When you are invited to somebody's house and other Jordan Local Custom Tips

If you are invited for a meal, one usually takes a small gift for the household. Take something like flowers, chocolates, biscuits or Arab pastries. Remember that it is not really polite to take something that the household would consider as being very expensive.

Hand over your gift as soon as you possibly can murmuring "this is for the house" or something similar. However much your gift is appreciated you are unlikely to receive more than a polite thank you. This is normal.
In many households people take off their shoes when entering, so wear slip on shoes or sandals in case.

If you are invited to a meal, almost certainly a spoon will be offered, don't hesitate to accept it. Everybody may eat from a common plate, take the food immediately opposite to you only. Somebody will certainly pile up "your" sector with the choicest pieces, eat what you can. When you are full, say so (no need to burp!). Water is offered at the end of the meal, drink it down quickly and hand the glass back!!

After a meal, coffee will be served, probably tea also after a short interval, or perhaps soft drinks. . In general, an invitation to supper is not necessarily an invitation to spend the evening, so after this, you should offer to leave; you will be pressed to stay, it is for you to decide how sincere this is - roughly base yourself on how animated the conversation has been, how much you are enjoying yourself, how much you think THEY are enjoying themselves

Posted by Lulu

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Men should wait for a Arab woman to offer her hand and women should similarly wait for a Arab man to offer his. Many women prefer to avoid touching a man they do not know well. Many men avoid touching a woman at all if she is not related to them, in that case they may offer an elbow (!) which you should try to shake more or less as if it was a hand. I know that this sounds funny, but do it anyhow!

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Drinking tea : this is all over! It is polite to accept a second glass: if you don't want it, then you should smile and have a reason for not accepting. You can refuse a third glass if you want to, put your glass back on the tray, and when somebody prepares to pour you some more, place your hand palm down flat over the top of the glass.

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If you are offered coffee by anybody Bedouin related, in which I include the whole population of south Jordan, you should "shake the cup" when you give it back. Not doing so is considered to mean that you want some more! Just tilt it two or three times, slightly and quickly from side to side, holding it between finger and thumb.

When you arrive somewhere in response to an invitation or at an official reception of any kind (in which I include weddings and so forth), you will probably be greeted by a senior member of the household (or as senior as is free at that particular moment), offering you coffee. In this case, the coffee is very strong and bitter, and is just a few drops in the bottom of a handleless cup. Drink it down in one gulp (yes, I know it's also very hot!) and hand back the cup, shaking it as described above. Later, you will probably be offered "normal" coffee, but this is the welcome to the household. Very occasionally you might meet this welcome ritual in a hotel.

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A woman's "capital" is the gold that she owns. She can be given small pieces when she is a girl, but usually a serious collection of gold jewellery starts when she gets married.

She receives gold from her husband as a "settlement" and often gold from her family as well. This is given at the betrothal ceremony and more is offered at the wedding.

A reasonably prosperous man will offer his daughter a gold necklace or sometimes even a collection of gold jewellery: a necklace or even two, a bracelet or several and probably ear rings and rings as well. All this she will wear at the wedding, as well as the jewellery the bridegroom gave her at the betrothal ceremony. A popular girl from a reasonably well off family will go to her bridegroom fairly dripping with all the gold she owns. This is a mark of their status.

She will almost certainly receive more from her new husband and his family. This gold and the money she receives are her personal property and it has been held a cause of divorce if a husband should take any of it without his wife's agreement.

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