UNESCO tour highlights Salt’s tourism potential

BALQA — Jordan’s “rich cultural heritage” can be a strong platform to promote intercultural and interfaith dialogue, a UNESCO official said on a one-day tour of Salt on Saturday to promote tourism in the city.

Nuria Roca Ruiz, acting coordination officer at UNESCO’s Amman office, noted that Salt, some 35km northwest of Amman, is one of the largest communities in which Christians and Muslims coexist in peace and share a “common and beautiful heritage”.

“We wanted... an activity to promote Salt as a tourist attraction and also as heritage itself,” she told The Jordan Times.

The UNESCO official said the tour was organised as part of the #Unite4Heritage campaign, which was launched by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova in Iraq on March 28. 

“This campaign started at the University of Baghdad in Iraq in order to give a platform for youth to speak freely and raise their concerns about the destruction of cultural heritage that was going on at the time,” she added. 

The campaign has since become global and was launched in Jordan in May.  

The tour of Salt, which was the capital of Transjordan, included the main attractions of the city, such as old houses, mosques and churches, in addition to visits to Jordanian women who renovated old houses and started their own businesses. 

The event also incorporated a photo activity in which local and foreign participants could take pictures and post them under the hashtag #Unite4Heritage.   

Basem Khawaldeh, who has been to Salt many times, told The Jordan Times that this tour was “special... because it was designed to raise people’s awareness of the importance of heritage”.  

Basem Naouri, who is from Salt but resides in Amman, said he wanted to join the tour in order to show his hometown to his wife, who is from Karak, some 140km south of Amman.

“Officials have to make Salt part of Jordan’s tourism package — they should not only focus on Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum,” he added. Katia Mdanat, Naouri’s wife, said officials should also work to boost domestic tourism. 

“For me the trip was entertaining because I saw many beautiful locations for the first time in Salt,” she added.

Within UNESCO’s #Unite4Heritage campaign, several activities are planned to take place in the upcoming months, according to a statement released by the UN agency, including a visit to the Baptism Site, the fifth site from Jordan to be inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.