{"id":7190,"date":"2011-12-25T14:38:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-25T21:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/?p=7190"},"modified":"2011-12-25T14:47:44","modified_gmt":"2011-12-25T21:47:44","slug":"7190","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/25\/7190\/","title":{"rendered":"Madaba, continued… LUNCH."},"content":{"rendered":"

En route to St. George’s, we tried to see another Archeologic Museum site. \u00c2\u00a0Poking around trying to find it, we passed a few tourist shops. \u00c2\u00a0One of the men on the street in front of the shops explained that the area was closed (it was Friday and the door guard was off at the mosque), but if were\u00c2\u00a0walked along a back road we could see everything inside. \u00c2\u00a0It was a good tip and he was friendly enough, so we launched into very basic conversation. \u00c2\u00a0Or, rather, he engaged the kids — at the moment, Will and Kate are actually the most popular tourist sites in Jordan — and we participated in very basic pleasantries common in Jordan (where are you from, what is your name, hello, how are you). \u00c2\u00a0He ended up giving the kids stuffed camels, wanting or indicating nothing in return, simply because he wanted to give them a gift.<\/p>\n

So, after we left the church and saw what we wanted to see, we decided to go back and find his shop and purchase something from him. \u00c2\u00a0He GAVE our kids toys, after all. \u00c2\u00a0Ploy to get us in the store? \u00c2\u00a0Maybe, but Jordan isn’t really like that, and even so, he gave them willingly and never asked for anything in return. \u00c2\u00a0We wanted to give back to his\u00c2\u00a0generosity as it seemed like the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

It didn’t take long to find him. \u00c2\u00a0Within 2 minutes of seeing him, we learned his name (Malek) and he’d given Kate another gift (a doll). \u00c2\u00a0He had a artist making a\u00c2\u00a0mosaic\u00c2\u00a0table top for a customer who came to check in on it — which gave us an opportunity to learn about the different techniques and styles. \u00c2\u00a0We ended up choosing a mosaic made in-house with Jordanian symbolic significance and he offered to have the wood frame buffed up nicely. \u00c2\u00a0While this happened, we asked if he could recommend a good place for lunch.<\/p>\n

“Tourist food?”<\/p>\n

NO. \u00c2\u00a0Local food. \u00c2\u00a0Jordanian lunch.<\/p>\n

“You okay with sitting on the floor?”<\/p>\n

Absolutely we were!<\/p>\n

“Local food, I order for you? You like meat, rice, youghurt?”<\/p>\n

Bring it!<\/p>\n

Malek insisted on driving us over. \u00c2\u00a0True to his word, he greeted the owner with us and explained all that they needed to do. \u00c2\u00a0We took off our shoes and entered a small cube with cushions lining the walls. \u00c2\u00a0They laid down a plastic sheet and we sat around it, ready. \u00c2\u00a0Traditional lunch, the place’s “best dish” (according to Malek): first lentil soup, salad, tomato salad, youghurt, and then main dish with grilled chicken on rice with dates, raisins, and almonds. \u00c2\u00a0Then tea.<\/p>\n

Just as if we were in a Jordanian home, we sat around the plastic cover on the rug and ate with our hands. \u00c2\u00a0Kate, who has never completed a meal without using her utensil-hating digits, was in HEAVEN.<\/p>\n

Here’s what it all looked like…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dig in!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seriously good stuff. \u00c2\u00a0And the almonds? \u00c2\u00a0WOW. \u00c2\u00a0So good it makes you wonder whether you’ve actually ever had an almond before.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little salad. \u00c2\u00a0Will, for whatever reason, LOVED this salad. \u00c2\u00a0Please don’t tell him that it is cabbage.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Kate wanted to live in Jordan, FOREVER(!), after realizing that eating with hands is okay here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Will has never actually sat completely with both butt checks in a single chair at the same time,\u00c2\u00a0he was most happy with sitting in the floor.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

The happy face of a child with sticky hands.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like everything, tea comes on a tray. \u00c2\u00a0You don’t take the tray from anyone either (especially if you’re female and the server is a male) — you let them put it down in front of you. \u00c2\u00a0Even if there is a sea of debris at your feet. \u00c2\u00a0They’ll work it out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The tea was spiced with herbs to help with digestion. \u00c2\u00a0I’m still amazed that Will drank his up — with great concentration in doing so, too!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even Paul drank it down!<\/p>\n

The entire meal — including the unnecessary tip we added — was 11 JD. \u00c2\u00a0(About $15.) \u00c2\u00a0Cheaper than the cost of 1 of the four of us eating anywhere a tourist might go.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Malek picked us up when we were done and brought us back to the shop. \u00c2\u00a0He made Bedoin headscarves for the kids before agreeing to a picture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you’re in Madaba, we highly recommend stopping at PEACE, the main store owned by Malek Abu Al-Ganam. \u00c2\u00a0You can also reach him by Telephone (00962 77 7872563) or email (peacs_2010@hotmail.com).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

En route to St. George’s, we tried to see another Archeologic Museum site. \u00c2\u00a0Poking around trying to find it, we passed a few tourist shops. \u00c2\u00a0One of the men on the street in front of the shops explained that the area was closed (it was Friday and the door guard was off at the mosque), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[216],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7190"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7190"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7205,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7190\/revisions\/7205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.coldspaghetti.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}