Jordan Travel Guide

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Cuisine

Jordanian cuisine shares many of the characteristics of Middle Eastern cooking but the inclusion of freshly made, local yogurt and cheese adds a twist to the menu. Aubergines, chickpeas, lentils and beans turn up in many of the dishes and rice and khoubs (flat Arabic bread) are staples. Most restaurants have a mixed menu including Arabic and European dishes. Alcohol is served in most restaurants and bars, except during the fasting month of Ramadan (non-Muslim nationals can drink alcohol only in hotels during Ramadan).

National specialties:
• Meze: A selection of starters that pre-empt almost every main meal; they include fool (thick stew made with fava beans), hummus (mashed chickpeas with tahini or sesame paste), moutabel (smoked aubergine dip) and tabouleh (finely chopped parsley salad).
•Mensaf: Stewed lamb in a yogurt sauce. As with most Bedouin dishes, it is normally eaten with the fingertips of the right hand.
•Makloubat: Chicken with spices, including cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and nutmeg.
•Kibbi: Often deep fried, this ground lamb or beef dish is combined with burghul (ground, steamed wheat), onion and cinnamon.
•Baklava: Assorted honey-drizzled, nut-filled pastries.

National drinks:
•Arabic coffee: Strong and served in small cups, it's more a tradition than a drink.
•Wine: Thanks to the Christian minority, Jordan has a long tradition of wine-production.
•Araq: This local liquor is similar to Greek Ouzo; usually served mixed with water and ice.

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years.

Tipping: Generally, 10 to 12% service charge is added in hotels and restaurants; extra tips are discretionary.

Nightlife

For many Jordanians, an evening's entertainment is going out for a meal. Amman does have nightclubs in the modern districts, mostly attached to 5-star hotels. Many high-end hotels have popular bars. Some cinemas in Amman show English-language films, and there are cultural centers for concerts and exhibitions.

Outside the capital, nightlife is thinner on the ground. The Dead Sea resorts offer a variety of entertainment (not usually open to non-residents), as do the 5-star hotels in Wadi Mousa and Aqaba. In smaller towns, the local coffee shop sometimes doubles as a bar for locals. Men, or couples, may feel more comfortable here than solo women.

Pick up a copy of monthly entertainment listings publication W2Go, often available free from top-end hotels.