Untitled (2014)
by MUHANNA DURRA
Jordan, a place of passage of the great civilizations, cradle of religions, shows the wisdom and moderation of a country that retains a sense of history. At the same time, it reveals its young and passionate face: about 70% of the Jordanian population is under 35 years old.
Body and Product (2014)
by NIDA ALHAMZEH
Here the past and modernity endeavour to coexist in a convincing manner, blending the extraordinary wealth of a country whose history spans more than seven thousand years with aspirations for the future.
Untitled (2014)
by MAHMOUD ASAD
Inhabited since the Paleolithic period, as hunting tools found in the Jordan Valley attest, this land underwent a time of great development in the Neolithic age, when, from hunter and gatherer, man became herdsman and farmer.
Untitled (2014)
by BASEL TAWAHA
Since then, traces of the people who have resided here endure across the territory, in testament to their cultural wealth. Traces that are rooted in the ancient Egyptian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Ottoman civilizations.
Untitled (2014) by MUSTAFA OMAR KHALID ALYOUSEF
Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabataeans, a nomadic people from the Arabian Peninsula who had control of the caravan routes from India, is carved into the polychrome sandstone: according to Lawrence of Arabia, “the most beautiful place on Earth, for the colours of the rocks”. Today it has become the symbol of a wide-ranging heritage: from the ruins of the capital ‘Ammān to the vestiges of Jerash (Roman Gerasa), one of the Middle Eastern Decapolis cities, united by Pompey’s historic commercial confederation and today one of the best preserved Roman sites in the world. From the castles of the caliphs that dot the flat expanses of the Eastern Desert, to the city of Mādabā that preserves the mosaic map of the Holy Land: the route to Jerusalem through more than 150 localities, composed originally of about two million pieces of coloured stone.
Untitled (2014)
by HELEN-NATALY HANNA FARAH
Islamic Jordan, in fact, contains many sacred places for the Judeo-Christian tradition, such as Mount Nebo, where the prophet Moses saw the Promised Land destined by God for the chosen people, the tomb of Aaron, the fortress of Herod where John the Baptist was beheaded.
Untitled (2014)
by AYMAN GHARAIBEH
The task of preserving and reconciling Jordan’s numerous different forms of culture and tradition is today entrusted to numerous institutions and to events promoted by the State. Festivals, cultural centres, museums and galleries, music and theatre seasons and companies are the main protagonists of this programme, in many cases also supported by private initiatives.
Untitled (2014) by DIANA ABU EL KHAIL
The Royal Cultural Centre, the Jordanian National Orchestra, the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, are among the most active institutions. The latter, in particular, encourages and subsidizes the development of cinematography and, at the same time, favours the use of the many historical sites in Jordan as locations for international productions (here we find the famous landscapes that formed the backdrop to scenes from Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones, for example).
PETRA (2014)
by HADEEL ISSA AL-RAMAHI
Among the most important appointments is undoubtedly the Jerash Festival, a festival of art, theatre, music, dance and literature that promotes many Jordanian artists, as well as Arab and international creatives, and which since 1981 has been held in the picturesque setting of the Greek-Roman theatre.
Untitled (2014)
by FADWA AWAD AL SOKHNI
Tying in with these cultural initiatives are programmes aimed at making Jordan an increasingly popular tourist destination, with positive effects for economic and social development.
Features of a Villager (2014)
by YASER TAWFIQ ALI AL WRIKAT
Tourism, in fact, is an increasingly important sector of the Jordanian economy (contributing 14% of GDP), which, not being able to rely on energy resources such as
oil and gas, aims to secure its future by becoming an Arab technology start-up.
Untitled (2014) by HANADA KHATAYBEH
As is often pointed out by Queen Rania of Jordan, technology and enterprise are the key tools in finding a solution to unemployment. The number of Internet users in the Arab world is growing year by year, and if e-commerce is still a limited reality, it is a rapidly growing industry. Many of the entrepreneurs in the online market are women and technology is creating new opportunities for them in particular. “All these indicators – said Queen Rania of Jordan in an interview with the Huffington Post – are not just indicators of the economy, but I find that they are indicators of hope.”
Untitled (2014)
by SHAHAD DAWOOD
The capital ‘Ammān, previously known as Philadelphia, is a balanced mix of historical tradition and aspiration for the future.
In the Citadel, examples survive of bygone cultures: the Temple of Hercules, the Omayyad Palace, the remains of the Byzantine church. Just outside the historic centre, the Roman Theatre, built on orders of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, is still used today – with its 6,000 seats – for many shows.
Untitled (2014) by NOOR AZZAM
The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts is also found here, a major international institution that houses a large collection of contemporary art from developing countries: more than 2,000 works by 850 artists from 59 countries, mainly African and Asian. The Gallery also hosts innovative exhibitions like the collective The Heritage of Art which, between 2014 and 2015, brought together Italian artists, led by Mimmo Paladino, and Jordanian artists, to identify the lines of language and thought common to both masters and the new generations. Driven by its young cultural vibrancy, Jordanian art today opens to the world and questions its future. The Imago Mundi collection is a bridge to globality: as Professor Khaled Alhamzah notes in his preface, it is “a great opportunity for Jordan’s artists, and nearly every generation of artist is represented.” The 142 10x12 cm works form a varied mosaic of experiences, styles, techniques, currents, with the common ability to propose and represent the aspirations of a country committed to reconciling conflicts, ensuring stability and dialogue, enriching hope with tangible content. As Hussein Alazaat, calligrapher, typographer and designer based in ‘Ammān observed: “Art belongs to the community. And it is to the community that it must return.”
Luciano Benetton
