By Taylor Luck

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – Amidst the winding maze of cobblestone streets in the old city of Jerusalem stands a café that goes out of its way to make any Jordanian feel close to home.

A collage of photographs of King Hussein, Jordanian flags and bagpipe ballads greet visitors at Jerusalem Star Café, an establishment that serves up a bit of resilience along with the standard cup of tea.

The café is the brainchild of Ashraf Jawareh, who pooled together his life savings to invest in a lifelong dream of opening a tourist restaurant in the heart of the old city after witnessing a growing field dominated by Jewish restaurant owners.

With a name in mind – Jerusalem Star Café – and armed with a menu of staple Arabic cuisine readily found on both banks of the River Jordan, Jawareh set up shop in a busy thoroughfare off Via Dela Rosa in 1973.

When it came time to furnish the restaurant, Jawareh – who holds Jordanian citizenship from the days Amman administered the West Bank – went for a distinctively hometown feel.

The now-72-year-old tacked photographs of King Hussein, King Abdullah and Jordanian currency to the restaurant’s interior hardwood panelling as a symbol that although four decades may have passed since the last Jordanian troops left Jerusalem, a Hashemite presence remains in the Holy City.

In addition to the inviting décor, the Jawarehs have worked to uphold Jordan’s hallmark hospitality by making outgoing efforts to assist Jordanian and non-Jordanian visitors alike during their stays in Jerusalem.

“We consider ourselves to be the permanent address for all Jordanians who come to Jerusalem.”