Amman Architecture Between Antiquity and Modernity ALÌ ABU GHANIMEH

Amman Architecture between Antiquity and Modernity ALÌ ABU GHANIMEH

Architecture in Jordan and in Amman city, in particular, had been in uenced by different civilizations that was expanding through different eras, i.e. the Nabataean, Roman Empire and Islamic. In addition, Jordanian architecture had affected by the architecture of the other Arab countries and their cities; i.e. Jerusalem, Damascus, and Cairo, and the architectural contents of these cities, e.g. the Umayyad Mosque and the Azem Palace in Damascus, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and the Alazhar1 and the Ibn Tulun mosques in Cairo. In all these cases on an architectural, cultural tradition – and often religious –, it engages with one of equal dignity. In 706 a.d. the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I, resum- ing the policy of his father Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan who had built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, decided to increase the monumental work of the capital Damascus. Therefore ordered the building of the Great Mosque, completed in 715, in the site which was the most important place of worship in the city, that was incorporating the remains of the original Christian church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, which had been built by Theodosius at the room of a pagan temple of the rst century. In 661, after the Arab conquest of the Roman province of Syria, the Caliph Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, erected in the Temenos, a land belonging to the ancient shrine musalla (oratory) outdoors, so for several decades Muslims and Christians celebrated their rituals side

1 The construction of the Mosque of Al-Azhar in Cairo, was initiated by Jawhar As- Siqillî, commander in chief of Al-li-Din Allah Mu’izz first Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, who conquered Egypt and founded the city of Cairo during the month of Jumada-l-Awwal 359 dell’Hijrah year (970 ad), in the month of Ramadan to complete the year 361 H. (972 a.d.). Mosque has been expanded several times in later centuries. In the fifteenth century there was added a Madhrasa (Islamic school) (Editor note).

75 Photo 1. The Citadel (Amman). by side. Azem Palace (or AZM) in Damascus was erected in 1750 as the residence of the Ottoman governor As’ad Pasha al-Azm, and now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. Damascena example of traditional architecture, is divided into two main devices: the harem, which is the part used for family living, kitchens, bedrooms, bath and rooms for servants, and the salamlik devoted instead to the guests, with gardens with typical sources, lounges and waiting rooms. The Mosque of Omar or Dome of the Rock (Qubbet es-Sakhra) is built on a platform which is accessed through a number of steps, passing under the arches of the chains. It is the oldest and most important example of Islamic architecture, with a mix of Persian and Byzantine art, as the architects were Christians. The name of origin is the Dome of the Rock, but it is known as the Mosque of Omar, and was built by Abd el Malik, Umayyad caliph (661-750). The rock is an irregularly shaped natural rock that stands in the center of the plateau in Jerusalem sacred. Is supposed to be the place where the Prophet Mohammed rose to the famous night ights (Alisraa Ilmiirag wa) in the sky and it is likely that the rock (Sakra) was the point where the fact occurred. Built

76 Photo 2. The Bank of Jordan (Amman). between 876-879 a.d. by the Abbasid governor sent from Baghdad to Egypt Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo is the oldest of all Egypt. Such a “mosque on Friday”, his yard on an open arc is large enough to hold the entire male community gathered for prayers on the holiest day of the week. Incorporates architectural elements of the Mosque of Samarra in Iraq, with its spiral minaret, and is completely built with clay bricks. It has an outdoor courtyard, surrounded by pointed arches and decorated with beautiful geometric patterns.

77 Photo 3. Villa Qattan (Amman).

These constructions and other iconic buildings are still affecting the architecture in Jordan and Amman city, especially for its proximity to the intellectual, social, cultural dimension of Jordanian society itself but also the entire Middle East region. The architecture in Amman city, the city of Ammonia, was back to the Old Stone Age as it is shown by the excavations made by many Jordanian and foreign archeologists. After that, the Greeks, the Romans, the Ammonites, and the Muslims civilizations swayed Amman’s architecture. The city of Amman is now

78 a wealth of famous monuments, testifying to ancient civilizations, and has many ruins, belonging to different urban settlements that have been superimposed at various times, such as the Ain Gazal2, Roman Amphi- theater, Temple of Hercules, Umayyad buildings, the Citadel, the most important palace in the castle. Roman Amphitheater, testimony of the ancient roman city Philadephia, is the monument more impressive in Amman. Built in the second century a.C. during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161 a.C.) was made on the north side of a hill previously used as a cemetery and could accommodate up to 6000 people. There currently are set up shows in the summer and the basement houses the Folklore Museum and the Museum of Popular Traditions. The Citadel (al-Qala’a) is the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon (Bronze Age 1500- 1200 b.C.) and the excavations have uncovered many Roman remains, Byzantine and early Islamic period. Situated on a hill includes the Umayyad Palace complex, which dates back to 730 AD, the Temple of Hercules, built during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 a.C.) and the Byzantine church, probably dating to the sixth or seventy century a.C. The remains of these sites illustrate the periods of cultural and economic prosperity experienced by this ancient city which was named by more than name, including: Ammon, Philadelphia, and - nally Amman [Photo 1]. Before we begin discourse about the beginnings of architecture in Amman, we should introduce the local architecture in Jordan, especially in the beginning of this century, where we nd that the architectural buildings were rare and concentrated in some Jordanian cities i.e. Salt, Karak, Irbid, Amman, which were built with stone, in the often. The architecture had marked by this distinctive character and major variety in the constructive methods by using stone as a common material, as the ancient builders made in this country. The architects who worked in Jordan were Arabs builders who came from neighboring cities, like Je- rusalem, Naples, Beirut …etc.3. This had an impact on the shaping the

2 Ain Ghazal is a Neolithic site located in North-Eastern Jordan, on the outskirts of Amman. It dates as far back as 7250 b.C., and was inhabited until 5000 b.C. At 15 hectares (37 a.C.), ‘Ain Ghazal ranks as one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Near East. 3 Jordan has always had a specific role as an international and multicultural country. Since its establishment as a national state, a lot of the middle class families have encouraged their children to the university experience in European and Mediterranean institutions.

79 Photo 4. Amman City Hall (Amman).

architecture of Amman city, especially in the residential buildings. The architecture in the countryside had adopted the idea of the courtyard as a movement organizer and it was built from simple materials i.e. clay and non-formed stone to the walls and tree branches to the bishop, like in the earliest times. It would be worthwhile to recall that in the building tradition of Jordan, to build a new home is an opportunity, from friends and people, to demonstrate solidarity and support to the family who undertook the construction work. If this was a very masculine one, women had the task of bringing the water that served to mix the mortar. But above all it was for the women tell and celebrate the event with constructive music and songs which represent today’s testimony of the customs and traditions in the eld of local building techniques (Sarhan, 1978). In this occasion, it should be stated an early group of engineering and architects who provided a range of challenges that had an impact on the future of architecture of the city, including Khawaja Dyran, Al -Sharif Fawwaz Aal-Mhaana, Nazmi Al-Nabulsi, Abdul Raz- zaq al-Muhtadi, Fouad Sayegh.

80 Even today, there are still many architects who have a signi cant impact on the architecture of the local city of Amman. Should be de- veloping new models and methods of construction for the new and distinctive architecture of the city aware of their multicultural traditions. To give some example: Ja’afar Touqan whom his architecture footprint characterizes linking modern thoght, a whiff of history, and originality. He is a winner of numerous Architecture Awards for his projects i.e. the S.O.S children’s village in Aqaba (1991), the Bank of Jordan [Photo 2], the Jubilee High School in Amman (1999), the Amman City Hall (in collaboration with Rasem Badran), the Dune Club, Hotel Marriot Dead sea Resort, the Jordan National Museum. In addition, he had awarded for his residential buildings i.e. Villa Rizek, Villa Sal ti, Villa Chalabi, villa Abu Rahmi, and Villa Qattan in Amman. As you can see from the pictures attached [Photos 3-4] even in the work of Ja’far Touqan the substantial use of stone for the exterior and interior of public buildings and residences is an element of continuity between ancient and modern. The stone has several properties that allow you to create a microclimate suitable for human life and which varies depending on seasons. It re- tains heat in winter and keeps the rooms cool in summer. Rasem Badran’s drawings stand up the crest of an imaginary trian- gle past - present - future. His approach relies heavily on the historical study of the site and its constraints for development in the future, in order to achieve this in the present. He designed many buildings as the Jordanians’ Amman Mall, Private Police Forces Building, The Library of Yarmouk University in Irbid, and many residential buildings such as Villa Handal, Hajjar Villa, and Villa Talhouni in Amman. Waddah el-Abidi who introduces a personal issue within the architectural debate in Jordan, his work is fundamentally a “Monumental”, style that suggests a greater use of marble. His architecture is instead characterized by a constant and highly recognizable use of stone in many of his projects i.e. Dar al-Shaab journal, Villa Abu Ragheb, and Villa Oudeh. Architects, like Bilal Hammad, Farouk Yaghmour, Ayman Zuaiter, Ammar Khammash, Khalid Nahhas, and many others had an important effect on the architecture in Jordan and had been able to de- velop the local architecture of Amman city and its integration in the spirit of contemporary heritage.

81 References

Abu Ghanimeh Ali, Amman city, pioneers generation of Architects, Al- Yarmouk Researches: Engineering and basic sciences series, Vol. 11, issue 1, Yarmouk University press, Irbid, 2002 (in Arabic). Ali Abu Ghanimeh, “Amman in the memory of the rst Architects, f- ties and sixties”, in Studies in the social history of Jordan, Greater Amman Municipality, 2007 (in Arabic). Alrifay Taleb, The ﬁ rst homes of Amman, Amman, University of Jor- dan, 1987. Hammad B., Jordanian Architecture in the Sixties and Seventies, in Studies in the Social History of Jordan, Amman, Greater Amman Municipality, 2007. Karsten E.W., Architecture in continuity, Building in the Islamic world today, New York, Published by Aperture, a divisions of Silver Moun- tain foundation, Inc., 1985, pp. 56-57. Kultermann U., Contemporary Architecture in the Arab states: Renais- sance of a region, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1999, pp. 124-125. Rafee M., Works of Sheriff Fawwaz Aal Mhanna, Amman, Greater Am- man Publications, 2007 (in Arabic). Sahran N., The Folkloric Songs Related to the Construction Process (in Arabic), Al-Fonoun Al-Sha-beia, Amman, Department of Culture and arts, 1978. Tukan J., Characteristics of the Architecture of Both Banks in Fifties and Sixties, in «Studies in the Social History of Jordan», Amman, Greater Amman Municipality, 2007. Wadhah Al Abidi, Architectural Characteristics of Amman City, «Albi- naa», no. 1, rst year, June 1983.

Photos: Alì Abu Ghanimeh.