Photo Gallery : people of Jordan

I am always being asked about a photo of myself. I look awful in photos and am not anxious to spread them around, but here is one taken some ten years ago, when I contemplated (briefly!) a new job :

And here is a photo of my house in Wadi Mousa!

That's enough about me, here are people you might have met elsewhere on the website :


Attayak Ali plays the oud very well	Four friends in the desert with a narguila: Falla, Attayak Ali, Atullah and Sofian Amarat from Petra	Attayak Aouda is sorting out the climbing equipment (see "Climbing el Habla")

IThe Sheikh Khalil of Wadi Mousa. I was very distressed at his death a few years ago. Unlike most sheikhs who seem to obtain well paid jobs, "Abu Mehdi" remained a simple man who worked with his goats until the end of his life. He was very highly respected throughout south Jordan, and I remember how, in the middle of negotiations to ward off a threatened tribal war in Wadi Mousa, he still took the time and cared enough to arbitrate a dispute between a young man and his mother in law. Nothing that distressed "his people" was too unimportant for him.

Note the style in which he wears his kefiya and the embroidered robe of a sheikh. Note also that unlike the last photo on this page, he is wearing a white kefiya; he is a "villager" and not a Bedouin.

Here are some other photos of Jordanians :

Gold bracelets at a wedding!

Do you remember that I spoke of brides "dripping with gold". This was the bridegroom's sister at an engagement party. He was from another village marrying into a prosperous family in Wadi Mousa and she probably thought that she should make a display. Most of the women considered so many bracelets to be in bad taste, but they all took several looks at these photos. You can see in the right hand photo that she has another gold chain on her dress: she is certainly wearing several necklaces and earrings as well.

It isn't easy to take photos of women in the Middle East. Here however are a few who agreed to be photographed:

The ladies on the right are wearing the "burqa" or "niqab" which is surprisingly easy to wear. Basically it consists of three folds of material attached to a band. The band is tied around the head at the level of the eyes, and the first fold, the longest and usually the heaviest is drawn back over the head. This leaves a slit for the eyes, and one sees very well out of it. The second fold in front is usually a light voile fabric and it can also be drawn back over the head so that one's eyes are also covered, but one can still see. The third fold is more opaque but still light, and in fact it isn't particularly disagreeable to wear the burqa. One feels nice and private behind it, rather like sunglasses but more so....

Some village women goatherds in the north of Jordan. The grass was much longer and more luxurious than in the south - there has been little rainfall in the south for the last few years.

Some street scenes

IA lot of people seem interested in this subject,
so here are some different ways of wearing a kefiya

This photo was taken at breakfast at Sheikh Craem's camp in Wadi Rum and he had had a good many visitors the evening before - see the coffee and tea pots still on the fireplace. You will also notice the camel saddle in the background. The sheikh himself wasn't there when I took the photo.

Talal, on the right, is wearing his kefiya in the most usual bedouin style.

This is a style often used by older men. it can be wrapped around the lower face and chin in cold weather. You might notice that Attayak Ali is wearing it almost like this in the "narguila" photo above - perhaps he was cold!

It is also worn like this when riding a camel to protect the face from the dust; you can see this on the photo page on horses and camels in Wadi Rum. Perhaps Attayak just hadn't adjusted it since he got off the camel?I

A camel driver in Wadi Rum has a style all of his own!

This photo was taken in the street in Wadi Mousa when I saw my friend Haroun with his kefiya at what seemed a particularly stylish angle, but in fact I suspect it had slipped! You can see a couple of other more common arrangements worn by his companions.

A variation used also by older men in general. It protects very well from the sun, but this man is a villager, and not a Bedouin. Few Bedouin would wear a white kefiya.

And finally, the style worn traditionally by a sheikh. The kefiya is crowned by the "agal" and hangs loosely around the face. Note the difference between this style and the one in the photo above, ie the ends hang down in front.

Here you can also see the brown robe normally worn by a sheikh. It is usually embroidered in gold or in silver - here you see a more elaborate embroidery. Higher up you see Sheikh Khalil in a white version of this robe.

Incidentally this style is not reserved exclusively for a sheikh, anybody can wear it with perfect propriety.

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Ruth Caswell 2002