Jordan
As-Salt
As-Salt - The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality represents the city’s ‘Golden Age’ period (1860s to 1920s).
In the late Ottoman period the town saw an influx of traders from Nablus, Syria and Lebanon and it transformed into a thriving trade city. Architecturally elegant buildings were constructed, built in a mix of Ottoman tradition and the Nablusi style with honey-coloured local stone. Both Christian and Muslim communities lived here.
Community Perspective: The best place to start is the Historical Old Salt Museum in Abu Jaber House, which is probably the most famous expression of the new architectural style. Overall, As-Salt with its parked cars and open cables certainly isn’t a photogenic city and it may be hard to understand the OUV.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- As-Salt: The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality (ID: 689)
- Country
- Jordan
- Status
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Inscribed 2021
Site history
History of As-Salt
- 2021: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- 2020: Incomplete - not examined
- As: As-Salt: The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality
- 2017: Deferred
- 2017: Advisory Body overruled
- ICOMOS suggested Not Inscribe. Overturned by amendment of Turkey to Deferral.
- 2015: Revision
- Successor to former TWHS Old City of Salt (2004)
- 1994: Deferred
- Bureau - require 1990 action plan to be adopted
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- ii
- iii
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- scholarworks.umass.edu — Master Thesis on Cultural Landscape of As-Salt
- visitas-salt.com — The Story of As-Salt
Community Information
- Community Category
- Urban landscape: Arabic and Middle Eastern
Travel Information
Amman Hotspot
Recent Connections
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Clock Tower
There is a clock tower at the beginning… -
Amman Hotspot
30km, frequent public transport by mini… -
Bedouin
"The historic centre of As-Salt demonst…
Connections of As-Salt
- History
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Ottoman Empire
As-Salt was a prominent frontier Ottoman trading centre between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries (AB ev) -
Located in a Former Capital
As-Salt was the capital of Transjordan before this was moved to Amman. (AB Ev) -
Fusion
The significant architecture within the historic city core emerged as a result of cultural exchange and circulation. The circulation of images, architectural types, building techniques and materials culminated in a cultural exchange that supported a new urban lifestyle new to As-Salt fused with local tribal/urban customs of urban hospitality and support and symbiosis between Muslim and Christian residents of the city. This is not only the circulation of architectural types, images, building techniques; but also the circulation of Modernity art such as the circulation of Art Nouveau paintings. (nom file p34)
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- Architecture
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Glazed tiles
Other typical materials include glazed ceramic tiles (AB ev) -
Reinforced Concrete
Reinforced concrete post & beam frame houses are cited as one of the contemporary architectural types in As-Salt. (nom file p40) -
Art Nouveau
A number of the 19th-century residences in the nominated property exhibit a blend of European Art Nouveau and Neo-Colonial styles (AB ev) -
Vernacular architecture
a mixture of vernacular regional and high-style architecture (AB ev)
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- World Heritage Process
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Ten years or more to inscribe
1994-2021
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- Religion and Belief
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Notable mosques
One prominent example which demonstrates the Ottoman diligence and interest in building mosques in the region is the building of the Small Mosque (Al-Jami' Al-Saghir) which was completed in 1907. It was built by the famous Nablusi master builder 'Abd al Rahman Al-'Aqruq and was located (...) very close to the main Sahet Al Ain at the center of the town. (Nomination text, p. 54) -
Protestantism
An Anglican Church was built in 1867 (AB ev)See universes.art
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Greek Orthodox churches outside Greece
As-Salt has several Greek Orthodox churches: St. George's Church-Al Khader Church, Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, Church of the Saviour-Church of the Lady Sarah (nom file p72) -
Christian Churches in non Christian countries
French missionaries built the Roman Catholic Church (known locally as Latin Church) in 1869-70 -> 4% Christians in Jordan (wiki)
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- Human Activity
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Bedouin
"The historic centre of As-Salt demonstrates distinctive intercultural exchanges that resulted in transformations of the Levant in the late Ottoman period. (...) These cultural exchanges involved the local Bedouin peoples, incoming merchants, craftspeople and traders, Ottoman officials and Christian missionaries. " (OUV) - During the city's 'Golden Age', local cultural traits and practices emerged from a fusion between local Bedouin cultures and migrating bourgeois merchants. (AB Ev)
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- Constructions
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Tombs
In the town of as-Salt and its environs are several Muslim shrines at the traditional tombs of the prophets Shu'ayb, Ayyoub, Yusha and Jadur, the Arabic names of the biblical characters Jethro, Job, Joshua and Gad. (wiki) -
Clock Tower
There is a clock tower at the beginning of the Souk, though it doesn't seem to have a name and isn't mentioned in the nom file either. It may be new.See www.flickr.com
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Hospitals
Located on the Haddadin Steps overlooking Al Ain Plaza, the English Hospital was considered the only hospital in the region of Trans-Jordan in the second half of the 19th century (nom file p29)
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- Timeline
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Built in the 19th Century
Golden Age of As-Salt’s development between 1860s to 1920s. (AB ev)
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- WHS Hotspots
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Amman Hotspot
30km, frequent public transport by minibus
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- WHS Names
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Name changes
From "The Old City of As-Salt" over "As-Salt Eclectic Architecture (1865-1925), Origins and Evolution of an Architectural Language in the Levant" to the current name. (AB Ev) -
Epic Subtitles
The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality
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News
No news.
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