Picturing Jordan

The Nabataeans were a tribe who became filthy rich on the trade of frankincense, myrrh, and spices in the Arabian peninsula around 2,000 years ago. They built Petra as the capital of their flourishing civilization. Hauntingly beautiful stone facades standing one hundred meters tall are amazingly intact and well preserved to this day.

I’m ashamed to say that it took me almost one month to discover this sweet, cheesy dessert after moving to Jordan. Originally from Nablus, a Palestinian city apparently known for “high cuisine,” kanafeh is one of those things that they just can’t make fast enough. At one famous shop called Habibah in downtown Amman there is always a line, and it’s even a bit stressful ordering there unless you know what you’re doing!

You haven’t lived until you and your friends have eaten seventeen different colors of rice, meat, and sauces while sitting on the floor at the Bab al-Yemen restaurant in Amman. If my experience is anything to go by, every item on the menu is downright delicious — including the humongous, flame-kissed flatbread that would be almost as fascinating to see being made as it was to eat.