Al Hoh Al Aqabawi: Aqaba's iconic pastry brings generations together in Ramadan

AMMAN — As Ramadan starts across Jordan, the southern port city of Aqaba revives one of its most treasured culinary traditions with the preparation of "Al Hoh Al Aqabawi," a pastry that has adorned iftar banquets for generations.

This sweet, emblematic of Aqaba and other Red Sea coastal communities, represents more than mere sustenance as it embodies cultural continuity and family heritage passed down through generations of the city's residents, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

"I learnt to make Al Hoh from my mother, who prepared it every Ramadan as part of our traditional customs," Umm Mohammad, an Aqaba homemaker, told Petra. "It makes a beautiful addition to the Ramadan table, with natural and healthy ingredients ideal for those breaking their fast."

The preparation involves creating a thin dough from water, flour, and salt, which is left to rest before being rolled into paper-thin circular sheets and baked individually on a traditional saj griddle.

The sheets are then layered in a baking dish, each brushed with clarified butter and filled with a mixture of walnuts, cinnamon, and assorted nuts. After browning in butter, the pastry is finished with a drizzle of sugar syrup and served as a sweet conclusion to iftar gatherings.

Abu Ali Yassin, a long time Aqaba resident, noted that Al Hoh has gained popularity among both Arab and foreign tourists visiting the coastal city.

"Several young people in Aqaba have turned this traditional craft into a profession, providing a dignified income for themselves and their families, especially during Ramadan," he explained.

Mohammad Minzlawi, another local resident, stressed the pastry's cultural significance, saying: "The Ramadan table in Aqaba is hardly complete without Al Hoh. Homemakers have maintained this popular tradition inherited from our ancestors, which carries a special flavour during the blessed month of Ramadan."

As the city embraces modern development, Al Hoh remains a symbolic thread connecting contemporary Aqaba with its maritime heritage and communal traditions that continue to define Ramadan celebrations along Jordan's Red Sea coast.