Treks and Trails of Jordan: Amman

Active Jordan - April 2007

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 02:25:00 GMT

Click here to view the photo collection.

To Mette, Ruth, Sarah, Tanya and Eric, I would like to say thank you for your visit to Jordan. We hope you have enjoyed this trip as much as we have enjoyed running it! Also, thanks for all the constructive feedback and tips that you have given us throughout this trip. We have certainly learnt alot.

Special thanks to Sarah and Mette for all the nice photos!

Active Jordan is an 11 day tour around Beautiful Jordan. What makes this trip special is all the fun activities (mountain biking, camel riding, camping, hiking/scrambling and canyoning) along the diverse lanscape of the country, mixed with spentaneous cultural interaction and all the sighseeing and unique heritage sites. For more information please Click here.

A Tour Leader By Nature

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:25:00 GMT

By Tala Bassam Momani

This story occurred 5 years ago when I used to attend university in Irbid, Jordan. I remember it was Ramadan when I took the public bus going back from Irbid to Amman where I live. It was just half an hour before the Athaan time (the calling for the sunset prayer when Muslims are allowed to break their fast) when the bus broke down in the middle of the highway; it was quite empty as most people were gathered in their homes to have Iftar [the meal that breaks the fast] with their families, so we had no chance to catch a ride back - although we were close to the exit that leads to Jerash. The only thing to do was to wait until later in the evening when traffic would return to normal on the highway.

I was fasting at the time and starving... couldn't think clearly... couldn't wait around any longer! I decided to walk towards Jerash, 15 km south-west from the highway. I'm not sure what I was thinking, I just started walking. After about 2km I heard footsteps behind me, only to look back and find another seven of my fellow bus passengers right behind me. I realized then that they were following me; they thought that I knew the way when I actually had no clue. I was just following a water stream through the fields so I kept following the stream and they kept on following me. It was a pleasant enough walk; it was winter time but not so cold although the soil was a bit muddy.

After one and a half hours we finally arrived at a village setting (it was actually a nursery or farm) hungry, thirsty and muddy. Another guy and I dared to knock on a door which was answered by a gentleman at which point I said "ehna dakhleen ala Allah ow aleik" - meaning "in God's name we are asking for your help" or "please offer us Iftaar!" The man was still welcoming after realizing that there were six more people with us and invited us all into his home.

Tens of people were in that house; women, children and men and they all joined us for a second Iftar. They were very hospitable and even offered us Qatayef - a regional Ramadan dessert - after which our host drove us to Amman in his pick-up truck. Being the only girl in the gang I had the pleasure of a seat inside the vehicle while the rest had to sit in the back of the truck, while we were driven to the bus station in downtown Amman.

That day I arrived at my house at around nine at night - the longest drive ever from Irbid to Amman.

I suppose you could say that those people were the first group I ever lead - a tour leader by nature. Ha

All the way from Nablus - The Art of Making Knafeh

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 20:55:00 GMT

Photos by Tala

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By Rakan Mehyar

Knafeh is a traditional dessert which is very popular in the Levant region of the Middle East and which is originally from Nablus, a prominent city in the West Bank of Palestine. Knafeh is extremely popular in Jordan and ubiquitous throughout the year but especially on special occasions such as graduations, engagement parties etc. The word Knafeh is usually followed by Nabulsiyeh as in Knafeh Nabulsiyeh to indicate the city of its origin.

I was invited for dinner the other day at one of my best friends' house in Amman. Dinner was made underground in a Zarb - a traditional Bedouin technique of cooking meat underneath the sand. Anyhow, what I’d like to write about is not the main course but about the special dessert which my friend Laith prepared; Laith's family are from Nablus so it was bound to be knafeh!

Knafeh is one of the most traditional sweets in Jordan. Most people here buy Knafeh from a special shop for tradional sweets… while some people - especially those from Nablus - prefer to prepare it themselves at home.

Grandfather to father to son, this art has survived war and peace.

After finishing up the main dish, we all gathered around Laith to watch him prepare some delicious knafeh.

Ingredients: jibneh nabulsiyeh (salty white goat cheese), smeed (a kind of pastry made of wheat), samneh baladiyeh (saturated fat) and qater (sugar syrup)

Recipe: I am not too sure I can write down the Knafeh recipe in a few lines. I guess it takes watching an expert like Laith's dad or Laith to have a better idea. In general we can say it takes a good Nabulsi friend to do the job!

Anyhow, the Knafeh was great and the company was even greater! Thanks to the Al-Masri Family...

Tackling Air Pollution in Amman

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:04:00 GMT

Photos by Abed Sultan

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Special thanks to Abed Sultan for raising the issue and providing the photos...

By Tala Bassam Momani

Let me tell you what happened yesterday: we were sitting peacefully in the office (Friends of the Earth - Middle East) when Abdel-Rahman (my colleague) came running from outside the office yelling 'Tala and Rakan come and see this!'

We went up to the building roof, clambered over the water tanks and looked where he was pointing to - I honestly don't know how Abd knew about it - there was dark yellow smoke coming out of the building next to us. It turned out that the smoke was Nitrogen Oxide (a toxic air-polluting and carcinogenic gas) which is typically a by-product from gold crafting.

Abd found out that we do have a gold workshop in the building next to us so I called the Civil Defence after unsuccessfully trying to reach the Environmental Police. We transformed our office into an operations room!! About 20 minutes later we heard sirens and three fire trucks and two ambulances pulled up with about twelve firemen fully equipped and holding masks and air regulators went up to our roof to see what we called about.

I honestly felt guilty after I saw them carrying heavy oxygen tanks on their backs and up three storeys (I wondered whether we might have over-reacted!).

Anyway, we told them about the fumes, however it turned out they could not do anything since by the time they had arrived the smoke had stopped coming out and we had no proof or evidence and quite naturally the people in charge of that workshop denied everything we said!

For me the case has not ended yet; I'm going to keep a close eye on that workshop which is polluting and poisoning Amman's air.

Amman's Wheat Fields?!

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 01:38:00 GMT

Photos by Omar Shaheen

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By Rakan Mehyar

What do you think of the urban planning of Amman?

Where is the countryside of the city?

What happened to Al-Biader - the wheat fields of West Amman?