Around a table laden with fine china and napkins depicting a golden crescent moon and lanterns (symbols of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan), the war raging in the Middle East feels distant.
Tourist Jens Kalenka and his college classmates Rory Flynn and Freddie Mulder settle into the sofas in Hamza Alkhlaifat’s living room in northern Amman the night before finally boarding their flights back to Germany and the United Kingdom, respectively.
While they wait for the sunset Adamor call to prayer, to announce the end of the day-long fast, Jordanian fighter jets fly low overhead, followed by the faint rumble of interceptors shooting down an Iranian projectile, gently rattling the windows.
Why do we write this?
In Jordan, a country known for its hospitality, locals are inviting stranded foreigners to break their fast at night during Ramadan amid the stress of war.
“Was it a success?” Mr. Mulder asks, slightly intrigued, now used to the noise after days of conflict.
“You are safe in your second home. Ramadan Kareem,” says Alkhlaifat, smiling and using this common expression of the holiday, which translates as “Bountiful Ramadan.”
Courtesy of Hamza Alkhlaifat
As thousands of foreigners have been stranded in Jordan due to flight cancellations in the wake of the US-Israel war against Iran, Jordanians across the kingdom are reaching out to non-Jordanians with invitations to iftarsthe dinner Muslims eat to break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
The outbreak of war coincided with Ramadan – when Muslims around the world fast from dawn to dusk – which highlighted a mix of Arab and Islamic values: hospitality, charity, helping strangers, offering safe havens and solidarity with the less fortunate. These principles have been expressed in the Gulf States by governments that pay for hotel stays and meals for stranded travelers.
Jordanians have proudly and warmly welcomed waves of refugees driven to this kingdom by neighboring wars over the years, and are once again opening their homes and hearts to people disrupted by conflict.
A host in Amman
One of the most viral examples of Jordanian hospitality is that of Mr. Alkhlaifat, a university student, influencer and cultural ambassador who has been celebrating iftars with foreign visitors in Jordan for the past five years and promoting cultural exchanges through Instagram and their homestays in Amman “Beit al-Karam” (House of Generosity).
This year, he spent Ramadan patrolling the streets of Amman for foreign visitors and posting public invitations on social media telling all stranded travelers that they have a place to stay and a meal at his home.
in your iftar At Friday’s table was Kalenka, a local government worker from Dresden touring Jordan, whose stay in the kingdom was extended by three days before he managed to get a one-way flight.
Kalenka was walking with Alkhlaifat, whom she had contacted on Instagram to show him the hidden gems of the capital, when the first sirens sounded in Jordan on February 28, announcing Iranian retaliation against Jordan – a US ally – for the joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran.
“I asked, ‘Should I be worried? Should we seek shelter?'” Kalenka recalls.
Mr. Alkhlaifat turned to him and said, “Don’t worry, you’re safe,” and at the same time, “come and enjoy.” iftar with my family.”
By offering seats in the iftar table, Jordanians are also providing community and comfort during this time of regional war.
“Foreign visitors are left alone during a regional crisis in a place where they don’t really know anyone or speak the language, and I can understand how scary that can be,” says Mr Alkhlaifat.
“I want to show people that they are not alone.”
sharing a meal
Under the specter of war, Kalenka continued his tour throughout the kingdom, to the World Heritage sites of the hand-carved Nabataean city of Petra and the deserts of Wadi Rum.
“Everywhere I went in Jordan, people invited me to iftar… “You wouldn’t experience this kind of generosity in Germany,” says Kalenka. “I had heard that Ramadan was a special experience, but I had no idea how special it would be.”
on friday iftarprepared by Mr. Alkhlaifat’s mother, Um Hamza, a spread of spicy chicken kabseh cheese stuffed rice sambusek Cakes and salads were generously spread on the dining room table.
As the sun sets, Mr. Alkhlaifat and his parents eagerly serve their guests.
“Even if we had no guests and were alone, we would call neighbors and friends to have breakfast with us,” says Um Hamza as she serves lentil soup for her guests. “This is the spirit of Ramadan. People come together and enjoy each other’s company.”
Mr. Flynn and Mr. Mulder, two non-Muslim students at the University of Bristol who took cheap flights to Jordan for fun, were approached on the streets of Amman by Mr. Alkhlaifat, who insisted that they accompany him for iftar at his house, an exchange that went viral.
For Alkhlaifat, the conflict was a calling: to show the “real side” of Jordan.
Courtesy of Hamza Alkhlaifat
“Even before this war, people thought Jordan was at war,” Alkhlaifat says, pointing out how crises in neighboring Syria and nearby Gaza gave some foreigners the misconception that the firm, stable kingdom of Jordan was at the heart of a war zone.
“I have been working to show that Jordan is a peaceful country,” he says. “We want to show that Ramadan is about gathering around the table, around the people. Just like Jordan itself.”
Mohammed Hussein, a financier from Amman, has also hosted iftars in his home for his foreign colleagues and friends, offering his guest room to those who need a place to stay every night since the war began.
“Ramadan is not just about a meal and prayer, it is about community,” he says. “And community is not limited to your family or the people who pray in your mosque. All the people in this world; we are a human community and we must stand up for each other.”
A sweet ending to an uncertain time
About 12 hours before their flights departed, Mr. Alkhlaifat’s guests enjoyed one last treat: qatayefthe staple sweet of Ramadan served in the Levant and Egypt.
Um Hamza serves platters of fluffy pancakes folded into a crescent moon shape, lightly fried and dipped in simple syrup. They are sweet and crunchy on the outside, revealing sweet and savory fillings of sugar, rose water and melted pecorino cheese or crushed nuts inside.
After complaining that they were too full, each guest takes a qatayefthen two, then three.
Guests shared similar feelings: fulfillment, security and a deep desire to one day return to Jordan.
“This is something I’ll take with me,” Mulder says. “Ramadan is not just fasting and eating. It is the people who make the holiday.”
