Students explore Kingdom’s history through photo exhibition

AMMAN — Goethe Institute in Amman on Monday opened an exhibition where school students showcased the history of Amman and Jordan, through photographs they took as part of the Heritage Days in Jordan. 

Jutta Häser, project manager at the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology (GPIA), said that the exhibition was a tool to help students better understand the history of the Kingdom.

Students of the Jubilee School, for instance, had the chance to visit the Amman Citadel, which was at the centre of their project.

“Amman is a very good example to show the overall history of the country because you can see all periods at the Citadel and this is why we did it and in the museum at the citadel we have a lot of finds and you can show all the periods and the developments of the country,” Häser told The Jordan Times at the opening, noting that students were previously briefed by the GPIA staff on the details of the history and archaeology of Jordan.

“Archaeology is one part of our overall culture,” the project manager stressed, voicing hope to see the programme continue "so that people can get an idea of Jordan".

Agathe Simonis, of the Goethe Institut, expressed her surprised delight to see some students know so much about history.

“It was very impressive and it was nice to see some students interested in archeology. They are proud of their country and heritage and they want to share it,” she stated. 

Among the students, aged between 15 and 17 years old, Rand Quda, 17, said the project was "useful because it focused on archaeology, a field that students do not pay attention to". 

“The good thing about the project is the practical side. Many of my colleagues have not visited Amman Citadel so it was a chance for them to have an idea of it,” she told The Jordan Times.  

For 15-year-old Hamza Hayek, who had visited the site many times before, this project turned the location into "a very unique place".

“Now I can enjoy the place due to the information I received,” he explained, stressing the importance of photography in documenting these sites for generations to come and make them live in their memory. 

Speaking at the ceremony, cultural attaché at the German embassy, Jaime Sperberg, said that the exhibition made a "very important contribution for students to understand their own past and present; because there is no present without history".