"On any given day in Jordan, more than nine million residents eat approximately ten million loaves of khubz 'arabi--the slightly leavened flatbread known to many as pita. Some rely on this bread to avoid starvation, for others it is a customary pleasure. Yet despite its ubiquity in accounts of...

Era 1: 1963-68, Halcyon days -- Era 2: 1969-73, A fall from grace -- Era 3: 1974-80, The resurrection -- Era 4: 1980-83, Happy days are here again -- Era 5: 1983-90, Merrily we roll along, until we don't -- Era 6: 1990-98, Tea and crumpets, anyone?