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AMMAN — Two scholars from the American Centre of Oriental Research (ACOR), Glenn Corbett and Firas Bqain, have spent years studying an often overlooked archaeological site in Wadi Rum in the Kingdom’s south.

The site is a desert mosque and way station from the time of the Umayyads (7th-8th centuries) found in the remote Wadi Shireh.

Their work follows in the footsteps of the late William Jobling of the University of Sydney who in the 1980s identified important archaeological remains in Wadi Shireh, including the early mosque. 

“We were not the first to discover or study the mosque site in Wadi Shireh,” said Corbett, who holds a PhD in Near Eastern archaeology from the University of Chicago and now serves as ACOR’s associate director. 

“It was first discovered and documented [by Jobling] in 1988 during the Aqaba-Maan Archaeological and Epigraphic Survey.” 

Jobling did not excavate the Shireh mosque, but recorded what remained on the surface, as well as a number of early Islamic inscriptions surrounding the site. 

“Fortunately, the mosque, its inscriptions and the surrounding structures are all still visible when walking through the wadi [valley],” Corbett said.

“Jobling’s preliminary reports on the mosque attracted the attention of several Arab and foreign scholars, most of whom focused their attention on the site’s very interesting Kufic inscriptions, one of which is dated to the month of Ramadan in the year 109 Hijri [or December 727/January 728 AD],” he added.

These included Oxford scholar Robert Hoyland, who published the dated inscription in the journal Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, as well as a few Jordanian researchers, some of whom published articles in the annual publication of the Jordan Department of Antiquities and the University of Jordan’s journal Dirasat. 

One of those Jordanian scholars was Bqain, now ACOR’s administrator, who in 2004 wrote his University of Jordan master’s thesis on the Shireh mosque.

In 2012, Corbett and Bqain began working together to bring the Umayyad mosque of Wadi Shireh to the attention of the wider academic community. 

They have also sought to understand the mosque, its inscriptions and related structures in a broader historical, archaeological and environmental context. 

As Corbett explained, “seasonal water pools located near the mosque provide ready access to water. Based on the mosque’s foundational Kufic inscription, which ascribes its building to one Salamah Ibn Rawh, we believe the mosque and way station were established by leading figures of Judham, the dominant tribe of the Hisma [desert] that was closely allied with the Umayyads and also benefited greatly from taxing the trade and pilgrimage caravans that passed through the region.” 

Their effort paid off this summer when they published a paper titled “An Umayyad-era mosque and desert way station from Wadi Shireh, Southern Jordan” in the Journal of Islamic Archeology, Vol 2, No 1(2015).

AMMAN — The concerns of Ammanis were the highlight of a meeting that brought together a government team with the local community and representatives of various sectors on Sunday.

Challenges facing the capital, its districts and villages dominated the talks, which concluded the government’s field visits to governorates to discuss and prepare a comprehensive development plan for the period between 2016 and 2018.

Unemployment, poverty, pollution, lack of leisure facilities for young people and the failure to utilise prominent archaeological sites were the main worries of Amman’s nine districts, which are also suffering from the influx of Syrian refugees, who impose pressure on the already “poor” services and infrastructure, according to mayors of areas affiliated with the capital.

“There are 90,000 residents in Sahab, in addition to 40,000 Syrian refugees. Sahab city was recently announced as an environmental disaster area and it has the highest rate of cancer patients compared with other regions in Jordan,” said Sahab Mayor Abbas Maharmeh.

Moreover, he noted that one resident doctor at the Jamil Tutanji emergency room deals with 1,000 patients a day, calling for serious intervention to improve the situation in the district.

Ayed Hukeish, Um Rasas mayor, said the district has been lacking a telecoms network since 2010 and suffers from a “bad” wastewater network.

During the meeting, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury announced the details of the draft 2016-2018 Amman Governorate Development plan, which puts the poverty rate in the capital at 30.6 per cent.

According to the plan, residents of Amman Governorate are estimated at around 2.6 million, which makes up 38.7 per cent of the overall population.

As for the challenges, the draft cited a high population rate between the ages of 15 and 64 in the governorate, standing at 61 per cent of residents, compared with 59.4 per cent in the same age bracket in other governorates, a matter that requires more capital spending on vocational and technical training programmes, increasing investments and supporting micro-enterprises.

Fakhoury said the estimated cost of development projects for 2016 is JD111 million, while it stands at JD122.390 million for 2017, and JD131.121 million for 2018, according to a ministry statement.

He said His Majesty King Abdullah’s meeting last week with dignitaries representing Amman communities to check on the public and their needs is an example to be followed.

“A total of JD251 million from the Gulf Cooperation Council grant was allocated for Amman Governorate to implement projects outlined in ministries’ budgets,” said Fakhoury, who noted that the Amman development plan is only a draft that includes an in-depth analysis of the situation in the governorate.

Legal guest workers make up 31 per cent of the number of workers in the capital.

“The government is very much aware of the impact of the Syrian influx on governorates, including Amman... the total amount of funds provided for projects approved in the Jordan Response Plan in Amman reached nearly $35 million. This is not enough and we will continue to call for bolstering international support,” said the minister.

Fakhoury added that the selection of development projects ready for implementation will be based on the priority list created as part of the 2016-2018 Amman Governorate Development programme after a previous visit from the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry team.

He also cited the investment map for the central governorates as also a project that will benefit Amman.

Also speaking at the meeting were lawmakers, local community leaders and representatives of the youth, women’s and private sectors.

AMMAN –– The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) “Amman a Green City 2020 — Towards a Green Jordan” committee is working on increasing green spaces in the capital, a GAM official said on Sunday. 

Imad Dabbas, the committee’s main coordinator, said the panel is going to implement a number of projects to rehabilitate the capital’s areas and increase the green space in Amman. 

“We started by revamping Jabal Amman’s Khirfan Street and installing flower pots on its side rails,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Sunday. 

Dabbas noted that the committee has now partnered with several ministries and organisations.

“The ministries of housing and environment are now among our partners, including NGOs like the International Union for Conservation of Nature,” he added. 

The committee will also conduct a number of projects by 2016 as part of plans to increase green space in the capital, which currently does not exceed 2.5 per cent. 

The plan is to increase it to between 5 per cent and 6 per cent, the GAM official noted. 

“We will start working on Rida and Quraish streets in downtown Amman by also installing flower pots in cooperation with shopkeepers, as they will be taking care of them after we set them up, as a way to involve the local community in taking care of their city,” Dabbas said, adding that the committee will focus more on east Amman.

The teams will start working on the airport road, which he described as the “gateway” of the capital. 

“It is a 24-kilometre long street and we will start working on nine locations stretching to 9 kilometres,” he added. 

Dabbas said GAM will also start rehabilitating public parks affiliated with the municipality. 

“There are 145 parks affiliated with GAM and we are revamping them by planting trees and expanding some of them. We will also classify them as parks for the elderly, for young people, for children and for pedestrians.” 

He also noted that the committee has cleaned buildings’ roofs in the east.

“A total of 350 roofs have been cleaned, and in cooperation with our partners we will work on making the roofs green as well,” Dabbas added.

AMMAN — Jordan has signed a $3 billion deal that secures financing for the country’s purchases of essential commodities.

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury signed the framework agreement on Sunday on behalf of the government with Chief Executive Officer of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Waleed Abdulmohsen Al Wohaib. 

The agreement, which the government okayed in July, aims at securing financing for country’s imports of crude oil, oil derivatives, liquefied gas and key staples such as wheat, barley, sugar and rice. 

Ahead of the signing ceremony, Fakhoury and Al Wohaib discussed several regional economic issues, in addition to bilateral trade between and ITFC, according to a ministry statement.

Several public institutions in the energy, water, trade and supplies sectors will benefit from the finance agreement through soft loans, according to the statement.  

ITFC, an autonomous entity affiliated with the Islamic Development Bank Group, works to advance trade to improve the economic conditions of people across the Islamic world. 

At the signing ceremony, Fakhoury commended ITFC’s support, in light of current unfavourable economic and financial conditions resulting from political instability in the region, and the repercussions of the crisis in Syria, which have put pressure on the Kingdom’s different services and infrastructure.

Fakhoury highlighted the recently launched economic blueprint “Jordan 2025” as well as the executive development programme for the years 2016-2018 that constitutes the first stage for implementing the blueprint, highlighting the importance that Jordan attaches to donors and financing institutions, including ITFC.

AMMAN — The two Houses of Parliament on Sunday expressed their condolences over the death of Saudi, Bahraini and Emirati soldiers who were on duty in the Saudi-led “Restore Hope” operation in Yemen.

In a statement on Sunday, the Upper House strongly denounced the “criminal act”, emphasising its support of the operation aiming at ending restoring the Yemeni state.

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh opened Sunday’s session with a statement stressing Jordanian support to the coalition and solidarity with the families of the Saudi, Bahraini and Emirati officers.

The UAE has announced that 45 of its soldiers engaged in a Saudi-led campaign against Shiite rebels in Yemen were killed in an accidental explosion that the insurgents claimed was caused by rocket fire, while Bahrain said five of its soldiers guarding the Saudi border with Yemen were also killed, according to news agencies.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday endorsed the regulations governing the annual appointment of top achieving university graduates at government institutions.

Under the criteria, the Civil Service Bureau will notify the government of the specialties required to fill available vacancies, which have to be announced in daily newspapers.

Under the appointment regulations, no more than 150 candidates who score the highest marks in the competitive test will be selected.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah will begin on Tuesday a working visit to China and South Korea, which will last for several days, a Royal Court statement said Sunday.

His Majesty’s visit will include a series of meetings, including a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior officials over bilateral ties,  and regional and international developments.

In the Chinese city of Yinchuan, the King will attend the inauguration of the 2015 China-Arab States Expo, in which Jordan is taking part as an honorary guest.

In the capital of South Korea, Seoul, His Majesty will hold talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye and senior officials, discussing bilateral relations in different fields, and regional and international developments. Moreover, the King will attend economic activities in the southeastern Asian country.

On the China visit, President of Society of East Amman Industrial Investors Iyad Abu Haltam called for forming a joint Jordanian-Chinese grouping to attract Chinese investment to the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abu Haltam stressed the importance of benefiting from His Majesty’s visit to China to promote Jordan’s business environment and the peace and security it enjoys.

He said Chinese investors should become acquainted with the investment opportunities available in the Kingdom, which allow foreign investors to benefit from free trade agreements Jordan has signed with several international blocs which allow made-in-Jordan products entry into these markets without customs fees.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 147 Syrian refugees during the past 72 hours, an army source said Sunday.

The Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps while Royal Medical Services cadres treated the injured.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani visited the United Arab Emirates embassy on Sunday to express Jordan’s solidarity with the UAE, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

Momani, who is also government spokesperson and acting foreign minister, paid condolences to the Emirati ambassador over the death of UAE soldiers in Yemen.

He highlighted the brotherly ties between Jordan and the UAE, the statement said.

AMMAN — Arab Thought Forum (ATF) Secretary General Mohammad Abu Hammour said the meetings to discuss the five Royal discussion papers by His Majesty King Abdullah produced a comprehensive analytical reading, according to an ATF statement released Sunday.

The discussions were summarised in a book, the preface to which was written by HRH Prince Hassan. The ATF will launch the book in a ceremony slated for Tuesday, the statement said.