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JORDAN ETIQUETTE LIFE

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  Etiquette: Tipping is common practice in Jordan and it’s best to tip in Jordanian dinar. Around £5 a day for a good tour driver is a decent tip, while restaurants are usually left 10% of the bill. Porters, housekeeping staff and taxi drivers will also gratefully receive a tip of £1 or £2 for a job well done. Haggling is practically an institution in Jordan and the more expensive an item is, the longer the negotiation. The bargaining process is part game, part social norm and part necessity. Take time to compare prices and decide on the figure you’re willing to pay before entering into talks with sellers. Jordan is a country where people will often address you with a smile. Greet Jordanians in their language – ‘Salam wa aleïkoum’ for good morning or ‘Leïla saîda’ for good evening – and they will be delighted. If you have accepted an invitation to eat lunch or tea in a family home, be prepared to stay a while and decline the invitation if you’re in a hurry. Always remove shoes before e
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JORDAN HISTORY

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The  flag  consists of horizontal black, white, and green bands that are connected by a red chevron. Language spoken: The dialectal forms of Arabic used in Jordan are: South Levantine Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic and Najdi Arabic. Chechen, Circassian, Armenian, Tagalog and Russia are also spoken by their relative communities. English is the most common foreign language. People: The vast majority of the population of Jordan (around 94%) is Arab, while the remainder belong to ethnic minorities. The largest minority is Circassian (Adyghe) at 1.2%. The country also has many other minorities, including Druze, Armenian, Chechen. Religion Sunni Islam is the state religion and 90% of Jordanians are followers. Added to this, 8% are Christian (Orthodox, Coptic, Greek Catholic, Armenian). The Druze practice a heterodox Islam, Ismaili of origin. National Holiday: 25 May: Anniversary of Independence (1946). Holiday Schedule: January 1: New Year's Day. January 15: Arbor Day. February 7: Access
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Religion of Oman

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  Religion Religious Beliefs:   Nearly all Omanis are Muslim, divided nearly equally into Sunnis and Ibadis with a small percentage of Shia. A few families of Indian origin are Hindu but there are no Omani Christians or Jews. Omanis tend to be careful in their observance of religious obligations. Most carry out the prescribed five prayers per day and many men go to nearby mosques to perform them. Most Omanis observe the dawn-to-dusk fasting required during the Islamic month of Ramadan, and it is against the law to eat, drink, or smoke in public during daylight hours in Ramadan. In addition to formal religious beliefs and practices, superstitions are common and some folk rituals are practiced. Religious Practitioners: There is little formal religious hierarchy. The government appoints the  mufti  who serves as the country's highest Islamic authority. Traditional religious educators, known as sheikhs, are trained by the Ministry of Awqaf View of Muscat city buildings along the Gulf o
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Marriage, Family, and Kinship of Oman

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  Marriage, Family, and Kinship Marriage: Marriages are normally arranged. The preferred marriage is to a cousin. First choice is to a patrilateral cousin, and second choice is to a matrilateral cousin. Even the well-educated elite of the country, university medical students, express a preference for their families to arrange marriages for them. Love matches are very infrequent, as marriage is viewed more as a contract between two families with the major aim being to produce offspring for the next generation. In polygamous households (more common among the wealthy, but not restricted to them), the first wife tends to be a close cousin and the second wife a younger, less-close relative. In the past, men tended to take on additional wives—Islam permits up to four—but in recent years, men have tended to divorce first wives and remarry, often leaving divorced women destitute and reliant on the government for support. Domestic Unit: The domestic unit is generally an extended three-generatio
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Political Life Of Oman

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  Political Life A crowded market in Fanja. The vast majority of the population outside of the capital area are engaged in subsistence agriculture, fishing, or animal husbandry. Government: Oman is a sultanate (a type of monarchy) with a sultan as the head of state and head of government. His position is hereditary within the Al Bu Sa'id family. There are few checks on the power of the sultan and his decrees form the basis of law. He appoints a council of ministers and can dismiss ministers without reason. There is no prime minister. Leadership and Political Officials: Senior members of the sultan's family routinely receive important government positions. More distant members of the family serve as ministers, other government officials, and the equivalent of governors throughout the country. Other ministers and senior government officials are chosen by merit and family or tribal connections; Muscat merchant families are overrepresented. There are no political parties and a limi
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Food and Economy Of Oman

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  Food and Economy: Food in Daily Life: Omani cuisine revolves around rice. The morning meal is not significant, often consisting of bread or leftovers from the day before, and tea. The main meal of the day is in early to mid-afternoon. It is generally a large dish of rice with a thin sauce often based on tomato or tomato paste and meat or fish. Pork does not exist in the Omani diet as it is prohibited by Islam. The evening meal is generally very light, sometimes consisting only of fruit or bread and tea. The influence of Indian cooking is very strong. A variety of Indian restaurants are found throughout the country. In the capital area, there are a number of Western fast-food establishments, as well as a variety of French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese restaurants. Food Customs and Ceremonial Occasions: Dates, fresh or dried, are important to the diet and to the ritual of hospitality. Equally important is  helwa,  a sweet confection based on clarified butter, honey, and spices. Both
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History and Ethnic Relations Of Oman

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  History and Ethnic Relations: Oman Emergence of the Nation: Oman has a very long history and was known as Magan to ancient Persian and Mesopotamian civilizations and was an important producer of copper and ornamental stone. The Arab tribes in Oman adopted Islam during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad (c.570–632) and forced the Persian colonizers to leave. Since then, Oman has generally remained an independent Arab and Ibadi/Sunni Muslim entity. National Identity: The Omani national identity has evolved from its predominant Arab language and culture, its tribal organization, and Islam. Oman withstood attempts by classical Islamic empires to subdue the country, and the Portuguese invasion of the sixteenth century was confined to coastal ports and was terminated by national Omani resistance in the mid-seventeenth century. Ethnic Relations:   Although the dominant cultural group in Oman is Arab and Ibadi/Sunni Muslim, the culture has been very tolerant of other groups. Ethnic, sectar
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