Travel blog

Jordan is famous for its ancient history, excellent hospitality, world wonders like the Dead Sea and Petra and its magnificent desert scenery, but what if we told you Jordan is also one of the Middle East’s finest culinary centres? Experience a foodie awakening while on your  holidays in Jordan . Indulge in lip-smacking traditional cuisine made with fantastically fresh ingredients – a cuisine that dates back thousands of years. If you enjoy sampling new flavours while you travel, Jordan might be the perfect place for you. Whether you embark on a tasting tour of Amman’s street food, try out new skills in the kitchen during a cooking lesson or learn about the country’s wine production at a vineyard, there are plenty of opportunities to explore Jordan’s varied gastronomy. Combined with sightseeing and a dose of adventure , sampling the food of Jordan is sure to feature favourably on your holiday highlight reel. From the humble chickpea to rich meat stews, read on to discover our favourite Jordan food and drink. Street eats The best way to get to know a country’s traditional cuisine is often to head to a street market, and sample the wares alongside the resident population. You may have already heard of kofta and kebabs, but there’s much more than traditional fast food to Jordan’s quick street eats. Amman is a fantastic place to try Jordan street food. Stalls are piled high with bread and falafel, sweet roasted nuts. The many shawarma dens give off an intoxicating aroma that permeates the tangle of streets. Mezze is a key part of street eating. Pick up sizzling flatbreads stuffed with falafel, bowls of fava beans swimming in olive oil and tender kebabs. These are best all enjoyed together to sample the variety of flavours. No holidays in Jordan would be complete without sampling the world famous falafel. In fact, many Jordanians will attest that their falafel is the best in the Middle East. We can heartily agree: light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, with mouth-watering flavours of cumin, garlic and parsley. Jordan is also one of the largest producers of olives in the world. An  excellent snack or side dish as well as providing flavour to many main dishes. All meals are completed with a little something sweet. You can grab a slice of baklava or sugar-syrup drenched kanafeh, a soft cheese with a crumbly orange-scented semolina crust. Unearthing Zarb cuisine Zarb cuisine is the food of the Bedouin, the nomadic people of the Middle East; the cooking practice is full of drama and can definitely be classed as ‘slow food’ – it can take as long as several hours to cook, but it’s definitely worth the wait. Because of their roaming lifestyle the Bedouin people keep cooking equipment to a minimum, so every item is precious: using the land, they are able to cook their meals underground in a hot oven using embers from the campfire. During Zarb cooking, lamb or chicken with a mix of vegetables and herbs wrapped in palm leaves and cooked in an iron pot with a heavy lid, and then buried in the sand. The low, slow cooking process means the meat falls off the bone; it’s succulent and delicious. You can sample traditional Zarb cooking while on your holidays in Jordan , with the Bedouin in and around Wadi Rum. Mansaf: the national dish Mansaf is celebrated as Jordan’s national dish. Traditionally served on a large platter, it’s designed for communal eating among families and friends. Tender chunks of meat are layered between thin flatbreads and served alongside piles of aromatic rice, toasted nuts and a tangy yogurt sauce called jameed. The dish also originates in the Bedouin kitchen, so the recipe varies across the Middle East, appearing in home cooking from Israel to Iraq. Restaurants usually serve mansaf made with lamb or chicken, but you might also find it made with camel meat. Another classic Jordanian dish is maqluba. Often made at home, it’s a jumble of chicken, rice and vegetables inverted on the plate like a cake (the word maqluba means ‘upside down’). World-class wine While alcohol is available across Jordan the variety is not huge. However, beer is brewed in the country and equally fruit juices are deliciously fresh. But Levantine wines are growing in popularity and Jordan’s fledgling wine production is the best accompaniment to its cuisine. So don’t fear, you’ll still be able enjoy a tipple while on your holidays in Jordan . There are also choices from slightly further afield. Many restaurants now offering labels from the mature wineries of the nearby Lebanon. While staying in Amman, make a trip north of the city to the St George Winery . Here, you can take a tour of the vineyards and learn about the production process. Vegetarian paradise Vegetarians will find plenty to satisfy their taste buds while on their holidays in Jordan ; the foundation of many beloved Jordanian dishes begins with the humble chickpea. Whether deep fried into delicious balls of crunchy falafel (best stuffed into a flatbread with spicy dressing) or whipped into a creamy hummus, probably one of the best know Levantine dishes. Wherever you order it you’ll find the taste subtly varies depending on the ratio of lemon juice and olive oil – and just about every restaurant in the country offers it. For a different texture, give fattet hummus a try, which is made with white bread. It has a deliciously whipped texture and is lighter than the regular version. Another Jordanian favourite ingredient is Aubergine, which are widely used in Jordanian cooking too. Why not try muttabal (garlic-roasted aubergines) or a bowl of thick, smooth baba ghanoush with slices of bread for a light lunch, or with a side of herby tabbouleh. Taking tea Tea, particular of the mint variety, is drunk in astounding quantities across Jordan. Traditionally, the beverage is very sweet and often flavoured with aromatic sage. When visiting a Bedouin camp, you may be invited to share a drink with the people. This is traditionally served in tiny ornate glasses, but beware – you may find yourself receiving infinite refills, unless you signal your satisfaction by placing your hand over the glass. If coffee is more your cup of, well, tea, you may find it to be considerably more aromatic than it is at home. Syrupy sweet, Jordanian coffee is rich and made with ground cardamom. If you delight in trying new flavours or are wanting to be more adventurous with your palate, Jordan’s fresh and tasty cuisine is the perfect place to start. Whether you opt to take a cooking class while on your holidays in Jordan or decide to embark on a full-on tour of the country’s culinary landscape, our experts can help. Contact our resident expert Catherine who will be more than happy to share her favourite dishes and places to eat. She’ll also be able to help you build your perfect holiday to Jordan.  

From sheltered bays to crashing waves and golden sands to frontier towns, with its national parks, wildlife and a huge range of outdoor activities, it’s no wonder the  Garden Route is one of the most popular South Africa multi-centre holidays . Stretching 200 km across the country’s southern coast from Mossel Bay to Storms River, the Garden Route is one of South Africa’s most scenic regions and an area of spectacular natural beauty. Named because it is so lush and green in comparison to the rest of the country, a self-drive holiday is a perfect way to get off the beaten track and explore this rugged and beautiful region. So whether you want to take a detour and spot whales in their natural habitat, relax on golden sand beaches, explore hidden forests, feast on fresh seafood overlooking a turquoise lagoon or walk hand-in-trunk with an orphaned baby elephant, the Garden Route is the place to do it. Having recently returned from a self-drive adventure in South Africa, Charlie is a true expert on South Africa multi-centre holidays – and shares with us her top spots for an unforgettable week along the Garden Route below… Whale spotting in Hermanus Before you embark on the official start of the Garden Route, if you have any time to spare this pretty little seaside town just along the coast from Cape Town is one to tick off the bucket list. It’s got a charming historic quarter, as well as plenty of shops, seaside cafes and seafood restaurants – but what Hermanus is most famous for is whale watching. From July to November, it’s one of the few places in the world where you can spot Southern Right Whales from land – and what better vantage point than the winding coastal paths and cliffs of Hermanus? It’s quite common to be able to spot whales from as close as 10 yards – and on some days up to 80 have been spotted in the bay. The town even employs its own whale crier who blows a kelp horn to announce each new arrival! This waterfront wonder truly is a must see while on your South Africa multi-centre holiday s. But it’s not all about whales in Hermanus: some of South Africa’s best boutique vineyards such as the Hemel en Aarde Valley are nearby if wine tasting is more your thing. Wilderness and Oudtshoorn Heading off from Hermanus, you’ll know you’ve truly arrived on the Garden Route when you climb the hills just before Wilderness and see the bright white sand and frothy blue ocean below. Its beaches, hiking trails and unique ecosystems of forests, rivers, and lagoons make Wilderness a paradise for nature lovers, and there’s a warm sunny climate year round too. About an hour’s drive from Wilderness you’ll also find Oudtshoorn and one of the most jaw-dropping sites of the Garden Route, the Cango Caves . These world-renowned caves have caverns of stalactites and stalagmites which have formed over millions of years to create a series of dark, eerie tunnels and stunning limestone formations. The main cavern is easily accessible, well lit, and a once-in-a-lifetime sight to be seen in itself; but for the more daring there is also a longer tour that continues up ladders, through narrow cracks and around twists and turns as you explore one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. Picture-perfect Knysna At the heart of the Garden Route, Knysna is a great place to base yourself if you don’t fancy a self-drive holiday. As South Africa’s favourite holiday town, Knysna lazes on the shore of a large blue lagoon that’s protected by two rocky headlands and is a great place to relax and unwind. Here you can spend your time strolling through the town, stopping off at its coffee shops, art galleries and boutique souvenir shops before heading down to the buzzing Waterfront for fresh fish straight from the sea. If you’re going to sample seafood on your South Africa multi-centre holiday s, make sure it’s here: Knysna is renowned for its oysters and seafood cuisine. There’s even a 10-day oyster festival in July that’s growing in popularity every year – but if you can’t make that, an oyster tasting at the Knysna Oyster Company will do just fine. Other activities include taking a ferry to Featherbed Nature Reserve and strolling around its natural mosaic of coastal and clifftop paths or embarking on a cruise out to the heads to take in the beauty of the lagoon. Plettenberg Bay Known as Plett to the locals, its stunning beaches and relaxed atmosphere make Plettenberg Bay a quintessential seaside destination that’s popular with South Africans and tourists alike. There’s truly something to suit everyone’s South Africa multi-centre holidays here. It’s set in a horseshoe-shaped bay with lovely sheltered beaches and breathtaking views of the Tsitsikamma Mountains and offers up a whole host of activities from sea kayaking and horse riding to sailing and surfing. It’s a must for nature lovers too: there’s a large Cape fur seal colony, a seasonal penguin colony, and the chance to see dolphins and even whales in season too (June to November is best for boat-based whale watching). You can also head to the nearby The Crags to walk hand in trunk with an orphaned baby elephant, or venture to Monkeyland where you’ll find over 400 different species of rescued monkey, lemur, gibbons, and bushbabies. If that wasn’t enough, the largest free-flight aviary, Birds of Eden, is only 20 minutes away, and there’s plenty of nature reserves and hiking trails to choose from as well, such as the famous Robberg Peninsula . See, we weren’t lying when we said there’s something for everyone in Plett! Ending on a high at Tsitsikamma After your scenic drive along the Garden Route, what better place to stretch your legs than the Tsitsikamma National Park ? The park begins just east of Plettenberg Bay, and with over 80km of pure, unspoilt land, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most visited spots in South Africa – and an absolute must-visit for anyone travelling the Garden Route. From ancient yellowwood trees that are up to 800 years old to hiking trails, adrenaline sports and even dolphin spotting on the sandy beaches, there’s plenty to occupy your time here. The highlight is probably the Storms River, a stunning and fitting way to end your trip along the Garden Route: spot evidence of indigenous hunters in the Strandloper Cave before heading on the rope suspension bridge where the river meets the ocean, creating a maelstrom beneath your feet. A self-drive or organised tour, East to West or back again, however, you want to do the Garden Route , at Holiday Architects South Africa multi-centre holidays are our thing – so you can trust us to create the perfect trip for you. In fact, we’ve got a team of South Africa experts just waiting to plan your tailor-made adventure. Contact our team today to start planning your next experience!