Jordan Entertainment

Jordanian cuisine shares many of the characteristics of Middle Eastern cooking but the inclusion of freshly made, local yoghurt and cheese adds a twist to the menu. Aubergines, chickpeas, lentils and beans turn up in many of the dishes and rice and khoubs (flat Arabic bread) are staples. Most restaurants have a mixed menu including Arabic and European dishes. Alcohol is served in most restaurants and bars, except during the fasting month of Ramadan (non-Muslim nationals can drink alcohol only in hotels during Ramadan).

National specialities:
• Meze: A selection of starters that pre-empt almost every main meal; they include fool (thick stew made with fava beans), hummus (mashed chickpeas with tahini or sesame paste), moutabel (smoked aubergine dip) and tabouleh (finely chopped parsley salad).
• Mensaf: Stewed lamb in a yoghurt sauce. As with most Bedouin dishes, it is normally eaten with the fingertips of the right hand.
• Makloubat: Chicken with spices, including cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and nutmeg.
• Kibbi: Often deep fried, this ground lamb or beef dish is combined with burghul (ground, steamed wheat), onion and cinnamon.
• Baklava: Assorted honey-drizzled, nut-filled pastries.

National drinks:
• Arabic coffee: Strong and served in small cups, it's more a tradition than a drink.
• Wine: Thanks to the Christian minority, Jordan has a long tradition of wine-production.
• Araq: This local liquor is similar to Greek Ouzo; usually served mixed with water and ice.

Legal Drinking Age: 18 years.

Tipping: Generally, 10 to 12% service charge is added in hotels and restaurants; extra tips are discretionary.

For many Jordanians, an evening's entertainment is going out for a meal. Amman does have nightclubs in the modern districts, mostly attached to 5-star hotels. Many high-end hotels have popular bars. Some cinemas in Amman show English-language films, and there are cultural centres for concerts and exhibitions.

Outside the capital, nightlife is thinner on the ground. The Dead Sea resorts offer a variety of entertainment (not usually open to non-residents), as do the 5-star hotels in Wadi Mousa and Aqaba. In smaller towns, the local coffee shop sometimes doubles as a bar for locals. Men, or couples, may feel more comfortable here than solo women.

Pick up a copy of monthly entertainment listings publication W2Go, often available free from top-end hotels.

Every town has a souk (market) selling everything from meat and live chickens, to clothes and jewellery. The gold is usually 18kt or above and there is no charge added for the craftsmanship of items like bangles, chains and earrings.

Tourist-oriented towns offer many handicrafts, including mosaic; mosaic schools train young people to work with the colourful, locally hewn stone.

Another distinctive local craft is ostrich-egg painting: the paint is applied with needle pricks and designs can take weeks to complete.

Other hand-crafted items include sand jars, hand-blown glass and embroidered clothing. Bottled Holy Water from the river Jordan can also be purchased, as can skin-care products made of Dead Sea mud.

Shopping hours: Sat-Thurs 0930-1330 and 1530-1800; some open as early as 0800 and close at 2000. Shops are closed on Friday except for the souks which usually open from 1600.