By Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis and Ammar Khammash
The book presents information about almost 450, often little-known Islamic heritage sites in Jordan. The focus is on places commemorating Islam, including mosques and tombs of martyrs, sheikhs and scholars. The period covered spans the period from the early spread of Islam during the rule of the Rashidun Caliphs up to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The sites in the book are presented in alphabetical order as a geographical gazetteer. Each individual monument is provided with a description, plan, and color photographs, which allow readers to get a sense of the monuments' character and state of preservation.
Descriptions by Arab and Western travelers of the 19th and 20th centuries and the texts of Arabic inscriptions at the sites are quoted in the entries and provide information about the chronology and individuals associated with each site. Grid coordinates giving the exact locations of the sites and registration numbers of the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA Jordan) make it easier for readers to visit the sites.
The book was compiled between 2016 and 2020 as part of the educational program of the School of Architecture and Built Environment of the German-Jordanian University. The two editors, supported by the members of the editorial board, Hussein Alazaat, Nader ‘Atiyeh, Catreena Hamarneh, Khairiyeh al-Khokhon and Robert Schick, carried out numerous field surveys at these sites to train the predominantly Jordanian and Muslim students in the techniques of basic topographical and architectural documentation, including assessment of building structures and materials for potential preservation efforts and improving the accessibility of the sites. Several Masters theses emerged from this training, the results of which the are incorporated into the book. The individual contributors for each entry or illustration are indicated in the text by their initials.
The book is of interest not only to students and scholars, but also for a wider readership among the general public. The numerous color photographs, combined with watercolors by Ammar Khammash, also enhance the aesthetic quality of the book.
Through this book, the two lead editors celebrate their almost 40 years of friendship with a mutual friend, the late former German ambassador to Jordan, Dr. Herwig Bartels. Bartels is honored posthumously for his great merits to Jordan's Islamic culture and for his socio-political commitment to the Palestinian cause. Ammar Khammash is one of the best connoisseurs of Jordan's vernacular architecture and also a brilliant artist and architect with building and restoration projects of international reputation such as the Ottoman village of Umm Qais, the Dana Resort, the Wadi Fenan lodge, the Wild Jordan center, the Mövenpick Dead Sea resort and many others. Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis is an emeritus professor of Classical Archaeology in Germany with numerous excavation and conservation projects in Jordan, Syria, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere in Bilad al-Sham. His academic career has been mainly devoted to the exploration of the Decapolis.
The cultural foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Gerda Henkel Foundation and EUnic Jordan generously funded the book.
Descriptions by Arab and Western travelers of the 19th and 20th centuries and the texts of Arabic inscriptions at the sites are quoted in the entries and provide information about the chronology and individuals associated with each site. Grid coordinates giving the exact locations of the sites and registration numbers of the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA Jordan) make it easier for readers to visit the sites.
The book was compiled between 2016 and 2020 as part of the educational program of the School of Architecture and Built Environment of the German-Jordanian University. The two editors, supported by the members of the editorial board, Hussein Alazaat, Nader ‘Atiyeh, Catreena Hamarneh, Khairiyeh al-Khokhon and Robert Schick, carried out numerous field surveys at these sites to train the predominantly Jordanian and Muslim students in the techniques of basic topographical and architectural documentation, including assessment of building structures and materials for potential preservation efforts and improving the accessibility of the sites. Several Masters theses emerged from this training, the results of which the are incorporated into the book. The individual contributors for each entry or illustration are indicated in the text by their initials.
The book is of interest not only to students and scholars, but also for a wider readership among the general public. The numerous color photographs, combined with watercolors by Ammar Khammash, also enhance the aesthetic quality of the book.
Through this book, the two lead editors celebrate their almost 40 years of friendship with a mutual friend, the late former German ambassador to Jordan, Dr. Herwig Bartels. Bartels is honored posthumously for his great merits to Jordan's Islamic culture and for his socio-political commitment to the Palestinian cause. Ammar Khammash is one of the best connoisseurs of Jordan's vernacular architecture and also a brilliant artist and architect with building and restoration projects of international reputation such as the Ottoman village of Umm Qais, the Dana Resort, the Wadi Fenan lodge, the Wild Jordan center, the Mövenpick Dead Sea resort and many others. Thomas M. Weber-Karyotakis is an emeritus professor of Classical Archaeology in Germany with numerous excavation and conservation projects in Jordan, Syria, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere in Bilad al-Sham. His academic career has been mainly devoted to the exploration of the Decapolis.
The cultural foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Gerda Henkel Foundation and EUnic Jordan generously funded the book.
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ISBN 978-9957-67-588-2
660 Pages in English, with an introduction and index pages in the Arabic side.
Hard cover
4000+ Pictures, diagrams and illustrations
4000+ Pictures, diagrams and illustrations
To order the book please follow this link.
Digital edition: https://edit.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/islamic-heritage-sites-in-jordan/a-students-gazetteer/
