What to buy in Jordan? — +13 best souvenirs, gifts & top things to buy in Jordan

The journey to discover the Kingdom of Jordan will definitely not be complete if you leave without a “little memory” of your travels. Besides magnificent photos of the mysterious ancient city of Petra, the majestic and breathtaking scenery of Wadi Rum desert, and unforgettable experiences while floating in the Dead Sea, here is a list of souvenirs worth buying in Jordan. So, what to buy in Jordan and what souvenirs to buy in Jordan? Let’s check out our Jordan shopping guide with the suggested +13 best Jordan souvenirs, must have Jordanian gifts (best Jordan gifts) including best gifts from Jordan, top things to buy in Jordan as well as where to find them to help you choose the meaningful gifts for your loved ones!

Located at the crossroads three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, Jordan has long been a busy trading hub since ancient times. The tradition of trading unique items, specialties still standing and thrives in the bazaar ancient markets and tourist areas. Here are some souvenirs, gifts and best things to buy in Jordan that you can refer to to buy for your relatives or friends before returning home.

What to buy in Jordan: Jordanian natural frankincense and myrrh resin

One of the three great gifts of the Holy Land of Jordan is natural frankincense and myrrh resin. Frankincense not only helps eliminate bacteria, but many locals also believe that using them will drive away evil spirits around them. “In biblical times, one gram of frankincense was worth two grams of gold. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are worthy gifts of a king”, the merchant Mazen Al-Hamadin, who sells natural perfumes and essential oils at his store in Petra once said that. Crystallized amber, musk, sniff true sandalwood bark, and whole chunks of myrrh resin are precious Jordanian gifts. So, you can buy raw frankincense and myrrh resin or essential oils extracted from them as gifts.

What to buy in Jordan: Jordanian Keffiyeh scarf

Keffiyeh (or kufiya) head scarf is one of the meaningful souvenirs in Jordan in particular and the Middle East in general. The Jordanian keffiyeh scarf has a pattern somewhat similar to the houndstooth pattern (is a two-toned textile pattern, characterized by an almost checked appearance) and is usually of two colors: White and red ones belong to Bedouin people, and other white and black ones belong to Palestinian people.

Keffiyehs are Jordan’s famous souvenirs and are the most bought gift in the Middle East. This is the traditional headscarf called keffiyeh in Arabic. The classic keffiyeh comes in 2 color styles. Red and white are worn by the Bedouins, and black and white by the Palestinians. You will easily find them at famous tourist sites in Jordan. When traveling the Middle East, a Keffiyeh headscarf will make your outfit more personal and special.

Keffiyeh is the most iconic and practical square scarf in the culture of this place, and is also a unique souvenir of Jordan. Keffiyeh is favored in arid lands because it protects the wearer from sunburn, dust, and sand.

Keffiyeh scarves are sold a lot in fashion or souvenir shops in Jordan. If you are a stylish person, you can find multi-colored Keffiyeh scarves of SRP Jordan with luxurious designs and bright colors. These are also non-profit products that are hand-sewn by refugee women.

Mosaic and hand-painted ceramics

Mosaic is a form of decorative art – creating images from assemblages of small regular or irregular pieces of different materials such as colored stone, glass or ceramic. In other words, Mosaic uses small pieces of material put together to create a unified whole. These small pieces are called “mosaic objects”, usually solid, flat materials, mostly in square shapes such as ceramics, colored glass, stone, bricks, mirrors, glass… Rich material, together with the assembly technique is the point that creates the special value as well as the artistic nature of Mosaic.

The mosaic-style ceramic is a perfect choice for a unique souvenir that can be brought back from Jordan. For more contemporary hand-painted ceramics, you can head to Sharqi (Sharki), which offers products made by refugee women and starts at $29 each.

What to buy in Jordan: Local chocolates

More and more companies are making handmade chocolates in Jordan. But the most famous are Jameed Chocolate and Ishq Artisan Chocolates with traditional flavors reflect the local culture. At Jameed Chocolate, chef Omar Sartawi’s ingredients are local goat milk, specifically jameed, a yogurt dried into a hard cheese. They are dried into hard cheese and used in Jordan’s national dish, called Mansaf. At Ishq Artisan Chocolates, chocolates are also made with the flavor of local ingredients. They also omit refined sugar and use other natural ingredients for sweetness. Sweet chocolate bars will be a new Middle East gift for your family.

Jordan chocolates are made with a secret recipe from local goat’s milk. In particular, these companies also produce chocolate with seasonal flavors, use locally available ingredients, and eliminate refined sugar, replacing it with organic sweeteners.

Top things to buy in Jordan: Ajloun olive oil

Ajloun is one of the most beautiful regions in the Northwestern Jordan which is known for its quality products extracted from olives. The time to harvest olives is in the fall every year. And if you’re planning a trip to Jordan between October and December, this would be a good time to head to Ajloun and visit some olive farms. At these farms, you can participate in the olive oil production process and then buy some bottles of high-quality olive oil here as souvenirs for relatives and friends at home.

Ajloun in northwest Jordan is a famous olive growing region. In Jordan, you will definitely be able to buy olive oil produce from this region at any shop, grocery store or supermarket. The best olive oils, however, are those pressed straight from the freshly picked olives, giving an extra virgin olive oil that is slightly opaque, rather than transparent like the refined varieties.

Spices & salt from the Dead Sea

Buying spices in Jordan is considered an emotional experience because this is an opportunity for you to taste, smell and touch them before deciding whether to buy or not. There are various types of spices in vivid, beautiful colors of black, red, orange, and white with full of aromatic and flavors like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds, coriander powder, chili powder, fennel seeds, anise, dried herbs… brings wonderful feelings that visitors can hardly feel when buying at any other place.

The Jordanian specialty mixed spice is called Za’atar (a culinary herb or family of herbs), which is the perfect combination of dried herbs and roasted sesame seeds. This spice is used to sprinkle on dishes of daily meal, contributing to the indispensable flavor in every Jordanian meal. The spice merchant Fadel Al-Baba sells at least six different types of za’atar, each with its own distinct flavor.

If you have abundant time, don’t forget to visit the small markets selling spices. Here, you’ll find all kinds of spices, ranging from as common as cinnamon powder and ginger powder, to as unique as sumac and za’atar – the two common spices in Jordanian cuisine.

Sumac and za’atar may not be exclusive to Jordan, but they are wonderful mixed spices that add a unique flavor to any dish. You can buy all of these at most mini supermarkets or spices stalls, especially at local spices souks (local spices markets). But the Kabatilo spice stores scattered around Amman are known for their excellent quality.

In addition, you can also buy edible salt refined from Dead Sea water as a special seasoning.

What souvenirs to buy in Jordan: Osh Al-Bulbul

The Middle East is famous for its sweet and delicious desserts. You will easily be “bewitched” by so many different kinds of sweets, pastries from mini baklava to Osh Al-Bulbul (pronounced [ush-shel-bul-bul]) which is also known as the shredded pastry bird nests – a pastry made from thin dough fibers wrapped in a ring like a small nest, stuffed inside pistachios (or pine nuts), then baked until golden.

The famous Zalatimo Sweets store chain in Amman is famous for its tin boxes of Osh Al-Bulbul pastry, inside is a lovely little tray of Osh Al-Bulbul like this.

Best gifts from Jordan: Local artworks

Amman is the capital of Jordan, a playground for local artists to unleash their art creation. The emerging arts hub is in the Jabal Al-Weibdeh neighborhood, home to high-end art galleries, cafes and studios where you can feel and immerse yourself in Jordan’s distinct culture and history. Art galleries with affordable artworks like Jacaranda Images (Address: Umar Ibn Al Khattab, Amman, Jordan/Hours: 10AM–12AM; Friday: 9AM–12AM; Saturday: 9AM–12AM) are good places where you’ll find unique paintings to decorate your little home.

Amman is a creative place for artists in the region. You’ll come across high-end art galleries. But the street paintings of Jabal Al-Weibdeh district are really the soul of this place. Coffee shops and artist studios like Sham Cafe on Nemr Al Edwan Road are the ideal destination for you to find an art space as well as artworks to bring home. Another local art gallery you can check out is Jacaranda Images on Rainbow Street. Stopping by a few cafes and “grab” some pictures as gifts or simply satisfy your artistic eye.

Top Jordan souvenirs: Arabic desserts

An indispensable gift when coming to Jordan is sweet Arabic dessert. You can visit the confectionery stores in Amman or if your time is tight, the local produce stalls at Queen Alia International Airport are also perfect places for you to visit. If you want to choose a beautiful design for candy boxes to give to family and friends, Zalatimo Sweets will meet your demand. Lovely, sweet, luxurious are the nice words that visitors give to this confectionery manufacturer.

The classic sweet gift from Jordan is a tin box of sweets from Zalatimo Sweets brand as mentioned above. There are up to 11 stores of this confectionery brand in the capital Amman. You can drop by and choose your own flavor and style.

Best Jordan gifts: Jewelry

For those who are passionate about Jordanian traditional jewelry, head to the jewelry store located on the ground floor of the InterContinental Amman hotel (Address: Islamic College Street, Amman 11180, Jordan). It is known for its minimalist style with Arabic calligraphy. The quality of the jewelry products is quite the same, so you will be comfortable to choice some eye-catching jewelry gifts here.

In addition, jewelry made by local Jordanian artisans are also great souvenirs to take home, they are affordable prices but not inferior in quality.

Rugs

Handmade rugs in thousands of colors are popular in Jordan. Although this product is quite bulky, it attracts visitors by the true quality of the rugs, come in various designs, sizes and rich in patterns. In Jordan, to support this traditional craft, associations have been established to protect individual hand-woven rugs weavers. Jordanian rugs are worth products to buy, because they reflect the long-standing culture, the soul of the land and thousands of years of skills.

Handmade gifts made from nature

The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature owns a large number of natural craft shops across the country. This project enables the community to produce and sell items such as organic cosmetics, decorative products and other unique souvenirs. It also offers scented soaps and body lotions extracted from olive oil, camel milk, salt and mud from Dead Sea, etc. to help nourish, soften and care for the skin.

What to buy in Jordan: Handicrafts

Embroidery products, textiles, pottery, sand paintings, shawls, and silver jewelry of the “Bedouin tribes” are handicrafts that are readily available in Jordan. There are also Tesserae, which are exquisite mosaics paintings for decoration, made from thousands of small stones and pieces of glass. To make these paintings, the artists had to work very meticulously and had to have high expertise.

Special T-shirts and accessories

Jobedu and Mlabbas are two famous brands producing T-shirts and accessories in Jordan. They create their own witty sayings, symbols, images in Arabic. If you do not understand, the staff will enthusiastically explain to you all the puns. Creative and unique design is the attraction of these brands in the eyes of tourists across the world. You can also purchase other accessories like keychains, coasters, and totes… Giving away T-shirts from these two brands for your loved ones will be a unique and meaningful Jordanian gift.

Olive Oil Soap

Jordan has excellent quality olive groves, and there’s nothing better for spending money than buying olive-based beauty products in Jordan. You can buy soaps made from olives in shops and supermarkets in the city.

In addition to the famous olive oil, in Jordan you will find olive oil soap. The product is of high quality and is made from pure olive oil. You can find these local handmade soaps at Cozmo supermarkets. They come in both lump and liquid form. The scent from olives will help you feel light and relaxed after every time you enter the bathroom.

Dead Sea Mud

Besides premium salt, mud from the Dead Sea is also a true Jordanian souvenir. However, it is difficult for you to buy quality mud from the market if you do not know the right place to buy and do not know the price.

The best way is if you use spa services at Dead Sea hotels or resorts, ask the staff to pack a portion of Dead Sea mud for you. The mud will be stored in sterilized jars, and the quality of mud and minerals will be better guaranteed. Besides pure mud, you can also buy mud products such as mud masks, mud soaps, etc.

Dead Sea mud has a very high mineral content. Using Dead Sea mud has the effect of providing trace elements to the skin. Typically, elemental sulfur helps neutralize toxins in the skin. Zinc helps to regulate the activity of cells, regulate the activity of the sebaceous glands. Iron has the ability to accelerate metabolism, helping the skin to be naturally pink.

Other souvenirs

In addition above souvenirs you can also buy other souvenirs such as keychains, refrigerator magnets, postcards… printed with iconic tourist attractions of Jordan.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Jordan, Petra, Amman you can refer to

• Amman: Petra, Wadi Rum, and Dead Sea 2-Day Tour
• From Amman: Petra, Wadi Rum and Dead Sea 3-Day Tour
• From Tel Aviv: Petra 2-Day Tour
• From Amman: Jerash, Ajloun Castle or Umm Qais Private Tour
• From Amman: Private Day Trip to Petra with Pickup
• Petra and Wadi Rum: 3-Day Guided Tour from Tel Aviv
• From Amman: Dead Sea and Madaba Tour with Hotel Pickup
• Transfer from QAIA to Amman (& v.v.)
• Petra Full-Day Private Tour from Amman
• From Amman: Petra Private Tour
• Amman to Petra Half-Day Transfer

Read more Petra guide here and Jordan travel guide here.