Amman Again

It’s a strange feeling, arriving in a foreign place which no longer seems so foreign, but instead now seems so familiar. The smell of cardamom spiced coffee and grilled lamb in the air is different, but it’s the same. The site of cars equipped with “state-of-the-art” cassette players is different, but it’s the same. The maddening traffic and smell of exhaust is different, but it’s the same. The hotel is different, but…well actually it is different. For my second trip over USAid has put me up in the five-star Sheraton hotel, down the road from my old home at the Bristol. The difference is unimaginable. Fresh fruit brought to the room upon arrival; a free 15 minute massage to work out those kinks from the long plane ride (12.5 hours direct from JFK); lavish lounge areas; and the breakfast buffet this morning was OTT with eggs made to order, fresh squeezed orange juice and too many pastries to count.

So I’ve returned to Amman, this time with completely different expectations and knowledge of the language, culture, and food. This is quite helpful, and already, after less than 24 hours, I feel as if I really never left. I’m hoping to experience many new things this time around and write an interesting blog to keep you entertained while I am away. First though I’d like to share a post that I wrote during the last few days of my first trip. I didn’t get the chance to post it before I left, and it somehow didn’t feel right posting it after I returned. So although this was penned almost two months ago, it’s still great insight into the holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan – The Mood Changes

Everything changes really; the food, the tempers, the work schedules, the eating schedules, the traffic patterns. It seems as if nothing is left untouched. The holy month of Ramadan is upon us and I must say, with hopefully no offense to my Muslim friends, that while I’m glad I get to experience it here in the Middle East for a few days, I am also glad that I don’t have to endure a full months cycle of it.

Ramadan begins when three people claim to have seen the moon being born (the thinnest crescent moon visible). It is obviously based on the lunar calendar and moves back 10 days every year. It’s hardest now, and for the next 10 years or so as the days are much longer during the summer. We’ve all heard about this holiest of Muslim holidays as it’s the one that requires believers to fast. No eating during daylight hours. Doable, and not the end of the world, right? Well it turns out that fasting means that you can’t drink either, which I didn’t know. No coffee, no tea….so no caffeine. It also means no smoking…so no nicotine. Do you see where I’m going with this? People are PISSED OFF, and the first few days are the worst. I saw two fights on the street downtown today in a matter of two hours. Mind you, I’ve seen no fights in the past month. The Jordanian people are not a violent lot, but when a migraine headache sets in that feels like a tiny mouse is eating away at your brain, one tends to get a little chippy. Fasting means no lip balm, no eye drops, no water. I’m watching construction workers labor in 96⁰F heat and wonder how safe and healthy this can be.

I’m not Muslim so how does this affect me you ask. In the States we non-Muslims continue with our daily lives during Ramadan with people fasting all around us. We eat, drink, and carry on. But it doesn’t work that way here. It’s considered very rude to eat or drink in front of people. The hotels are little sanctuaries, but once you leave the oasis that is the Bristol or the Sheraton that all changes. No coffee at the office. No drinking water at your desk. No lunch unless you bring it yourself and go hideaway someplace. No restaurants are open and I mean NO restaurants. It was eerie walking around downtown today shopping for my spices. Most stores are open, the fruit and veg market was hopping, but people were just buying goods to take home in preparation for iftar (the breaking of the fast after sundown) tonight. But all of the restaurants, food stands, drink vendors, etc. were closed or missing. It’s a strange thing.

I had a very funny moment with a colleague of mine that best symbolizes what it’s like to be in a Muslim country during Ramadan: We were wandering around a mall in the middle of the afternoon and wanted to drink some water, as it’s still a thousand degrees outside. I had a giant bottle in my bag so we went around a corner, out of view of anyone else, and took turns chugging a 1.5 liter bottle. I felt like I was 16 again, slipping behind a car with a friend to pound a 40 of Bud Light or Colt 45. Ahh, the memories.

The upside to all of this is that there are special food items for Ramadan; most of them sweets. By the time you get through a full day of no eating or drinking the body craves food, craves it bad, and the sweeter the better. Last night I broke the fast with a Lebanese-Muslim friend of mine who’s working on the project. We went to a restaurant called Mais El Reem, a fantastic Lebanese restaurant we had visited earlier. I had had wonderful quail there that was to die for, we both did actually, and we were looking forward to eating it again. Unfortunately most restaurants serve buffets during Ramadan and the quail was not on the line. After your stomach has shrunk to the size of a grape it’s only natural to belly up to a buffet with two plates in hand and go to town. You should have witnessed the scene my friends. People staring down blankly at a third or fourth heaping plate of food, mouth agape, stunned, trying to fathom eating more. Overdoing it is an understatement.

I learned a more calculated and healthy approach: Drink some water and then some amar al-deen (apricot drink). Start with a little soup; cracked barley cooked with minced chicken in a broth-based soup spiked with cumin. Then nibble on some stuffed grape leaves and maybe some fattoush (salad) so that your stomach is well aware that food is now on its way. We ate lamb with rice (mensaf), roasted chicken with bulgur wheat , meat pies, spinach pies, olive salad, hummus, roasted stuffed eggplant, but not too much of anything. Then came the sweets; tiny dough balls deep fried and soaked in syrup, a butterscotch flan –type thing, more kunaffe, and the most famous of Ramadan desserts, atayef. It’s essentially a silver dollar pancake rolled in half and filled with cream cheese, nuts coated in syrup, chocolate, etc. Good stuff and fun to eat as you simply pop them into your mouth.