Literature

After the British mandate over Jordan had been repealed, the national culture came to life again. In the field of literature, lyric has played the most important role, with new classics such as Muhammad Hasan Ala ad-Din or representatives of a formally freer lyric such as Haydar Mahmud. Radi Sadduq and the female poet Samira al-Khatib are among the strongest Israeli-critical poets, who in love symbols express their pain over the occupation. Within the prose, novelists traditionally play the biggest role, while the novel is still relatively undeveloped. Compare Arabic literature.

Jordan Population Pyramid

  • Countryaah: Population and demographics of Jordan, including population pyramid, density map, projection, data, and distribution.

Art

An early Islamic visual art and ornamental relief decor is preserved in the Umayyad desert palaces from the early centuries of Islam: murals with figurative scenes in late classical tradition in Qusayr Amra and stone reliefs with plant and animal motifs in Mshatta’s façade d谷cor. From the last centuries a traditional craft has been preserved. Contemporary art combines older traditions, mainly calligraphy, with a Western influenced painting with both abstract and pictorial motifs. Compare Islamic art.

Architecture

During the Umayyad period in the 7th century, palace facilities were erected in areas that are now desert east and southeast of the present capital Amman. Of greatest interest is Qasr Kharana, Qusayr Amra, a well-preserved palace and bathing facility, probably erected by the Caliph Walid I about 740 but never completed, and Mshatta, a large, symmetrical and strong axial plant with a central tower room; the palace is today near Amman’s airport. In Qusayr Amra there are well-preserved, Hellenistically influenced figurative murals with hunting scenes, dancing shoes and a representation of the zodiac and contemporary princes. The bulk of Mshatta’s rich stucco facade is today in the Islamic Museum in Berlin.

In the center of Amman, at an elevation above the city’s modern settlement, lies the ancient citadel with the remains of a Roman Hercules temple, a Byzantine church and an Umayyad palace with a mosque. In the same place is also the city’s archaeological museum.

Music

The traditional music in Jordan is characterized by the Arab-Islamic cultural heritage (see Arabic music). Regarding the maqam-bound art music, the Jordanian area has been influenced by the most important cultural centers of the Syrian-Palestinian region, Damascus and Jerusalem. In the predominantly vocal folk tradition, a distinction is made between the music of the peasants, with traditional ties to the Palestinian area, and the Bedouin music.