Prepared by Omar Al-Armouti

 Special/ Nowruz 

... in an interview with the Ambassador of the Republic of Bangladesh in Jordan, Mrs. Nahida Subhan, with the historian Omar Al-Armouti/ Producer and author of the Encyclopedia of Amman Ayam Zaman... which will be published in the Encyclopedia of Amman Ayam Zaman "next edition" / Part 11, which we will publish today part of this The interview on Nowruz website, Ambassador Nahida Subhan - a friend of Jordan and Jordanians - expressed her love and admiration for the capital, Amman, as she answered the questions we asked her.

1-What is your impression about Amman and its people?

Jordan is one of the most fascinating places that I have visited in the world. It has a lot of hidden treasures. Amman is not an exception in that regard. It is a very organized capital with good infrastructure. People of Amman Ammanis – if I may say so, are an asset to the city. It is very cosmopolitan having the flavour of an international city showing a strong progressive face of Jordan. The diversity of population has added to the flavor. 

2-What do you think are the advantages that distinguish the Jordanian capital Amman from the rest of the capitals, and are you happy in Amman?

Amman is less heavy in terms of population, compared to many other big capitals. The infrastructure is good. The service, particularly the health service, water and electricity supply are good compared to the challenges existing. Most importantly, one would feel very safe compare to many other big cities in the world. It has a lot of good international schools also. I am very happy to be in Amman. 

3-Are there places you would like to visit in Amman?

Amman offers a huge number of touristic sites. I have not seen many of them and I would like to visit those places like Royal Automobile Museum, Citadel, Martyrs’ Monument, Roman Amphitheatre… etc. 

4-Do you like Jordanian traditional food?

I like Jordanian traditional food like Mansaf, Zarbiyan, Sayadieh.

5-Are there similarities between the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the Bengali capital, Dhaka?

There’s similarity between Amman and Dhaka and there are differences too. Dhaka and Amman carry the same spirit of progressiveness. You will see a lot of women working and diversity in religion and ethnicity in these two cities. People are equally friendly and warm. 

6-Excellency, do you like to eat in restaurants in Amman, and what are the best of these restaurants in your opinion?

I love to eat in restaurants in Amman. There are plenty of good restaurants with both Jordanian/Arab and occidental cuisine. Unfortunately, there is no Bangladeshi restaurants in Amman as we commonly see in the European capitals. I like Salt, Nur, Tsuki, Solaya, Fakhreldin, Romero, Ward, La Maison Verte, Burj Al-Hamam restaurant in Aqaba, Captain Restaurant in Aqaba, Crumz Abdoun, Blue Fig, Books@Cafe, Sufra, Vinaigrette. All these are very good fine-dining.

7-Do you have personal friendships with Jordanian families or Jordanian personalities?

I have some personal friendships with some Jordanian families but due to COVID I could not explore more friendships and I would like to know more people.

8-What are the tourist and archaeological places in Jordan that you enjoyed visiting?

Wadi Rum is the most interesting tourist place I have visited and I would like to go back to Wadi Rum when I have some time. Most fascinating time in the desert is the night time when one can enjoy the stars, the quietness of the desert and meditate. Other places of interest are Wadi Mujib, Petra, Mount Nebo and the surrounding areas, Madaba and Salt, UNESCO heritage sites, Amman Citadel and Um Qais.