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Jordan is now a proud owner of the title ‘world’s largest falafel’, a titled endorsed by the Guinness Book of World Records. The falafel was made by 10 chefs at the Landmark hotel and weighed at 74.75kg.

Jordan very proudly beat the previous title which was set in the US weighing in at 23.95kg at the Jewish Food and Cultural Festival.

Annabel Lawady, an adjudication manager at Guinness said that “This is a great achievement and a difficult record to beat for years to come. We welcome everyone who successfully took part in the family of Guinness World Record holders.”

An achievement is an achievement no matter what the target was or is and I suppose it is something to be proud of if as a nation you set your targets low. I don’t mean to be party popper here but if Jordan or any other Arab or Muslim nation had discovered a cure for a disease or managed to eradicate poverty or brought peace to the world, then surely there is something to be proud of. Cooking up the largest falafel just doesn’t cut it for me.

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HRH Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein is elected as vice-president of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on the it’s executive committee. At the age of 35, Prince Ali becomes the youngest member on the current FIFA board.

Qatar having won the FIFA World Cup 2022 bid late last year and now coupled with this new move of ousting the out going vice-president Chung Mong-Joon, will only strengthen FIFA’s President Sepp Blatter bid for re-election later on this year.

I am an advocate of fair play and transparency. My only concern with the new changes are that they seem to be more politically and economically motivated rather then a ‘passion for football’.

Mr Blatter has confirmed support for his presidential bid from the 25 that voted for Prince Ali including Sheikh Ahmad Ali Fahad Al Sabah, Head of Kuwait’s Football Federation. The Middle East is an untapped market for Fifa and I am sure both parties will set to become rich over the next decade or so.

It is nice to rejoice during the current successes but being cautious about the new changes does not go unwarranted.

 

 

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Even the flag was artificial. The green, red, white and black banner that fluttered over Arab raiders led by the Hashemite family against the Ottoman empire — the basis for today’s flags of Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization — was designed by a British Foreign Service officer named Sir Mark Sykes and produced by his army’s supply shop in Cairo.” – Building Modernity on Desert Mirages by JOHN KIFNER

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I recently read an article which was forwarded by an Egyptian colleague about over eating and watching TV during the month of Ramadhan in Egypt. The full article can be read here. I have lived 2 years of my life in Jordan and have spent the past 2 years in Egypt. I can safely say that this is not an Egyptian phenomenon.

Jordan:

Schools finish earlier at around 13:00ish because everyone is fasting, so people can go home and either sleep or think about eating. Once people have eaten, either at families house which is either on invitation or they have invited. It is well known that the stomachs grow smaller over the  month but we will still make and eat food like there is no tomorrow. Once everyone has eaten, mostly the men of the family will go to the mosque to pray the Tarweeh prayer, which are the recommended prayers only for Ramadhan. These prayers will be cut short because people are eager to go home to watch the latest Drama imported from Syria or Turkey such as Bab Al Hara. If your not at home watching these Dramas, you’re in the cafes watching.

Egypt:

Clocks are brought back an hour just for Ramadhan; Schools and businesses are closed at around 14:30ish. People generally work less. Time is spent either thinking about food, preparing food for large feasts for family members they have not seen the whole year around or  thinking about what you’re going to make the next day and who you’re going to invite. Once the food is eaten and consumed on an extra large proportion, then people head to the mosques for a quick recommended prayer, which is either so long that it puts off people ever coming back again or so short so people can go home or to the cafes to watch Egyptian dramas.

Ramadhan is time for reflection, for working harder, being more aware of your actions in accordance to the book (the Quran) and example of the Prophet. How can it be that some people do not pray all year long and yet they fast during the month of Ramadhan. How can it be that women do not cover, and yet they will fast during the month of Ramadhan. The Muslim community must throw away this ‘pick and choose’ mentality and use the month of Ramadhan is a reflection and purification time so that it can impact the other remaining months in a positive manner.

No one is perfect so lets make this month a spring board for change in the right direction. It is not all about eating and watching Dramas.

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I know the following is a cut and paste job from ‘AFP’ but it’s scary thought that this horrific act has happened in Amman, Jordan. It’s not something that I have heard of in the past two years or so that I had been in Jordan. I really hope this does not become the normal way of dealing with problems, as it has become in some other parts of the world.

AMMAN — Jordanian police said on Saturday that they had recovered the bodies of two Asian women which had been dumped in plastic bags in a public waste bin north of the capital.

“Police recovered the bodies of two young women of Asian appearance from a public waste bin in the Jubeiha district, north of Amman, on Friday,” police spokesman Mohammad Khatib said.

A member of the public had spotted the bodies in sealed plastic waste sacks and alerted police, Khatib said, adding that the nationalities of the two women remained unclear but they had probably been working as maids.

Initial examination suggested that both women had been strangled.

Some 70,000 migrant labourers work as domestic servants in Jordan, the great majority of them women.

Some 30,000 come from Indonesia, 15,000 from the Philippines and 25,000 from Sri Lanka, according to labour ministry figures.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jClG1qxCLSbpKKGHeC4ebkblO82A

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There was no credible sighting of the new moon yesterday, hence tomorrow will be the first of Ramadhan. I hope Muslims will make the most of this blessed month and view it more than just refraining from food. Let’s break free.

Ramadhan Kareem 🙂

wasapninjordan

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In the recent past my wasapninjordan[at]gmail dot com has recevied so many emails from click-jordan, a web based company which offers internet related solutions. I never signed up to receive the emails. Are they allowed to do this? I do not mind asking before they add me to their mailing list. I just find it rude that I am receving somthing which I did not opt for. They are making money from offering adding my email to thier list.

Can they do this? Has anyone else received the emails from click-jordan?

wasapninjordan

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When ever I visit to a new place, whether it’s for a holiday or work, it takes me a while to get used to the currency. I thought it might be helpful for some to know the currency in Jordan.  The Jordanian currency is the Dinar, JD or JOD. It is subdivided into 1000 fils, or 100 qirsh or piasters. It appears in paper notes of 20, 10, 5, 1, and 0.5 JD denominations. Coins come in denominations of 1 JD, 500 fils, 250 fils, 100 fils, 50 fils, 25 fils, 10 and 5 fils. I use www.xe.com/ucc for daily up-to-date conversion rates.

Here are the pics of the Jordanian Dinar note pics. However I do not have the pics of the coins. If anyone is able to take pics of the coins and email them to me, so I can add them to this slide would be greatly apperciatted.

wasapninjordan

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This is my first poll and I think what a way to start. The question is simple and hopefully, the answer should be also, as it was for me.

Q:Which Mansaf do you prefer?

A: You choose.

wasapninjordan

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The great Mansaf from Al-Quds Restaurant

I was reading a great blog entry from ‘summer‘ on www.mimicooks.com. She was talking about Mansaf and it got me thinking. I remember eating Mansaf for the first time. The food was so heavy, all I wanted to do was sleep afterwards. I felt so heavy 🙂 and I said to myself, I am not eating that again. But of course when you go and visit your friends on a Friday afternoon at their house, you’re most likely to be offered a Mansaf, well it was the case for me:-0. I know Mansaf is very hard to make, so I have been told. I don’t know what happened but the more I ate Mansaf, the more I wanted it.

I know everyone talks about Jabri being the best place for Mansaf and the late King Hussein used to eat from Jabri’s but I much prefer to eat Mansaf from the ‘Al-Quds’ restaurant in Down Town. They just simply do good food and the best Mansaf in town. You are not going to find a fancy table, with fancy waiters or fancy cutlery; they only do fancy food.

If you haven’t tried Mansaf, yet then I suggest ‘Al-Quds’ restaurant in Down Town. Enjoy it.

wasapninjordan