A small, white, concrete house with a simple, white, concrete wall around it looks unremarkable in Azraq, a little town known for its wetland in the eastern desert of Jordan. And it is. It’s the family home of Tahseen Saleem Amer, his wife and their three children.

Six kids play with a soccer ball on the otherwise deserted street outside, staring at us curiously as we walk into the front yard. We’re greeted by Tahseen, a man in his late 50s who gestures kindly for us to come inside.

While the house is mono-colour white, the first room is infused with melodic smells and a rainbow of colours on the floor: this is our home-cooked lunch, sprawled over a blanket, the sight of it going straight to our bellies.

A group of 10 of us travellers have been invited into the house of a Druze family who live here in Azraq. The Druze are a social and religious group who mostly come from Syria, Lebanon and Israel; their population in Jordan is under 20,000, compared to 700,000 in Syria. Although they speak Arabic and their social patterns are similar to those in where they live, according to Tahseen, they don’t allow polygamy, their arranged marriages are more “consultations” and can be refused by either individual or family, and they don’t marry outside of the Druze tribe.

We all sit down on the floor cushions around the feast, eyeing it eagerly. There’s at least double the amount of food than what we can eat, typical of Jordanian hospitality. One by one the dishes are uncovered and we fill our plates with heaping portions, conversation coming to an abrupt halt as we dig in.

The main dish is kabseh, a mass of long grain rice with saffron and spices – making it a yellow colour – with lemon and green pepper slices, parsley garnish and hunks of chicken. A colourful salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and a scattering of corn kernels is balanced with the veggie pasta, not a traditional Jordanian dish, but an option for vegetarian visitors. There is also a warm noodle soup and kebba balls, that look similar to falafels, but made of bulgur (grits) stuffed with meat and onion.

After lunch I ask if we can meet Tahseen’s wife, who I’m sure is the mastermind behind this feast. She comes out of the kitchen shyly and, since I don’t speak Arabic and she doesn’t speak English, I can only put my right hand to my heart and smile. She does the same.

IF YOU GO
All of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature reserves offer different local experiences. Just contact the one you’re most interested in and ask what they offer during the time of your visit. To arrange a meal at Tahseen Saleem Amer’s house, contact the Azraq Lodge through the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (see below). Two options are available to book one day before: A traditional Druze meal is 12.76 JOD per person ($17 CDN) and a more western meal is 17.40 JOD per person ($23 CDN).
- Jordan Tourism Board, 1-877-SEE-JORDAN (733-5673) or 703-243-7404 
- The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, Lodge: +962 5 383 5017)
- The national airline, Royal Jordanian, flies non-stop from Montreal twice per week, as well as Chicago, Detroit, New York.