Underground Amman Tour with Tales of Jordan

Written By: Gail Clifford | Published By: Weekend Notes | October 28, 2022

The Underground Amman Tour, a two-hour cultural walking tour of old Amman, opens a window into the sometimes hidden or ‘underground’ artistic expression in Amman. Led by a dynamic Millennial brother-sister duo, this walk provides a different perspective of this ancient city. From the local hip hop community to the challenges and achievements of local graffiti artists, break dancers, and beatbox artists here in Amman over the last 15 years with a glimpse of how the origins of this modern country on ancient land occurred.

Start in Paris Square with the water (dispensing) fountain central to Amman life. They’ll quickly point out to you the importance of water in any society. On this tour, you will learn about Amman through its nature, buildings, and people to understand what shaped the city
Many small elements mix for a little understanding of what happened in this part of the city. The story of Paris Square, located in this part of Amman, called “The Old West.” Also known as “The Square of the Water Tank,” Paris Square holds one of the first water tanks ever in Amman, dating back to the year 1935. Before that, people used to walk all the way down to the river to collect their water.

But in 1935, Amman had its first water network, the first time water is pumped from the River to each of the different neighborhoods. Amman is steep, built on the mountains, the seven mountains, and each one received a water tank. Along this square, you’ll see the French Institute, the oldest European institute in Amman. The French Institute offered to renovate the square, and a French designer designed this fountain, similar to some 50 he designed in Paris. But there’s more that ties Amman and Paris together.

Paris, in the 19th century (1870), was surrounded by the Germans which put Paris through a water crisis. People in Paris couldn’t have any water. One British commander loved Paris and decided to donate water dispensing fountains. So, the story of this statue and fountain reminds people of that story in Paris and the common challenge of those facing a water shortage.

It’s from this western side of the city that you’ll explore different spaces, meet young people, see how they are engaged in the community, and this neighborhood, “Weibdeh,” known as the center of street art, the growing Jordanian hiphop culture that survived when a brief American rap phase fizzled because gangsta culture really isn’t consistent with this friendly and polite society.

This tour, part of a press trip with IFWTWA in partnership with the Jordan Tourism Board, allows guests to visit the main archeological sites and learn about the ancient history of Jordan but considering that Jordan is rocks and people and ancient history and modern history, this tour gave us the chance to ask young people about anything else we weren’t sure about. All opinions herein are my own.

First, they’ll point out the most prolific graffiti artist in the area, SINER (pronounced “sinner”) who crosses from east to west including the refugee camps. The halo over his signature is a secund, part of the Arabic language when using multiple vowels, denoting one being silent.

Wong is the second most prodigious graffiti artist, with tags indicating perhaps, he’ll be here soon to complete the work.

We wondered about censorship in Jordan and if artists were challenged by it. We’re told, “It’s important that it does have a proper message. So there are certain symbols and signs that are not allowed in Jordan. You cannot make murals that include weapons or killing machines. That’s something the state will remove if someone makes it and it’s illegal. You cannot make murals that have any kind, like for blood. So these are some, like, limits. To give permissions, the state will learn about each symbol in the mural and then they make sure that it fits with the public norms.”

As we walk across the city on a lovely October night, we pass a Roman Catholic church. Since the 1960s, this church is known as the Sharad Church, run by the Al-sharad family, a Jordanian Christian family, one of their members is called the Duke. Mr Sharad, known as the only Duke in Jordan.

Why the Duke? Well, the British influence persists. The Duke spends a lot of time, money, and energy protecting and preserving many archaeological and heritage sites in Jordan. He was also a friend of the late King Hussein. As a reward for this work, King Hussein, before he died reportedly asked him “What do you want? What can I give you? You have done all this good work.”

And he replied, “I don’t want to be in politics.” He tells the King he doesn’t want or need a high position. So the King decides to bestow upon him this honorable title of “Duke.”

Apparently, the Duke is a man who has been heard to say “I’m the Duke of Culture and Agriculture.” Because he owns a little land, a little farm and is also very involved in Jordan’s cultural scene as his family continues their efforts towards preserving churches.