Al-Salt: The Middle Eastern City of Tolerance and Generosity
(image credit: Marta Vidal)
This small Jordanian city with minarets and church towers on the horizon has been designated a “place of tolerance and urban hospitality” by UNESCO.
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The call to prayer of the sunrise echoed across a still-sleeping valley where the first rays of the sun lit up the golden limestone houses clustered on the slopes of three mountains.
“Allahu Akbar(“God is Greatest”), voice muezzin Rise over the domes of the city. “Hayya ‘ala-s-salah(“Hurry up to pray”), called the loudspeakers from the minarets scattered in the rugged landscape.
Moments later, the winding city streets were filled with church bells ringing for the morning mass.
We were in Al-Salt, the newest UNESCO World Heritage site in the Middle East. This small Jordanian city with minarets and church towers on the horizon was considered a “place of tolerance and urban hospitality”.
Located at the crossroads of trade and pilgrimage routes between the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula, Al-Salt grew into a thriving city in the late 19th century during a period of reforms aimed at “modernizing” the Ottoman Empire.
In the historic city center, hundreds of heritage limestone buildings – dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – with arched doorways, carved columns, and tall windows glow in the sun.
(Credit: Marta Vidal)
said Thira Arabiyat, a shopkeeper who trains local women in traditional needlework, while she poured me a cup of coffee with cardamom.
We sat surrounded by embroidered dresses and scarves in her little shop downtown, where I first found her sewing knotted fringes from shemaghA traditional Jordanian scarf. She interrupted her work to tell me more about her hometown.
“What makes this city so special is the people here, and their kindness,” Arabiyat said after I filled my glass for the second time. Then she asked me, “Have you had breakfast? Come and eat with me.”
While exploring the city’s winding streets and narrow alleys, I received frequent calls for lunch, coffee or tea. The tradition of hospitality and generosity towards visitors has deep roots in Salt.
For centuries, the city was an important stop for merchants and pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, Damascus, Baghdad or Mecca. Residents will welcome visitors and provide them with food and lodging.
In the 19th century, Salt became the administrative seat of the region, attracting merchants from different religious and cultural backgrounds. Many of these ended up settling in a hillside town, creating prosperous neighborhoods where local Bedouin tribes mingled with the merchants and artisans of the Levant.
Image Source Marta Vidal: In Salt there are about 650 important historical buildings that display a mixture of European and Ottoman styles
“Salt has become a crossroads between East and West, between desert and urban centers,” said Ayman Abu Rumman, former director of tourism in the local Balqa Governorate (one of Jordan’s twelve governorates), adding that the city’s diversity is reflected in its architecture.
Perhaps the best example of the city’s blend of Ottoman styles, European influences, and local traditions is the stately Abu Jaber House, built of local limestone with Italian frescoed ceilings, Art Nouveau stained glass windows, ornate columns and ceramic tiles from Syria. The house is owned by Abu Jaber, a wealthy merchant family who settled in Salt at the end of the nineteenth century. In 2009, the building was converted into a museum that takes visitors through the history and traditions of the Ottoman city.
When Amman was chosen as the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1928, Salt lost its regional importance. The city of Al-Salt has succeeded in maintaining its character, having survived the intense urban expansion of Amman.
For Jordanian architect Rami Daher, who prepared the city’s candidacy file for inclusion in the World Heritage List, the city is unique not only because of its historic limestone buildings, but also because of the way it has maintained a tradition of hospitality and tolerance over the centuries.
Image copyright Marta Vidal Image caption Residents of Salt put a sofa on the road where they gather to play the famous game of mancala.
“The topography of the city has fostered a sense of community and closeness. The neighbors live close to each other and support each other in many different ways,” he said.
A network of interconnected staircases, communal courtyards and public squares encouraged the development of a tolerant and multi-religious community and added a sense of belonging to a common space. Most of the traditional buildings feature communal courtyards or terraces where neighbors can cook, eat and drink together.
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“People here still live as if they are part of the same family, and there is no separation between them,” Abu Rumman said as we sat together in a room at the Abu Jaber Museum with a panoramic view of the city’s mountains.
He pointed to the square opposite the museum, where old men from different backgrounds meet every day to play rounds of backgammon and protractorAn ancient board game popularized by the Ottomans. Then he pointed to the mosque and the church in front of him.
Image Source: Marta Vidal: Hamam Street is a busy alley full of shops and named after the ancient Turkish baths
“The church is facing the mosque and they share the same entrance,” he said. “Muslims and Christians participate in each other’s celebrations. They share what they have with their neighbours.”
This is perhaps most evident in the oldest church in the city. Built in 1682 around a cave where it was said that St. George appeared to the shepherd, the church is known in Arabic as Al-Khidr, an Islamic figure in harmony with St. George in the region.
The vaulted stone interior of the church is filled with icons and mosaics depicting Saint George slaying dragons, and what remains of the cave are visited by people of different backgrounds who come to light candles and leave handwritten wishes.
“Christians and Muslims go there to pray, everyone is welcome,” said Sabreen Dababneh, who works at the nearby Orthodox church, Dormition of the Virgin Mary.
Al-Dababneh told me that this interfaith harmony is what makes Salt so special.
“The church keeper who works with me, Ali, is a Muslim,” she said. “There are no differences between us. We live here as brothers and sisters.”
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