Let’s Start a Cultural Awareness Campaign!

Welcome to Let’s Start a Cultural Awareness Campaign! Episode one.

I’m going to start this campaign online through my blog in the form of a question per episode. The questions at first will be general then I’ll break them down into more detailed and specific ones.

You’ll need to answer the question I post at each episode, providing us as well with a reasonable and practical solution or with an answer of a reliable source.

The questions will be stimulated from personal observations through our local community, in order to analyze and abolish certain stereotypes and attitudes through healthy, mature, and productive discussions.

Kindly Join, Participate, and Share!

Episode 1 :

What is the thing that you most dislike about Ammanis (Amman citizens)?

Happy Independence Day Jordan

احتفالات متحف السيارات الملكي و زين بمناسبة عيد الاستقلال

بمناسبة عيد الاستقلال الرابع و الستين يسر متحف السيارات الملكي دعوتكم للاحتفال معه بهذه المناسبة الوطنية السعيدة , يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 25 أيار تحت عنوان كلنا الأردن

يبدأ الاحتفال الساعة العاشرة صباحا و حتى الساعة السابعة مساء في الساحة الخارجية للمتحف و تتضمن فقرات الاحتفال نشاطات و مسابقات و هدايا و فعاليات لكل العائلة رسم على الوجوه, رسام كاريكاتير, مهرجين, عرض خاص على دراجة نارية لاول مرة, معرض ادارة السير, أغاني وطنية بمشاركة فرقة موسيقات الامن العام و تغطية مباشرة من صوت الغد من الساعة 3 -4.30 عصرا

كما سينطلق موكب حول المنطقة مكون من سيارات متحف السيارات الملكي و بمشاركة دراجات نادي الدراجات النارية الملكي الاردني, سيارات شركة زين, و سيارات ادارة السير و خيالة من ادارة الفرسان / الامن العام

, torque مجلة ,play هذا الحدث برعاية زين, راديو صوت الغد, راديو
مديرية الامن العام / ادارة السير المركزي

يستقبل المتحف زواره الكرام يوميا من الساعة العاشرة صباحا و حتى الساعة السابعة مساءا
باستثناء يوم الثلاثاء العطلة الرسمية

متحف السيارات الملكي - حدائق الحسين

Interview with Queen Noor

"It is a very really threat. This is a genocidal instrument of war." Queen Noor of Jordan, Co-founder, Global Zero.

George Negus interviews one of the dignitaries who attended The Nuclear Security Summit, Queen Noor of Jordan.Co-founder of the anti-nuclear weapons proliferation campaign Global Zero.

Watch the interview by clicking here.

"Countdown To Zero" Trailer - Global Zero's forthcoming documentary film:




Follow Queen Noor on Twitter
Follow Global Zero on Twitter

دفاتر الطوفان- سميحة خريس

I recently finished reading the novel Dafater ALTofan by Samiha Khreis, which happens to be the new ramadan series for this year; produced by The Arab Center for Media Production, producer Talal Adnan AlAwamleh, and directed by Mowafaq AlSalah. The series will include a selection of Jordanian Drama Stars like Nadira Omran, Zuhair AlNobani, Akef Najm, Nariman Abd AlKareem, Rifat AlNajar, Margo Haddad, Daod Jalajel, and Ibrahim Abu AlKheir.

The novel talks about social, economical, and political life in old Amman; Ras AlEin, Sabeel Alhouriyat, Jabal Amman, and Sakf AlSeil, at the late thirties, the period in which Amman started to shape its new and diverse cultural and ethnic identity as a result of successive migrations.

I personally found the novel very interesting, unbelievably well written, and amusingly draws full attention! I think this is due to its simple, genuine, and sensible content of events and characters at that period of time in the old exquisite parts of Amman.

I recommend reading the novel before watching the series, it's worth every minute of it!

Check out and Join مبدعو الفن الاردني facebook page.

Book Review:

كانت هذه الرواية محل اهتمام النقاد والباحثين فقد عبر الناقد السوري د. نضال الصالح عنها بقوله

تعيد دفاتر الطوفان إنتاج قصّة التدوين والمحو في تاريخ مدينة عمّان، أو كتابة جزء من سيرة تلك المدينة، تُحدث في الوقت نفسه تعديلاً في المنجَز الروائي النسوي العربيّ الذي لمّا يزل الكثير منه مستغرقاً بقضايا المرأة ومشكلاتها، وقصيّاً، أو يكاد، عمّا يعني الجماعات البشرية قبل أن يعني قطاعات منها فحسب. وكما هي إضافة لتجربة سميحة خريس الروائية، هي، بآن، إضافة إلي التجربة الروائية الأردنية خاصة، والعربية عامة

ووصفت الناقدة عناية جابر هذه الرواية بقولها

ترصد خريس كل ما هو جميل وفائض ومتميز ورهيف، وفائق الخصوصية في الملامح الحياتية العربية. ملامح حظيت باهتمام الكاتبة من فعل انتماء أكيد، حتى بدت استحواذية لديها في كل ما كتبت، وفي سرد دافئ حاول الى كنس الغبار عن حقبات ومشاهد وشخصيات، وإعادتها من أسر النسيان، في ما يشبه في دفاتر الطوفان: الارتجاعات الزمنية، وتوليفها في الحاضر برؤية طرية وحلمية

كما عبر الناقد التونسي مصطفي الكيلاني عن رأيه فيها

دفاتر الطوفان لسميحة خريس تحويل معلن لوجهة السرد من الكائن إلي المكان، وتحديداً من الإنسان إلي الشيء الذي يتخذ له معني الحياة البشرية ليصبح كائناً مجازياً قادراً علي التلفظ بمنطق من اعتاد علي تمعين (من المعني) الوقائع والأشياء

أما آن لمهرجان جرش أن يعود

Article written by Mahmoud AlKhatib on February 17th 2010

عمون - محمود الخطيب - ان صحت الاخبار المتواترة والتسريبات حول عدم اقامة مهرجان الاردن هذا العام لاسباب تتعلق بالعجز المالي، فهذا يعني ان توقعاتنا التي اشارت الى موت المهرجان في مهده قبل عامين قد اصابت ، خاصة مع المستوى البياني الذي بدأ به المهرجان في سنته التجريبية والتي اشرفت عليها هيئة تنشيط السياحة وقيل انه كلف ما ينوف عن (32 مليون دولار) واكتفى وقتها بجلب مجموعة كبيرة من نجوم الغناء العربي والعالمي.

والعام الماضي هبط الخط البياني للمهرجان الذي اشرفت عليه وزارة الثقافة لعدة اسباب من اهمها تقليص الميزانية الى (3 مليون دينار) فضلا عن سوء توزيع الفعاليات وفوضى التنظيم ما ادى فعليا الى انتهاء المهرجان بمجرد نهاية حفل فنان العرب محمد عبده، رغم ان اجندة الفعاليات وقتها كانت تشير لاكثر من عشرة ايام من الانشطة التي لم يحضرها احد.

من هذا الباب اقترح على دولة رئيس الوزراء سمير الرفاعي، باعادة احياء "مهرجان جرش" الذي علقته حكومة نادر الذهبي قبل ثلاثة اعوام، رغم ان كل المؤشرات اوحت بالغاءه، فمهرجان جرش طيلة سنين عمره الخمس والعشرين لم تصل ميزانياته والدعم الحكومي المقدم له، الى ما صرفه مهرجان الاردن في دورته التأسيسية، رغم ان "جرش" اصبح ماركة مسجلة باسم الفن والثقافة والتاريخ، كما ان اسم الاردن يرتبط به من النواحي التسويقية والسياحية والفنية والثقافية.

منبع كلامي، ليس حنينا فقط لايام "جرش" وذكرياتنا فيه، بل لاعادة احياء جزء مهم من تاريخنا الراسخ، فـ"جرش" لم يقصر يوما في حمل خطاب الدولة الاردنية للعالم، وكانت ساحاته ومدرجاته موطنا للحوار مع الاخر ولتبادل الثقافات وللتواصل مع العالم، فمن ينكر ان اشهر واعرق الفرق الفلكلورية العالمية، واكبر نجوم الفن كانوا يتسابقون للحلول ضيوفا عليه.

اعتقد ان الوقت مناسب، لاتخاذ مثل هذا القرار، وان تحجج البعض بأن المهرجان بحاجة لتحضير، فأقول: ان اجتهدنا باخلاص سنقيم دورة هذا العام من "جرش" وستكون الدورة السادسة والعشرين مميزة لانها تحمل الامل، في ذهني بعض التصورات لاقامة دورة هذا العام، فمثلا بامكان وزارة الثقافة ان تنظم برنامجا ثقافيا وادبيا وفلكلوريا لعرضه على المسرح الشمالي ومسرح ارتيمس والساحة الرئيسية في مدينة جرش الاثرية، وبامكان رئاسة الوزراء بالتعاون مع وزارتي الثقافة والسياحة ان تعهد حفلات المسرح الجنوبي لقناة فنية مهمه كـ "روتانا" او عائلية بامتياز كـ (mbc) بأن تمنحها حق بث واقامة الحفلات واستقطاب النجوم، مقابل مبلغ مالي يتم الاتفاق عليه، وبمجرد انقضاء الدورة الحالية يتم التحضير للدورة المقبلة، فعلينا ان لا نيأس، حتى لو اقيم المهرجان في اسبوع واحد فقط.

مهرجان جرش.. كان يصدر رؤيتنا الحضارية والثقافية، كما كان فاتحا ذراعيه دائما للحياة، فمسارحه ضمت مئات الالاف من التواقين للفرح، الذي اكتسبوا معارف شتى من الفعاليات العالمية التي كانوا يحضرونها، كما كان متنفسا حقيقيا للمواطن الاردني الباحث عن الفرح، فمهرجان جرش ليس فقط المسرح الجنوبي "موطن نجوم الغناء"، بل كان ايضا مسرحا للطفل "ارتيمس" ومسرحا للادب "الشمالي" وساحة لعرض ثقافات العالم "الساحة الرئيسية"، فهذه دعوة لرئيس الوزراء علنا نعيد رسم البسمة على وجوه الاردنيين من خلال "جرش.. بوابة الفرح".


Join Jerash Festival back to life-معا.. لاعادة مهرجان جرش للحياة Facebook Page.

City of Life

"Only When We Dream, Can Anything Become A Reality".



City of Life an Emirati film directed by Emirati filmmaker Ali Mustafa, filmed in UAE, a story about three different characters; a privileged Emirati, a less fortunate Indian taxi driver, and a Romanian flight attendant, all live in one city Dubai where ambition, growth, and opportunity are encouraged, and their lives are about to bind together in one destiny.

Starting from 22nd of April 2010 in all UAE Cinemas!

صباح الخير على قناة نورمينا

"Yes3ed Saba7ak" is my number one show for a typical Jordanian friday morning for as long as I remember. Mostly everything you need to know about local news and events could be found there, I can't imagine any other show replacing it.

Yesterday I woke up early and I was checking the TV when I came across Normina's morning show "Saba7 Il 5er", hosted by Mahmoud and Rose from 8am till 11am. At first I felt like they were imitating Yes3ed Saba7ak, then I realized that Normina is a young TV channel that has its own and unique identity ever since it started running, specialized in culture, tourism and art.
Thus a show like that could be a new change and a healthy competitor, which is actually interesting and promising to witness such a new wave of youthful, initiative and creative era of Jordanian Broadcasting.

Here is Normina's website for more info:
http://www.nourminatv.com/

JRTV

I feel so ashamed that I only recently knew about Jordan Television website! I came across it couple of days ago while I was searching through the web. Not only I was surprised to know that JRTV has its own website, but also it is actually user friendly, simple yet sophisticated, and well built in terms of design and content with both Radio and TV live streaming!

Here is the link:
http://www.jrtv.jo/index.php

JU Students Speak Out

May issue of Inside the Middle East show on CNN hosted by the new lebanese anchor Reema Maktabi featured Jordan University and three of its promising students; Suleiman Arabiat majoring Mechatronics Engineering, Rana Al-Sharif and Haneen Amireh majoring English Literature.

When I first heard that Reema Maktabi had just made her way to the CNN, hosting a show that highlights different aspects of the Middle East present and future developments and aspirations, I was happy and anxious to see what could she do to improve and add to this particular show, regarding her journalistic journey that I have been impressed with for a while now. I was proud as well to know that my dear university will be the topic of this month's issue!

While watching the show I couldn't help but to comment on some points starting with the questions directed to the students, I felt like they were too general, shallow and somehow irrelevant to each other, for a five minute interview about a subject as important and diverse as university life especially in the ME region, the questions could have been more specific and coherent with a clear image and message to deliver. As for the students I wished they were more professional and intact in presenting themselves, the obstacles they face and the future they are looking for!

Check out the video here..

Manam

My absolute favorite thing to do is to discover new music!and this time a collaboration work between Jordanian composer Yousef Kawar and Kuwaiti singer-songwriter Reham Samerai.Today was the launching of their first album "Wake"!



"When yousef and reham met it was musical love at first sight. they decided to create an album by correspondence, since distance separated them, and they each had their own home studios. between yousef's dreamy ethereal electronic guitar music and reham's organic folk influenced vocals and lyrics, manam was born. files flew, clogging the bandwidth between jordan and kuwait. and one by one, over maddening all night downloads, the songs for “wake” came together: a celebration of music, a convergence of two minds, but in many ways also a wake up call to the region of the world they call home."

For more info visit manam website
@ http://www.manammusic.com/

manam facebook fan page
@ http://www.facebook.com/pages/manam/114724338558176?ref=ts

Aziz Maraqa - Possessed

Possessed video clip a song by Aziz Maraqa,directed by Fadi Haddad..What do you think?

Souk Jara 2010

Summer is finally here!all the fun activities and events are now on so lets start booking our calenders,starting with the opening of my favorite summer market Souk Jara,this friday May 14th.



About Jara:
In order to maintain and preserve the identity and the authenticity of one of the oldest areas of Amman,on both cultural and historical levels,the local citizens of Jabal Amman established The Jabal Amman Residents Association (JARA) in 2004.
Souk Jara on the other hand is a complete package to a friday outing,in a place where family and friends can meet and enjoy the overwhelming beauty of this old city and its unique atmosphere,in which different and diverse booths selling souvenirs, handicrafts,antiques,paintings,handmade accessories and more,you can also make a stop at Souk Jara Café for different choices of drinks and food for you to enjoy!We can’t forget the breath taking view of Souk Jara Theater and the amazing stage performances featuring local talents and bands!

For more info visit JARA website @ http://www.jara-jordan.com/index.html

This friday at Souk Jara is very special and unique not only because of the opening,but also because Rum-Tareq Al Nasser band will be performing at 7.30 pm at the theater,amusing us with their original mind blowing music for about hour and a half! so Rum fans this is a definitely not to miss gig..cu there :)



Check out Souk Jara Page on Facebook
@ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27108166616&ref=ts#!/group.php?gid=27108166616&v=info&ref=ts

Rum-Tareq Al Nasser Event
@ http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125121910834645

Amman: East | West

Last wednesday i attended the screening of Amman: East | West at the RFC,a jordanian documentary short film directed by Dalia AlKuri,produced by AlJazeera Documentary.
It was around half an hour film that highlighted the differences between Amman east and Amman west,focusing mainly on the educational sector,how the western citizens attend private schools where they pay a lot of money and gain more benefits whether during school days or when they finish school and join the labor sector.
The film focuses also on the social life of both areas,where it shows the west as a deveolped ever growing city,and the east as a poor less priviliged one! they contributed this issue to the unequal distribution of resources and financials, where most of the advantages and benefits go to the west leaving behind the east and thus creating a huge economical and social hole between the areas of the same city.
The film in general was relatively good, sound effects,filming and directing as well.But the problem i guess was in the content itself i felt like it relatively took the extremes and made the film on them as well as not giving the subject its full depth along with somehow solutions or attitudes that we can follow in order to help in decreasing this hole or at least to try to change these stereotypes!
My personal observation was that both areas have its own identity, the west with its modernity and rapid urbanization,and the east with its authentic and rich history that needs to be cherished and taken care of.
Maybe there is a financial problem but we can't look over what is really happening in that the people that live in the west have more money and can attract more investments and thus the rapid development,but the east doesn't have this kind of privilege so they wait for the government to help them improve their community and facilities,and it is improving relatively slowly to its counterpart, while preserving its authenticity.Regarding the educational part i believe that there are initiatives and plans to improve the quality of public schools and education!

I do believe that we can't just wait for others to help us ,sometimes we need to just do it ourselves.So why don't the private sector help the public sector!? both educational and social wise!And what about the youth? we need to promote volunteering more in our youth generation! let them participate and take part in helping and improving their community!promoting good patriotism as well through helpful deeds and positive actions!

Here is a segment of the film in two parts for you to watch.kindly share your honest opinion on this matter and how we can positively and effectively contribute!

The Black Iris Festival

Click on picture to enlarge!

The American Women Welfare Activities (AWA) present the 3rd annual Black Iris Festival,on Friday May 14, 2010 at the Bisharat Golf Club.
A huge family fun day and all proceeds will go to Jordanian Welfare Activities.

Live Stage featuring some of Amman's Top Performers, Humam Ammari, Emad Alaeddin and the newly formed "Hara 7", presented by Rob Stevens from Beat FM.

Children Activity Area including : Bouncy Castles, Pony & Camel Rides, Face Painting, Balloons, Games & much more.

Exclusive Artists & Vendors will be selling their best work in Open Air Market.

Local Area Restaurants serving delicious food: Chili House, Kabab-ji, Shaman, Zee Diner, Nood Asia & Salad House.

Three Raffle Drums with over 100 prizes.

Admission: Children under 12 @ 3 JD - Adults @ 5 JD!
You can get your tickets before hand at Tempo to avoid the jam at the gate.

Here is the site map:

Click on picture to enlarge!

Check out some pictures from last year's festival:

Jordan In 1948

Check out these black and white pictures of Jordan around the year 1948!