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While we were in Amman, we stayed at the home of Nael’s parents, Bahjat and Newar Said. Nael and Deanna are gracious friends and hosts, and now we know where that comes from. The Said’s welcomed our family as if we were life-long friends. We felt like special guests. And when we offered to take them out to dinner as a way of showing our gratitude, they declined and instead said we could take them out when they visited us in MN.
The families of Nael’s older brother Basil and younger brother Feras also hosted and joined us for dinner and activities during the day. They have children the same age as our crew, so lots of fun was had for all the little ones. All told there were 11 kids running around the house.
The food was fantastic. Each dinner and breakfast provided wonderful opportunities to try different foods and combinations. Steve enjoyed Halloumi cheese and honey in the morning, particularly if it was fried in olive oil. Maria enjoyed the humus and labneh cheese with fig jam on an Arabic bread. The dinners of grilled meats, stuffed grape leaves, zucchinis, and huge prawns were wonderful. And we fell in love with kanafeh, a dessert originating from Nablus and made from cheese and a fine pasta and sweet rose water syrup. Kanafeh is best when fresh and warm and we constantly felt the urge to drive to the local kanafeh restaurant to get a slice. We have a recipe for it, but we doubt we’ll be able to duplicate the experience.
We also learned more about the strife between the Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank. We appreciated learning more about the topic from the Palestinians' perspective. It is truly heartbreaking to hear and see the things happening there.
All-in-all our trip to Jordan was amazing. We would have enjoyed our visit if we traveled there on our own as the people were friendly and welcoming. But traveling and staying with the Said family made the trip so much more real, and we are grateful for this.
The families of Nael’s older brother Basil and younger brother Feras also hosted and joined us for dinner and activities during the day. They have children the same age as our crew, so lots of fun was had for all the little ones. All told there were 11 kids running around the house.
The food was fantastic. Each dinner and breakfast provided wonderful opportunities to try different foods and combinations. Steve enjoyed Halloumi cheese and honey in the morning, particularly if it was fried in olive oil. Maria enjoyed the humus and labneh cheese with fig jam on an Arabic bread. The dinners of grilled meats, stuffed grape leaves, zucchinis, and huge prawns were wonderful. And we fell in love with kanafeh, a dessert originating from Nablus and made from cheese and a fine pasta and sweet rose water syrup. Kanafeh is best when fresh and warm and we constantly felt the urge to drive to the local kanafeh restaurant to get a slice. We have a recipe for it, but we doubt we’ll be able to duplicate the experience.
We also learned more about the strife between the Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank. We appreciated learning more about the topic from the Palestinians' perspective. It is truly heartbreaking to hear and see the things happening there.
All-in-all our trip to Jordan was amazing. We would have enjoyed our visit if we traveled there on our own as the people were friendly and welcoming. But traveling and staying with the Said family made the trip so much more real, and we are grateful for this.
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