A TASTE OF JORDAN CULINARY MAP OF JORDAN A Taste of Jordan
AJLOUN DAY 2 AMMAN DAYS 1, 8, 9
MADABA DAY 3
DEAD SEA DAY 4
Jordan has a rich culinary culture, parts of which date back thousands of years and parts that are influenced by its modern his- PETRA DAY 7 tory and the diversity of the people who live here. Explore the sights, sounds and smells of Jordan on this unique tour that focuses on the local cuisine, the fresh ingredients AQABA found here, and the age-long processes and DAY 5 WADI RUM DAY 6 traditions that are part of the local culture. Dinner at Hike in Ajloun
Beit Sitti Head north to Ajloun for a walk through 1 ancient olive groves, past local vil- 2 Begin your culinary journey through Jor- lages. You will visit the soap house, dan by learning the basics of traditional where local women make olive oil soap cuisine as you cook your way through the evening and then by hand, incorporating traditional herbs and oils. Then sit down to enjoy the meal at Beit Sitti, which is Arabic for visit the Biscuit House and try some home-baked ol- “My grandmother’s house”. It is set in a traditional house in ive oil and molasses biscuits. Have a traditional lunch at Amman where you will enjoy cooking Mezze’s, a main dish the rest-house along the trail where local women make and Jordan’s favorite dessert Knafeh. dishes typical to the area such as makmoura, made up of chicken or meat is roasted in a pot and served on bread with plenty of olive oil. If it is the season, take part in the olive harvest by helping the locals pick olives. Spend the night at the Ajloun Nature Reserve or head back to Amman.
Olives and oils: Olives and olive oil are staple ingredients in Jordanian cuisine. Olives have been grown here for centuries and olive oil has been produced since ancient times. Walk through olive groves along the Ajloun trail and spot 1000 year old trees. Enjoy lunch with Knafeh a local family, tasting the freshly You will find the famous Arabic made olive oil that is a big part of dessert served at every occasion every meal. During olive harvest celebrate with the local communi- and all around Jordan. A base of white cheese is topped with shred- ties by eating the traditional dish of the season - Musakhan. This ded dough, sprinkled with chopped pistachio nuts and smothered dish is made up of chicken with a lemony flavor of sumac and the with sugar syrup. sweetness of caramelized onions baked on top of Arabic flatbread. A Meal in Madaba Buried Under In the morning, depart to Madaba stopping the Sand on the way at the Terra Rossa Olive Press 3 to learn about the process and have an ol- Explore the beautiful corals of the Gulf of 5 ive oil tasting. Enjoy fresh mana’eesh for Aqaba with a morning snorkeling trip and breakfast made with Za’tar (Thyme) and Jordanian olive oil. a lunch cruise. Then head to St. George Church to see the Byzantine mo- In the late afternoon head to Wadi Rum, the magnificent saic map of the Holy Land and other sites in the area. For desert described by T. E. Lawrence as “Vast, Echoing and lunch, try Sajjiyeh at Dana Restaurant, Arabic mezze at God-like”. Wadi Rum recently became a UNESCO World Haret Jdoudna or other restaurants Heritage Site and is home to several Jordanian Bedouin in Madaba. tribes. After lunch, transfer to Mt. Nebo and Watch the sunset as you sip on some traditional Bedouin visit where Moses viewed the Holy sweet tea and spend the night at a campsite and enjoy a Land, then wind your way down to Bedouin Zarb for dinner. the lowest point on earth and spend the night at the Dead Sea.
In the early afternoon, proceed to the village Tomato of Ghor Mazra’a and Time meet the community 4 living there, learn about their customs, and help them make Galaya Bandura, a traditional tomato dish for lunch. During the tomato har- vest season, guests are welcomed to pick the tomatoes themselves. After lunch, transfer to Aqaba for Zarb overnight and enjoy Sayadieh for This is a traditional desert method of cooking meat, whereby a hole dinner which is a traditional fish dish is dug in the ground and a wood or coal fire is lit at the bottom. A with spiced rice and caramelized whole lamb or chicken is then placed inside in a metal container onions. You will overnight in Aqaba. and this is buried over with sand. It is left there for a few hours to smoke, then unearthed and served. Delicious! Cardamom Mansaf and Coffee and Wine 8 6 Spend the morning exploring Wadi Rum After breakfast, enjoy a morning visit to by camel, horse, 4x4 jeep, or hiking this Beidha to see some ancient wine press spectacular desert and enjoy a sumptuous lunch in a Bed- and learn about the significance of wine ouin tent, followed by a quick lesson on how to make tra- to Nabataean rituals. ditional Bedouin coffee made from freshly roasted coffee beans and cardamom.
Following lunch transfer to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra. On this night, enjoy a sneak preview of this world wonder by the light of 1000 candles (Petra by Night). Overnight in Petra. Travel along the King’s Highway and stop at a vegetable market in Tafileh for tea before continuing on to Karak, the heart of Jordan’s national dish – Mansaf. Learn the skill of Cooking in Petra making Jameed (dried yoghurt), an impor- tant ingredient that finishes this popular dish Tour the 7 and dig into some Mansaf for lunch. ancient rose- Return to Amman and spend the evening at red city of Petra, which was the Winemaker for dinner and tasting of local built by the Nabataeans more wines produced by St. George winery, sev- than 2000 years ago. eral of which have won international awards. For dinner you will be honing your local cooking skills at the Overnight in Amman. Petra Kitchen. Overnight in Petra. Downtown Jordanian Cuisine Delights Eating is a true celebration in Jordan, every meal is a feast and it is simply delicious! Galaya Bandura 9 Begin your morning with a tour of the Ingredients: Amman Citadel, where civilizations 1lb tomatoes ¼ cup Olive Oil ¼ cup pine nuts have resided going back thousands of years, including 1 teaspoon Salt 4 Garlic cloves Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras. 1. Sauté the pine nuts in the oil until light brown, then remove from the oil Then walk the streets of 2. Chop the tomato finely downtown Amman, tasting 3. Chop the garlic cloves and sauté in the oil until light brown, then add the various street foods the chopped tomatoes and salt. Cook them for 6 minutes at a boil, along the way, including stirring constantly. fresh fruit cocktails, 4. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Shawarma, Falafel, Knafeh, 5. Pour into shallow serving dish and garish with the pine nuts other sweets and so much Enjoy the Galaya by dipping into it with pita/Arabic bread! more. Araies lahma (Bedouin Meat pie) Ingredients: 1 lb (1/2kg) ground meat 1 medium-sized onion 1/2 cup olive oil 1 green chili pepper 2 cloves garlic 2 tomatoes 1 teaspoon salt flat bread (pita) 1 teaspoon cumin Preparation: 1. Mix the meat with chopped tomatoes and onion in a blender or food processor 2. Add salt, minced chili, crushed garlic and cumin to ground meat and mix well 3. Cut each round of pita bread into two pockets. Stuff each pocket with a thin layer of the meat mixture 4. Paint bread with olive oil and arrange in baking dish 5. Bake in 180 degrees Celsius oven for 7 minutes. Turn the pieces and continue baking another 5 minutes 6. Serve hot from oven CONTACTS
Beit Sitti beitsittijo.com
Terra Rossa Olive Press (near Madaba) www.terra-rossa.com
Madaba Restaurants www.visitmadaba.org/Restaurants.htm
Picking Tomatoes through Zikra www.zikrainitiative.org
The Petra Kitchen www.petrakitchen.com
Saint George Wines / The Winemaker Call: +962 6 461 4125 Email: [email protected]
Haret Jdoudna www.haretjdoudna.com
Jordan Tourism Board, North America
Telephone: 703-243-7404 Fax: 703-243-7406
Toll Free U.S: 877-733-5673 Toll Free Canada: 866-416-1686
www.visitjordan.com