For the visitor who chooses the right outlets, there is a special pleasure in buying something handmade, practical and aesthetically pleasing from Jordan, as the craftsperson very often earns money that directly benefits his or her community. Taking an interest in the crafts of Jordan, then, is not a remote aesthetic exercise. It represents sustainable tourism at its very best. Find out how to make your purchases count towards Jordan’s regional cottage industries.
Walk the streets of Madaba, with bright coloured kilims flapping in the wind, hike to the soap-making villages of Ajloun or watch elderly Bedouin women threading beads at Petra, and the country’s strong handicraft tradition is immediately apparent. The authorities have been quick to support this aspect of Jordan’s heritage, and although the fortunes of craft cooperatives have suffered more than most in the economic downturn and resultant slump in tourism, they continue to be widespread. These enterprises result in benefits for local communities and ensure that Jordan’s rich legacy of craft endures for future generations.
Jordan has a long-established rug-making industry dating back to the country’s pre-Islamic, Christian communities. Mafrash (rugs) are usually of the flat, woven kind, known as kilims, compared with carpets that have a pile. To this day, especially in Madaba and Mukawir, it’s possible to watch kilims being made that are based on early Byzantine designs. Even if you hadn’t intended to buy one of these woollen rugs, you’ll find it impossible not to get carried away by the enthusiasm of the carpet vendors, who will good-naturedly unfurl all their rugs for you without much prospect of a sale.
Embroidery used to be an important skill among Jordanian women, who would traditionally embroider the clothes they would need as married women in their teenage years. Some still learn the craft as youngsters today, despite embroidery becoming something of a dying art. Embroidery among the elder generation continues to provide an occasion for women to socialise, often with a pot of tea spiced with a pinch of local gossip. Palestinian embroidery is famed throughout the region, and you’ll see the characteristic red embroidery cross-stitch on traditional dresses, known as roza, in shops across Jordan. Purses featuring intricate flower designs in silk thread make delightful (and portable) mementos.
The craft of mosaic-making has a noble and distinguished lineage in Jordan. Mosaics are made from tiny squares of naturally coloured rock called tesserae. The first part of the process is preparing the stone, which is hewn in blocks from the rock face and then cut into thin cuboid rods. These are then snipped by pincers into the tesserae. The smallest tesserae make the most intricate designs but they are much harder to work with and the mosaics take longer to assemble. It’s rather like the knots on a carpet – the more tesserae per centimetre, the finer and more valuable the mosaic. Many workshops in the Madaba area will ship items to a home country for visitors.
Some of the oldest copper mines in the world are traceable in Jordan (especially near Feinan, now in the Dana Biosphere Reserve). Copper is used to make everyday utensils, as well as for heirlooms such as the family serving dish, copper tray or coffee pot. These pieces are mostly replicated for the tourist industry, but you can still find the genuine articles – with a bit of spit and polish, they’ll light up the corner of a room back home. Quality pieces can be found in the antique shops in Amman, many of which are attached to top-end hotels. You won’t find an antique older than about 50 years (and it’s illegal to export anything older than 100 years), but the items are likely to have been much loved by the families who once used them.
A bride traditionally receives a gift of jewellery on her wedding day as her dowry, and this remains her personal property. The most common designs are protective silver amulets, such as the ‘hand of Fatima’ (daughter-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad). These are used as protection from evil spirits known as djinn (‘genie’ in English). Antique items such as silver headdresses decorated with Ottoman coins and ornately decorated Bedouin daggers (straight, rather than the famously curved Yemeni and Omani versions) are becoming harder to find. Many of the most beautiful antique pieces were crafted by Circassian, Armenian and Yemeni silversmiths in the early 20th century. Much modern silver jewellery in Jordan, or the strings of beads made of regional stones, echo traditional designs.
Push the door open on a mosaic workshop and it’s like entering the Hall of the Mountain King. Clouds of dust plume from the masonry saws and the workspace echoes with the screech of metal against rock and the persistent snapping of the workers’ pincers as they cut stone rods into tiny, coloured squares. During our visit, all the workers engaged in this dedicated craft (from the stone-cutters to the assembly teams) were women. One of the ladies dusted her hands against her overcoat and, parking her mobile phone among the tweezers, the paste brush and the glue pot, gave us an ad hoc tour.
Artists, Mayzoon explained, sketch a design freehand or trace the image from books, in the same way as their ancient predecessors would have copied scenes from pattern books. Designs usually feature everyday life, with depictions of plants and animals (look for the chicken – almost every mosaic seems to feature one). Hunting and viniculture, personification of the seasons, and religious or mythological scenes are typical subjects. But it’s the detail that captivates – the bell on a gazelle’s neck, palm trees at an oasis, a wry human smile.
Once the design is in place, the tesserae are then painstakingly arranged – traditionally on a thick coating of wet lime and ash to form permanent flooring. Today they are more likely to be attached to wet plaster and affixed to wooden boards for use as table tops or wall decorations.
The tour concluded and Mayzoon returned to the assembly table. ‘You took our photograph, no?’ one of the ladies said. We were about to apologise when she added, ‘Please, take it again. This time with all of us!’ A shaft of brilliant sunshine cut through the dusty air, lighting up the eight faces gathered in intense concentration around the half-built mosaic. The team worked rhythmically together, tapping and snapping, inching and coaxing the stones into a tree of life. With a little definition in malachite and sandstone, the women could have found their own immortalisation in stone.
Several NGOs, such as the Noor Al Hussein Foundation and Jordan River Foundation, have spurred a revival of locally produced crafts as part of a national campaign to raise rural living standards, improve the status of rural women, provide income for marginalised families, nurture artists and protect the local environment. Nature shops figure prominently at the Wild Jordan Center in Amman and RSCN visitor centres in Ajloun, Azraq, Mujib, Dana and Wadi Rum.
If you want to spend your money where it counts, you may like to make contact with or buy from the outlets of community-based income-generating programs.
Beit Al Bawadi Quality ceramics bought here support local artisans, whom you can see working in the basement. Designs are both traditional and modern, some decorated with Arabic calligraphy, and pieces cost around JD50 to JD80.
Jordan River Foundation Supporting top-notch worthy causes by selling equally top-notch crafted items, this shop has become an institution in Amman. The showroom supports handloomed rugs from Bani Hamida and exquisite Palestinian-style embroidery. Cushions, camel bags, embroidery, baskets and Dead Sea products make it an excellent place to buy items of stylish decor. Only the highest-quality pieces make it into the showroom (reflected in the prices).
Madaba Tourism Development Association (www.visitmadaba.org) A voluntary community-based organisation, developing tourism products that use local skills and resources.
Made in Jordan This Wadi Musa shop sells quality crafts from local enterprises. Products include olive oil, soap, paper, ceramics, table runners, nature products from Wild Jordan in Amman, jewellery from Wadi Musa, embroidery from Safi, camel hair shawls, and bags from Aqaba as well as Jordan River Foundation goods. The fixed prices reflect the quality and uniqueness of each piece; credit cards are accepted.
Noor Al Hussein Foundation Maintains a showroom in Aqaba as well as links to now-independent projects selling NHF-labelled products in Iraq Al Amir, Salt and Wadi Musa (Nabataean Women’s Cooperative).
Souk Jara A village initiative within the city of Amman, the Jebel Amman Residents Association spearheaded the now-famous Souk Jara street market. Expanded over the years to include food and drink stalls – and some regrettable plastic imports – the market retains its authentic craft roots.
Wild Jordan Center The nature store at the Wild Jordan Center sells products made in Jordan’s nature reserves, including silver jewellery, organic herbs and jams from Dana, and candles made by Bedouin women as part of an income-generating project in Feynan. Decorated ostrich eggs are another speciality. All profits are returned to the craftspeople and to nature-reserve projects.
If you are after goods of a high quality, it pays to visit specialised craft centres as opposed to one-stop shopping in souvenir shops. Unfortunately, some shop owners have jumped on the cooperative bandwagon and claim to be part of charitable foundations when they are not. Check that a shop’s sign exactly matches the outlet you are looking for!
If you make a purchase at a shop with a Premier Tax Free sign, you pay the full purchase price but the sales tax will be refunded directly. Failing that, if you spend over JD350, keep your receipts, fill out a tax rebate form and leave the country within 90 days, you can get the 16% tax refunded to your credit card at a booth at the airport, just before check-in.
Exporting anything more than 100 years old is illegal, so don’t buy any craft or artefact (including ‘ancient’ coins or oil lamps) described as ‘antique’ – if only because it probably isn’t. If you’re unsure about an item’s provenance, contact the Customs Department (www.customs.gov.jo).
Jordanians are committed shoppers and they make an art form out it, promenading the main street and popping into a shop to vex the owner without any intention of buying. Buying, meanwhile, is a whole separate entertainment, focused on the business of bartering.
Bartering implies that items do not have a value per se: their value is governed by what you are willing to pay balanced against the sum the vendor is happy to sell for. This subtle exchange, often viewed with suspicion by those from a fixed-price culture, is dependent on many factors, such as how many other sales the vendor has made that day, whether the buyer looks like a person who can afford an extra dinar or two, and even whether the vendor is in a good mood or not. Although bargaining when craft buying is essential, note that some cooperatives charge fixed prices.
As with all social interaction, there’s an unwritten code of conduct that keeps negotiations sweet. Here are a few tips for making it an enjoyable experience.
AView bartering as your chance to decide what you are willing to pay for an item and then use your interpersonal skills to see if you can persuade the vendor to match it.
AUnderstand that haggling is a sociable activity, often conducted over piping-hot mint tea, so avoid causing offence by refusing hospitality too brusquely.
ADon’t pay the first price quoted: this is often considered arrogant.
AStart below the price you wish to buy at so you have room to compromise – but don’t quote too low or the vendor may be insulted.
ANever lose your temper: if negotiations aren’t going to plan, simply smile and say ma’a salaama (goodbye) – you’ll be surprised how often these words bring the price down.
AResist comparing prices with other travellers; if they were happy with what they paid, they certainly won’t be if you tell them you bought the same thing for less.
AAbove all, remember that a ‘good deal’ in Jordan generally means a good deal more than just the exchange of money. It’s a highlight of travelling in the country.