All activities / Culinary / Cooking / Amman
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Culinary / Cooking in Amman
Jordan's capital across seven hills: the Levant's leading Arabic-study city, a home-cooking food culture built on mansaf and mezze, and the launchpad for Jerash, Petra, and Rum.
Why here
Amman is where you learn Levantine home cooking at the source: mansaf, Jordan's national dish of lamb in fermented jameed yogurt, maqluba flipped at the table, and the full architecture of mezze. Beit Sitti created the country's cook-and-dine category in 2010, when three sisters started teaching in their grandmother's 1930s stone house in Jabal al-Weibdeh, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods; classes are hands-on, taught by local women, and end with the meal eaten on a terrace overlooking the downtown hills. The name means my grandmother's house, and that is the register the whole scene works in. Downtown's markets, Palestinian and Syrian influences, and a serious hummus-and-falafel canon fill the days between classes.
Best months
Classes run indoors year-round. March to May and September to November are the pleasant city months; Ramadan shifts schedules and is worth checking against your dates.
Getting there & around
Fly to Queen Alia International; the city is 45 minutes north. Weibdeh and downtown are walkable; taxis and ride-hailing cover the hills. Classes book direct online.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Beit Sitti
SchoolBeit Sitti runs cook-and-dine classes in the founders' grandmother's 1930s stone house at 16 Mohammad Ali As-Saadi Street in Jabal Al Lweibdeh, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Amman. Founded in 2010 by Maria and her sisters Dina and Tania, the classes prepare a seasonal Arabic feast under the guidance of a Hajjeh, with cooks like Um Reem, Um Mohammad, Um Nabil, Um Malek, and Um Mahmoud. The meal you cook (main course, salad, side dish, then dessert) is the meal you eat.
The Jordanian Kitchen
SchoolDowntown cooking school led by chef Wafaa Massad, teaching mansaf, maqluba, and mezze in small hands-on classes; listed in the Jordan Tourism Board's experience directory.
Also good for culinary / cooking in September:
Torn between Amman and Shanagarry for September?
A plan settles it for your skill and budget, same-day.