Jordan’s rich heritage includes sites associated with, amongst other cultures, the Nabateans, Romans, Ummayids, Byzantines and Ottomans, as well as some of the most important locations associated with the region’s three monotheistic religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam.Seeing how these sites are being packaged, presented and managed for Jordan’s growing tourism sector has been particularly instructive in terms of reminding me of the plurality of interests that exist in almost every tourist destination and the opportunities that exist for telling multi-layered stories. Whereas the Nabatean heritage of Petra normally grabs the headlines, the Roman ruins are every bit as interesting (if not as monumental). Whilst the Roman ruins at Jerash may match the spectacle of Petra, their more recent function as a home for Circassian migrants to the region brings with it additional interest.
And the castle in Azraq, home for a few months to Lawrence before his final push on Damascus, was subsequently settled by Chechens fleeing persecution in their part of the world.
Yet whilst the two weeks I have just spent in Jordan on holiday and then on university business have provided me with a much greater understanding of the country’s cultural heritage, I found it difficult to gain an insight into contemporary Jordanian culture. Jordan’s population has been increased in recent decades by an influx of Circassians and Druze, two waves of Palestinian refugees and, more recently, more than a million displaced Iraqis. Inevitably, these socio-political factors are influencing Jordanian society even today. But where does the tourist go to, to understand the human environment they circumnavigate as they travel from ruin to museum? How can we interact more fruitfully with our hosts so that we understand their way of life as deeply as we are able to gain knowledge about that of their ancestors? Are two pages in a Rough Guide or Lonely Planet really enough?
