Jordan Times

Friday-Saturday, April 1-2, 2005

Dancing to Amman’s new rhythm

Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh

Has Amman changed? Is Amman changing? Yes.

All cities in the world change. Political, economic, social, demographic and
other factors affect size (with respect to both area and population), rhythm
and culture of cities. We live in a fast-changing world, and expansion and
diversification are quite natural.

Amman, however, is changing at a faster pace than most cities. It is
expanding physically in all directions, encompassing suburbs outside its
suburbs. Its population, due to natural and abrupt causes, is fast
increasing. But it is also becoming the hub of all kinds of regional and
international activities: political, economic, technological.

Look at traffic. Aside from the few morning hours on Fridays, and the late
night hours, its roads are – despite the large number of tunnels,
overpasses, bridges, new avenues and streets – extremely busy. Look at
people’s activities: primarily shopping, dining out and visits. Their
momentum has also increased immensely.

Look also at the number of students (from the country, the region and
abroad) who come to study at its schools and universities, the number of
patients who come for medical treatment, the number of people who come to
conduct business, the number of tourists. There are big increases at all
these levels.

The story of Amman, in fact, is a story of big cities, changes and
expansions – from the start. The other day, I was rereading Abdul Rahman
Munif’s masterpiece about Amman, `A Tale of City’. It is an autobiographical
novel describing the early days of Amman: primarily the 1930s, 1940s and
1950s, when the farthest point was the First Circle in Jabal Amman. Where is
Amman’s farthest point now? I think it is impossible to tell.

The point here is that in each decade of the past century, Amman went
through a big shift and a big change. Amman of the 1980s was very different
from that of the 1970s, and that of the 1990s was very different from that
of a decade earlier. Amman today is very different from that of even two
years ago.

Where is it heading? Where will this city with no borders stop? We started
with Amman, and for some time now we have been talking about `greater’
Amman. Many people would view this expansion positively, despite the
discomforts. Amman, from the start, has been a home to those who lost their
homes (like Circassians, Palestinians, Armenians, and others). Additionally,
due to its attractive political, economic, educational and social
environment, it has attracted all types of individuals and groups who have
found a haven in it. Furthermore, Amman’s variety and diversity, this ever
changing, ever expanding rhythm, have made it a very special city – in
addition to its physical location, its hotels, restaurants, markets, ancient
ruins.

For its inhabitants, however, and this is the point I wish to stress here,
the shifts and changes that the city witnesses need to be complemented by
shifts and changes in people’s way of dealing with life in the city on a
daily basis.

My theory (hypothesis if you like) has been that most of us who have come to
Amman from the countryside or the badia (a majority of Amman’s inhabitants)
have not prepared ourselves (mentally, psychologically, as well as with
respect to training and know-how) for living in an urban centre. For year,
maybe even until now, we have treated Amman as an extension to the
countryside or the badia. Such false assumption has had its grave
consequences, in addition to the discomfort, the chaos, the bad planning,
etc.

This is one level of the problem. Another has to do with the fact that we
have not taken the shifts and changes over the decades into account. We have
been living in Amman decade after decade in the same way, as if the city’s
rhythm were constant or static when, in fact, it has been dramatically
changing. This has created a gap, a rift between our ways and that of the
city. As a result, our relation with it has not been one of harmony or
complementarity, but of difference, tension and some alienation.

Amman is a real cosmopolitan city. It is also a great city, which has its
charms and challenges. We need to catch up with it, and dance to its tune
and rhythm, so that life in it will be both less discomforting and more
enjoyable.

Friday-Saturday, April 1-2, 2005

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress