made some Aussie 'baked cauliflower and broccoli in a white cheese sauce' and this cauli was cooked with lamb in a dish served with rice.
A typical table setting.
This is just a sample of the many delectable delights enjoyed while visiting family in Jordan --- it is a real test of will-power not to overeat with so much temptation.......

Wadi Rum - Jewel of the desert, and Aqaba

Wadi Rum, also known as ‘The Valley of the Moon’, is the place where Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T.E. Lawrence based their headquarters during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in World War I; their exploits are intrinsically woven into the history of this amazing area.
We travelled through this region with a local Bedouin in the back of a jeep, which would not meet Australian safety standards, but it provided great views of this borderless region. The tour took about two hours, which was a good length of time, though it is possible to do longer tours and camel rides as well as hiking trips. In warmer times you can sleep in a tent and be entertained by the Bedouins.
The weather and winds have carved the sandstone and granite rocks into imposing, towering skyscrapers, the highest rising to 1,750m above the sandy desert floor.
A vast, silent place, timeless and starkly beautiful, Wadi Rum is one of Jordan's main tourist stops, described by some as being the most stunning desertscape in the world. To drive to, it is 320 km southwest of Amman (4 hours), 120 km south of Petra and 68 km north of Aqaba. So the trip from Amman, to Petra to Wadi Rum to Aqaba is the best order to see things.

In front of these imposing hills are coloured sands of varied and beautiful hues --- the picture does not do them justice.
The Bedouins have made a success of developing eco-adventure tourism, now their main source of income. And there is much to see.

Here is the ship of the desert,
and the mushroom rock.
The twin arches provide an interesting natural feature.
These structures are like stairs ascending to heaven.
Wind and water have carved so many amazing structures within the rocky cliffs,
and nature has excelled herself in the variety of shapes, colours, and textures - it would really inspire any artist.
You turn around a corner and see this imposing structure,
followed by more stairs.
Peoples from different cultures have inhabited Wadi Rum since prehistoric times, including the Nabataeans, leaving their mark in the form of rock engravings, which are not decipherable today.
The Bedouin people that inhabit the area still maintain their semi-nomadic lifestyle in goat-hair tents. They are hospitable and offer a friendly welcome to visitors, often inviting them to sit and enjoy a coffee or even a meal. The young man living in this tent was one such example, as we met him returning to his tent, which was pitched at the base of a steep cliff.
This cave was used by T.E. Lawrence, according to local tradition. Certainly the film Lawrence of Arabia was shot in part in this location. Note the many different coloured rocks,
which, up close, are even more magnificent
and varied.
Too many photos to post in a single blog!
A shot of Muna in her desert "howdah" taken from inside Lawrence's cave. The Bedouin driver took this break to say his prayers. A truly inspiring place for praise and thanksgiving with God's wondrous handiwork everywhere.
One area has hundreds of rock structures such as these below.

A French TV station decided to build this "fort" structure in the middle of Wadi Rum for the ultimate reality TV series - survival in the desert. It involved people being buried in the sand to see how long they took to get out and doing all kinds of other dangerous stunts. It lasted for about 4 seasons, but was abandoned after several contestants died, then the structure was locked up and left as yet another 'passing parade' through this eternal Wadi.To safeguard its unique desert landscape, Wadi Rum was declared a protected area in 1998 and an intensive conservation programme is now underway.
Sand swept up the side of a cliff by the prevailing wind. Very little vegetation can be found here.
We leave Wadi Rum and travel to Aqaba - this is the main road into the city. In every direction, there are mountains rising sharply from the parched desert. It is quite startling when you first sight the waters of the Red Sea.
Our hotel was 15km out of town, and just 4km from the border of Saudi Arabia. This is as close as we will ever get to Mecca!
Most of the area surrounding this important (the one and only!) Jordanian port and tourist resort is windswept, with barren hills all around,
but the morning sun showed just how blue the Red Sea is.
Across the bay lies Israel,
and Egypt (Sinai) a little further south. This cruise ship later docked in Aqaba and the 'day- trippers' left to see Petra. It was amazing to be standing at a spot within such a short distance of 4 countries.
At night we had dinner in town and walked up and down the promenade, returning next morning to see lots of families enjoying the warm weather on the public beach in the centre of town. Across the bay is Eilat in Israel, and the border crossing is very easy and quick for tourists.
A local man grows fresh herbs literally on the beach promenade. It took a lot of will power to keep Muna's hands off them!
Downtown away from the beach resorts and tourist hotels, it is a typical Arab city.
Nuts are popular in Jordan - this shop, called "Ash-Sha'ab" (The People) had 4 outlets in the one street, on the same pavement, and within 200m distance --- all were busy!
It is always good to know the type of meat you are buying - no difficulty here, as both the head and the tail are left on the carcass at the butcher shop.
As we leave Aqaba, we see this amazing intertwine of brown and white rocks that reminds us very much of chocolate halva (halawa) which is very popular with Israelis who are chocolate mad. In Jordan, the more traditional halva with pistachio nuts is preferred - I agree!
We were glad we came to see the bay of Aqaba, and the city with its bustling promenade, but we would not want to spend more than a day or two here --- especially with the best of 5 star hotels "Casa Delshad" (Muna's brother's home) awaiting us in Marj al-Hamam.