Jordanian, Italian experts discuss connecting Amman Citadel to Roman Theatre

shaheennews

“In Italy, private investors can buy a ruined house in the city or the countryside for a symbolic price, but they also have three years to come forward with a viable restoration project, said architect Kamal Mahadin, a coordinator of the working group, adding that “we have to take care of the citadel; the least we can do is repair the stairs and clean the whole area from trash”.

Organisers said the main objective of the initiative is “to achieve a comprehensive proposal for requalification and making the pedestrian trail from the citadel to the Roman theatre attractive for tourists and residents”.

This goal will be reached by restoring specific parts of urban areas and building touristic facilities such as restaurants, coffee shops, handicraft stores, ateliers and art galleries, in addition to upgrading pavements and street lights.

“Amman is a Roman city and one of the Decapolis cities,” said President of the Jordan Hotel Association Michael Nazzal, stressing “the problem is how to keep tourists in Amman longer than two days”.

Currently, some 300,000 tourists come to Amman annually, while the figure used to reach up to 800,000, Nazzal highlighted, adding that the aim should be to reach 1 million tourists per year.

Moreover, around 50,000 to 60,000 tourists visit the Amman Citadel annually, he elaborated, explaining: “Tourists who visit our capital need two hours for sightseeing, but if one goes to Venice they spend an hour just for a piece of artistically made glassware.”