Food
What are the herbs in Za'atar?
Za’atar, Arabic for wild thyme, is actually a mixture of herbs including sumac, salt and sesame.
Moses is said to have died here.
Mount Nebo (700 metres above sea level).
How many hours does it take to drive across Jordan?
The country is tiny! It’s about 89,000 square kilometres (34.5 thousand square miles) which if it were a square would be less than 300 kilometres (186 miles) on a side. That’s just a three hour drive on a highway!
What side of the road do they drive on?
Jordanians drive on the right-hand side of the road which is the right side as far as we are concerned.
What is Jordan's full name?
Jordan is formally known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
When are fresh almonds in season?
Green almonds are in season in spring. Dip into salt – and voila, a local favourite and a mouthful of fuzz, crunch and jelly. The almonds need to finish maturing on the tree to become the nut we’re all familiar with.
Who built Petra and why?
Located on trade routes, the Nabataeans became rich and flourished in the desert. Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its famous Al-Khazneh structure – believed to be the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV – was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants.
What countries does it border?
Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt (we count the water border), West Bank and Israel. What a neighbourhood!
Where do the people of Jordan come from?
Its hard to know for sure, but some experts (eg. taxi drivers) estimate as much as 60% of the population is of Palestinian origin (most having been displaced between 1947 and 1967) and that combined with over a million Iraqi and Syrian refugees means “original” Jordanians number about 30%.
What is the name of the King of Jordan?
Abdullah II
What is Jordan's national dish?
Mansaf is a traditional dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt called Jameed and served with rice or bulgur.
What is Montreal in Jordan?
The Crusaders constructed several Crusader castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including those of Montreal and Al-Karak
What is the lowest point in Jordan?
Jordan shares the lowest point (well actually it’s a line being the shore of the Dead Sea) on planet earth being about 427 metres BELOW sea level, with the West Bank and Israel.
Wadi Rum (Arabic: وادي رم Wādī Ramm), known also as the Valley of the Moon (Arabic: وادي القمر Wādī al-Qamar), is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan 60 km (37 mi) to the east of Aqaba; it is the largest wadi in Jordan.
What does Jordan mean?
The word Jordan is thought to be derived from the Hebrew word “Yarden” which translates into something like “descend” or “to flow down”; something a river might do.
What flavour is often added to Arabic coffee?
Cardamon. Arabic coffee is made from coffee beans roasted very lightly or heavily at home, ground, boiled, not filtered and served with dates, dried fruit, candied fruit or nuts.
How did the 400-year Ottoman Empire end?
Four centuries of stagnation during Ottoman rule came to an end during World War I by the 1916 Arab Revolt, driven by long-term resentment towards the Ottoman authorities and growing Arab nationalism.
Where do people float in Jordan?
The Dead Sea, which has a salinity of about 33% as compared to the ocean being about 3.5% saline. That is why everyone floats way high in the water.
Dance performed at weddings.
Dabke, which combines circle dance and line dancing, punctuated by hops and kicks.
What is the currency and how much is it worth?
The Jordanian currency, the Dinar, is worth about $2.00 Canadian ($1.50 US) in 2019 at the time of this typing.
Common foods in a mezze, appetizer sampler.
A typical mezze includes foods such as kibbeh, labaneh, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, olives and pickles.
Why didn't Arabs rejoice at the end of the Ottomans?
Arab people considered it betrayal when they learned of the secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement, which divided the region into French and British spheres, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which promised Palestine to Jews.
What is under the ground that makes Jordan unique?
Jordan produces virtually no oil but 60% of Jordan is underlain by oil shale which unfortunately is not easy to wrest oil from. This is probably one of the lesser known facts about the country Jordan.
What is karam?
Important to Jordanian culture, the Arabic word means "hospitality" with hint of nobility. For example, in Jordanian Bedouin culture, the host and guest share a cup of black coffee. Host drinks out of the cup first, ensuring the right temperature, guest drinks what remains. A second cup is served to the guest, and then a third.
A match popular at Bedouin weddings.
Bedouin tradition favors marriage between first cousins on the paternal side of the family. This allows family property to stay within the family.