AMMAN, Jordan — When Mohammad Qutaishat, the director of the Jordan Media Commission, received a letter from the prime minister’s office Oct. 24 that renewed his appointment, he did what most people in his position would do: He ordered two large trays of kanafeh for the entire office.
Kanafeh, a popular Levantine sweet, is often consumed in Palestine and the Middle East to celebrate a wedding, birth, family feast, graduation, promotion or the first salary of a newly employed young person. Some sources claim kanafeh originated in southeastern Turkey, while others suggest Istanbul; still others claim the sweet originated in Nablus, Palestine, as early as the 10th century.