Jordan -

Jordanian cuisine

Gosia — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:04:09 +0000

Jordanian cuisine belongs to Levantine cuisine which is characteristic to countries like: Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. In addition, Turkish influences can be seen in the traditional way of preparing Jordanian dishes. In a word Jordan is an interesting place on the culinary map of the world! Traditional breakfast is very nutritious and consists mainly of hummus (chickpea paste with lemon and garlic), excellent white cheese of cream consistency, called labaneh, ful madames – paste made from fava bean with cumin, chili and lemon, as well as eggs and excellent halva. What’s more interesting, no matter what time of day is on the table there’re always pickled vegetables, usually olives and carrots, but you can also find cucumbers, radish or cauliflower. It’s without doubt that this snack is a culinary hit in this country. Jordan is one of the largest olive producers in the world. Great olives can be purchased on many stands, however personally I do not recommend the vinegar version. The main meal begins with an appetizer, here called mezze. Of course, there’s excellent hummus among the appetizers. In addition, various types of cheeses, paste and salads are also served. Jordanian cuisine offers a wide variety of dishes among which you can list:– kofte – perfectly seasoned meatballs, which may be served in tomato or sesame sauce, – kebabs,– zarb – so-called Bedouin BBQ,– dolma – vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice,– baked meat in dough,– falafels. Being in Aqaba it’s also worth to try local fresh fish and seafood. I recommend sayadiya – grilled fish served with rice, the best you can eat in Syrian Palace Restaurant. The main course goes with variety of salads. Olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and eggplants are common ingredients. One of the most interesting dishes in the Lebanese menu is known as Lebanese salad – tabbouleh, which includes tomatoes, bulgur or couscous, parsley, mint, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. The basis of every meal in Jordan is bread, most commonly known as pita. An interesting type of bread is Bedouin abud – it’s covered with ash after baking in fireplace. Another is taboon – thin bread made in a traditional oven For dessert, baklava and halva are served. Very popular delicacy is kunafa – honey-soaked cake with a filling of cheese similar to mozzarella. Personally, I didn’t like the connection of these ingredients. A tasty souvenir from the trip can be butter sesame cookies with honey and pistachios, called Barazek. The main beverage in Jordan is tea, usually served black with mint (na’na) or sage (meramiyyeh), which is actually black tea with added sage. Although I am not an admirer of herbal teas, I honestly admit that the taste of this tea was so distinctive and tasty that I will always associate it with Jordan. Very popular is coffee. In addition to famous coffee in Turkish, you can taste Bedouin coffee with added cardamom. Although Jordan is a Muslim country, there’s no prohibition. Alcohol is available, but only in a few stores and costs quite a lot, so the best solution is to buy it in duty – free. Want to know more? Check out the other posts: -Jordan how to organise a trip– Jordan – seven worders

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Girl on a Trail – Jordan Seven Wonders

Gosia — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 19:33:58 +0000

Since recently, Ryanair has launched a new connection from Warsaw and Cracow to the capital of Jordan – Amman. Tickets can be bought at a very low price. Especially in winter, this is an interesting proposal for a weekend or even a longer trip. Just in less than 4 hours, you can find yourself in a warm, exotic country, characterised by an amazing story, excellent cuisine and wonderful countryside. First stop – Amman In Amman, one can feel the specific atmosphere of the Middle East. Bright, high – desity housing, seems to grow straight from the desert. The most interesting place in Amman is Jebel al-Qala – the Citadel (adm. 2 JOD, or free with Jordan Pass, more info here). You can see two high columns here, being a remnant of the ancient Temple of Hercules. Right behind them you can see a piece of Hercules’ hand,carved in the rock. From the Citadel you can admire na amazing view of Amman. In addition to typical buildings, you can see the city centre, with skyscrapers in the background and on the other side with the old Roman Theatre. A little farther from the historic centre of Amman is the Mosque of King Abdullah (adm. 2 JOD). This is the only mosque in Jordan opened for visitors. Closer to heaven – on top of the Nebo Mountain Compulsory point on the way from Amman towards the Dead Sea Highway is Nebo Mountain. It’s the place where Moses saw Canaan – the promised land. Supposedly somewhere in the vicinity, he was buried. There’s a church and a vantage point from which you can see the Dead Sea with Israel and Palestine in the background. It is also worth to visit Nebo Restaurant & Terrace where you can try freshly baked local bread and admire the amazing views. Dead Sea Highway The winding road west of the Nebo Mountain leads along amazing landscapes. The route often descends steep down to the lowest place on the earth – the Dead Sea, which is about 420 m below sea level. The wrongly named Dead Sea, is actually a lake and at the same time one of the most brackish water tanks, the salinity of this reservoir is 31%. It’s worth to hurry to see this place as the Dead Sea dries out slowly. Driving the famous Route 65, along the picturesque coast you can see amazing salt formations. Unfortunately, just before our arrival to Jordan, there was a great wave of flood. For this reason, half of this road was closed, which prevented us from seeing some of the planned attractions. In private resorts like Al-Wadi Resort or Amman Beach, you can swim in the Dead Sea. Unfortunately, this pleasure costs a lot because around 25 JOD. What does the price include? Actually the shower. I can imagine that shower after swimming in this brine could be worth its weight in gold. Wonder of the World I had expected to see Petra as the modern Wonder of the World, but what I saw exceeded my wildest dreams of this place. Until recently, I thought Petra was limited exclusively to famous structures – the Vault of Pharaoh Al-Khazneh. However, the place has much more to offer. It’s estimated that there are about 800 archeological sites in Petra, of which more than a half are graves forged in the solid rock. The length of the main path of sightseeing is about 7 kilometres, although it can be greatly extended when climbing the nearby rocks. What is true Petra can be visited in one day, however, when you’re interested in such places, due to the amount of attractions, it’s better to spend here 2 days. The route leads through an endless maze of rocks that literally hides amazing Nabateans’ treasure. Petra was built by Nabateans between 3 and 1 BC. For centuries it had survived numerous earthquakes, remaning secret until 1812. Then the Swiss Explorer – Jean Louis Burkhart uncovered the city forgotten for centuries. The road to the Treasury leads through a narrow corridor of rocks. The route surprises by the amount of amazing shades of orange, pink, yellow and red. The farther part of the route leads through the Street of Facades to the Royal Tombs. Nearby you can see a theater forged in rock. The last part of the tour includes the place where bazaar used to be, which can be recognised by the characteristic columns. The admission to Petra is quite expensive, the ticket costs 50 JOD, so it’s better to buy Jordan Pass, what I’ve mentioned here. Current prices and opening hours are available here. For an additional fee, you can take a ride on mules, donkeys or camels. Petra delights at any time of the day, while the greatest impression it makes at night when it is beutifully lit. The admission at night is extra paid. From September to March in the Petra area, there’s a risk of so called – flash floods. We had a lot of luck because just before our visit, 11 people had died as a result of this type of flood. The main cause of the threat is the terrain which consists of narrow, deep ravines, which intensify the flood wave. That’s why before the trip it’s worth checking the weather in order to avoid the risk. In close proximity to Petra, there’s the Little Petra. It’s an interesting alternative to people who don’t like crowdy tourist spots. 4 countries and sand for corals The perfect place to rest after an intense sightseeing is located at the Red Sea in Aqaba. Aqaba is situated in the so called “Golden Triangle”, while being a stop between Petra and Wadi Rum – Jordanian desert. The city itself isn’t a tourits attraction, it’s similar to European sea resorts. However, Aqaba is the strategic city in Jordan, as there’s the only sea port in the country. Actually, if it wasn’t for Jordan’s King, the city would have been in the territory of Saudi Arabia. Just a 12 km stretch of the coast was exchanged for 6 thousand square km of the Jordanian desert. Jordanian coast is famous for an amazing coral reef located almost right by the shore. Diving here includes exploring sunken tank and a military plane – Hercules. Both objects are so close to the shore that they can be easily reached on your own. Along the coast of the Red Sea there are numerous public beaches with restaurants, showers and toilets. Aqaba is also, the only place from which you can see 3 countries: Israel with the famous resort – Eljat, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. fot. Monika Dąbrowska Visiting Bedouins An unforgettable experience is a night at Bedouin camp in the Wadi Rum Desert. Accommodation under a typical tent, far away from civilization, with traditional Bedouin dinner and local music, the sky lit by million stars and amazing views at sunrise, is a truly magical experience. To get to the desert, you don’t need to rent a 4WD car. There’s an asphalt road leading to the Visitor Center. From there you can go to the camp by organised free cars. While getting there by your own 4WD car guarantees great fun. Admission to the desert area costs 5 JOD, it’s free with Jordan Pass, Visitor Center also offers maps of the desert. The real attraction is desert exploration. There’s a possibility of buying a trip with Bedouin guide or exploring it on your own. However, exploring by your own means of transport can be troublesome, due to limited navigation opportunities in the desert and quite demanding driving conditions for unexperienced drivers. That’s why the best option in my opinion is to buy a trip. The cost of accommodation with dinner and breakfast and 3-hour desert trip for a group of 5 people costs 150 JOD. During exploring the desert you can see amazing rock formations, dunes and canyons. The conditions in the camp are really good. In fact, the temperature at night in the desert can be low, however the tents are warm inisde. There is also a shared bathroom with showers in the camp area. Electricity is provided by solar panels and therefore there’s a power cut at night, as well as warm water. However warm water is available during the day. There’s also no internet access in the camp, although in these conditions it can be considered as an advantage 😉 photo by the courtesy of Ewa 🙂 On the High Castle The amazing Karak Castle rises at the height of 1000 meters. This is the best preserved building of this type in Jordan. From the top you can admire an amazing view of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, during our visit, it was closed after the flood that passed the day earlier. Admission costs 1 JOD or is free with Jordan Pass. photo by the courtesy of Ewa 🙂 Find out more information about trip planning here and a post about Jordan cuisine will be soon 😉 fot. Monika Dąbrowska

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Jordan – how to organise a trip?

Gosia — Sat, 24 Nov 2018 22:11:42 +0000

Purchase budget flight tickets is just the beginning of the iceberg. Browsing the Internet to find relevant tips is time consuming and sometimes really boring thing. That’s why I’ve decided to write this post to collect all the most important infomation related to travel to Jordan. Visa and Jordan pass Flights to Jordan can be really cheap, especially from Poland or Germany, while on the spot you have to buy a visa that costs quite a lot because 40 JOD which is about 50€. The best solution is to buy Jordan Pass, which costs from 70 to 80 JOD (around 87 -100€). Jordan Pass includes the cost of the visa (on condition that we stay in Jodan minimum 3 nights) and free admission to 40 attractions. Jordan pass prices vary depending on the amount of days we want to devote to visiting Petra. Detailed information is available here. Accommodation First night we spent in Amman at a hotel called meaningfully Aljazeera Hotel Apartments. Unfortunately high rating at booking.com does not reflect reality. Our “suite” has seen better days, we had to force the receptionist to turn warm water on, however even with this facility taking the shower was a really “memorable” experience. In the area of Petra we spent a night at Petra Family House run by local family. We had a huge apartment with kitchen at our disposal. In the morning, we’re served a delicious, traditional breakfast. The incredibly hospitable and open owner of this apartment – Rizek also offers trips to Petra and other areas in Jordan, as well as mules or donekyes rides. The third night we spent in the middle of the Wadi Rum Desert. It was one of the main attractions during our trip, right after Petra. In the desert, there are a lot of camps of this type, at booking.com you can find many offers in price starting from 10€ per person. In the price of accommodation, it is usually included transport to the campsite and traditional Bedouin supper and breakfast. In addition, you can buy a desert tour with a local guide. Car rental There’s a lot of chain rentals at Amman Airport. Check out the post how to rent a car seamlessly. The main roads in Jordan are of decent quality, while the minor roads resemble those in Poland some years ago. While driving in Jordan you should pay attention to pretty high speed bumps, which are often unmarked, also on fast traffic routes. After experience in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, driving culture in Jordan positively surprised me. In larger cities like Amman, I expected an aggressive ride without any possible safety rules. Meanwhile, Jordanian drivers satisfactorily complied to the rules and were satisfactorily predictable in their actions. However, after all, it is necessary to take into account the influence of latitude on road conditions and therefore the southern temperament of the drivers. Electricity and the Internet In Jordan we didn’t have any problems with internet access. Wifi was available both at the hotel where we spent first night and in a private suite. One exception was the accommodation in the desert. When travelling to Jordan, it is worth the supply universal adpater, as there are several sockets types. Outfit Jordan is a Muslim country, and therefore it’s advisable to wear modest clothes here. In most places, women should have covered legs, arms and cleavage. Unlike Jordan women, it is not necessary to cover the hair, as it is widely recognised here that only Muslim women should cover it. One place which requires to cover up completely is King Abdullah Mosque in Amman. It is also the only mosque that allows the tourists visits. In the area of Petra, shorts and T-shirts are allowed and in the area of the Dead Sea and Red Sea, you can even don a swimwear. However, it is important to remember that despite the large amount of tourists in these areas, bikini still attracts a lot of attention. Weather The autumn – winter period is perfect for exploring Jordan, because of the optimal temperature. During our visit in November, in Amman was slightly over 20 centigrade while in the southern Jordan about 30 degrees. Unfortunately, in this period, the south of Jordan, and especially the area of the famous Petra are susceptible to flash floods. Sudden torrential rains create a wave of water, quickly flowing through narrow canyons and ravage everything in its path. Just before our arrival, there was a great wave of floods in Petra’s area that killed 11 people. The next day, part of the roads ware blocked, and in addition tourist attactions were closed as a sign of mourning. For this reason, we weren’t able to see some places from our tight itinerary. On the other hand, I can say that we had a lot of luck that arriving just after this flood. When planning your day trip here, it’s advisable to watch the weather forecast. Prices: Jordan is a relatively cheap country. Accommodation cost us aroun 10€ per person per night. The exception was the accommodation in the desert in the Bedouin camp, which cost 40€ including a 3-hour trip across the desert. As we travelled as a group of 5 people and bacause in just 3 days we wanted to see as much as possible, we rented the car. The total cost of rental Toyota 4-Runner with full insurance was 40€ per person. A big surprise for drivers can be fuel prices in Jordan. Although this country is located in the Arab Peninsula rich in oil, a litre of fuel costs here 1€. During our trip, we drove around 1000 km and the cost of fuel was about 25€ per person. Meal prices depend on the place. Dinner in a bar shouldn’t cost more than 7€ per person, while in better restaurant prices start from 10€. Details you can find on this website. Find out the next post about sightseeing in Jordan 🙂 fot. Monika Dąbrowska

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