Mansaf Under the Stars

This weekend Nayab, Georgia and I had the incredible opportunity to join our friend Reema’s family for dinner at their home in Amman. The setting was absolutely astounding- their home sits in a hillside right below the infamous Citadel ruins. Their roof is literally the lookout point from the ruins to the breathtaking view of Amman’s downtown cityscape and roman amphitheater. After meeting cousins, aunts, uncles and Reema’s lovely grandmother, we enjoyed mansaf for dinner, Jordan’s national dish. Eating mansaf is an experience in itself- it is a mixture of rice, lamb, almonds, pine nuts and yogurt sauce and is served on a large communal platter. No utensils are necessary as you simply scoop the food up in your hands and mold it into a ball to eat.

After dinner we sat outside sipping sweet mint tea and watching fireworks from a wedding in the distance. While not everyone spoke English we were still able to communicate well and enjoy each other’s company immensely. Perhaps the most surreal part of the evening was conversing about the upcoming US presidential elections. It’s amazing to me that we were able to share our sentiments about the candidates so easily and that we were doing so in such an unusual and unique setting. One of Reema’s cousins demonstrated the custom of drinking Turkish coffee- the person serving the coffee pours a sip’s worth into a very small cup and waits as the other person drinks it, if they cradle the cup in their hands it signals that they would like a second serving, and if they shake the cup from side to side it signals that they are finished, and the server moves onto the next person.

Reema’s uncle then drove us around downtown Amman, where we picked up an enormous pan of kanafeh, a traditional Arab dessert. Kanafeh is a pastry heated with butter (similar to fried-dough) and then spread with a soft cheese and layered with more shredded pastry. It is topped off with crushed pistachios and sugary syrup. We brought the dessert back to the house where we ate it in celebration of Reema’s cousin’s seventh birthday.

We were then lucky enough to be taken on a midnight tour of the citadel by Reema’s uncle- how splendid it must be to have a site of ancient ruins as your backyard! We descended into a pitch-black abyss that was once used as a well, walked through the lit-up chambers of the ruins and sat upon a stonewall looking out onto the stunning view of the city and royal palace. The whole night was spectacular. After living on the campus for so long and dining out at restaurants, it was so comforting to be a part of a family gathering and truly experience life in Jordan.