Salt, Aug 19 (Petra) – Minister of Culture Mustafa Rawashdeh said preserving and restoring old homes and documenting their histories is part of the cultural and civilizational responsibility carried by civil society to safeguard the nation’s tangible and intangible heritage.

Speaking at a ceremony honoring individuals and institutions for their contributions to preserving Salt’s distinctive architectural heritage, including the restoration of their traditional houses that form an essential part of the city’s identity, Rawashdeh said restoring homes in Salt reflects care for heritage tied to architecture, its evolution, its styles and its first builders. He said it is also an expression of attention to the beauty of the place and its architectural history.

He noted that Salt’s architecture is distinguished by the color of its stone, its traditional engineering for ventilation and lighting, and its arches, columns, windows and doors with their carvings and decorations, in addition to the tiered building layouts that create a unique social pattern through their links with stairways and the alignment of balconies and windows that strengthen social relations.

Rawashdeh described the initiative as deserving of gratitude, appreciation and replication nationwide, saying these houses represent treasures of architectural beauty, registers of national memory and records of the lives of their owners. "In every corner there is a story," he said, noting some houses hosted meetings to support the Palestinian struggle, while others were used for reconciliation efforts, making them "windows for the nation’s renaissance and advancement."

The minister thanked homeowners who took the initiative to restore their heritage houses, expressing hope the effort would serve as a model across Jordan for preserving old homes that form part of the nation’s architectural identity and historical narrative.

For his part, Ahmad Al-Weshah, head of the Jordanian Society for Preserving Heritage, said the society, founded in 2002, aims to safeguard Jordanian heritage in all its forms. He said it opposed attempts to demolish heritage houses, leading to the creation of a special department in Salt’s municipality and the issuance of a 2005 law banning the demolition of heritage buildings.

Al-Weshah said the society, in cooperation with state and community institutions, helped register Salt on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, a collective achievement of which Jordanians are proud.

He added that on the second anniversary of Salt’s inscription on the world heritage map, the society launched the "Salt-Authenticity and Heritage" troupe to document Jordanian artistic and musical heritage and present it in a contemporary style to pass the identity from one generation to the next.

He said the initiative "Our Heritage, Our Gold" represents a new step in voluntary community work and a sincere tribute to Salt’s residents, who demonstrated awareness and a strong national spirit by restoring and protecting their traditional homes, keeping them alive as testaments to the city’s history.

Abdel Ghani Tabbalat, speaking on behalf of the honorees, thanked organizers for recognizing the exceptional efforts made to preserve Salt’s architectural heritage and prevent its decline, especially by homeowners who bore the cost of restoration themselves as an affirmation of their sense of belonging to the city.

He said that the forces of modernization and rapid change continue to advance at an unprecedented pace with little regard for the deep past or its heritage value, negatively affecting efforts to protect Salt’s distinctive urban identity.

The ceremony was held as part of the "Our Heritage, Our Gold" initiative, launched by the Jordanian Society for Preserving Heritage in cooperation with Balqa’s Directorate of Culture, Salt Municipality, the Salt Development Corporation, and the Balqa Directorate of Tourism.

//Petra// AF

19/08/2025 21:38:30