Navigating the streets of Amman can be confusing even for its residents.
Almost every street is a carbon copy of the next ― lined with boxy five-storey buildings, clad in white stone, and without trees.
The uniformity breaks in the north-west suburb of Fuheis, a 19th-century Christian farming village, nestled in a biblical valley leading to the Jordan river.
Old villas, some renovated and resembling those in Mount Lebanon outside Beirut, remain standing in the old centre of Fuheis, together with churches and missionary schools.
A state-owned cement factory in the 1950s, and a property boom in the early 1990s gradually encroached on and consumed the area's farmland. Only a few small plots of land exist.
"The old agriculture died and Fuheis became a city," says painter Fadi Daoud, who runs the Rowaq Al Balka art gallery in old Fuheis.
A symbol of inequality
The seemingly endless construction of residential property and the opening of new shops and restaurants signals affluence, contrasting with the economic hardship experienced in many parts of Jordan.
Rising living costs and steep unemployment, officially at 23 per cent, sparked demonstrations and riots in different parts of the kingdom this month.
Four police personnel were killed and security forces arrested at least 44 people. Several hundred more are wanted by the authorities in connection with the unrest.
In Fuheis, however, there were no signs of the upheaval, which mainly occurred in outlying areas and in the poorer outskirts of Amman. Shops in Fuheis stayed open, unlike some that closed in response to calls for a general strike.
Old terracing cuts through once agricultural hills that exported grapes and peaches to Palestine, the hinterland of Fuheis until the creation of Israel in 1948.
Fuheis was also closely linked with nearby Al Salt, Jordan's commercial centre before the expansion of Amman in the first half of the 20th century.
As Amman's population rose rapidly, mainly because of Palestinian refugees fleeing successive Arab-Israeli wars, demand for property in areas outside Amman increased, as well as for construction material.
Well-to-do Jordanians preferred to live in Fuheis and visit its restaurants and cafes because of a more relaxed and greener environment.
But people in Fuheis started preferring a government job at the cement factory to farming, although the fine dust from production settled on plants and insidiously entered the lungs of those near by. They later sold their land as real estate prices rose.
While Jordan's property market declined in the past decade from a peak in the 2000s, land prices in Fuheis mostly held steady at $170 to $420 per square metre.
Property sales made many of Fuheis’s original families and their descendants rich.
The town, however, retained enough trees and old buildings to differentiate it from the rest of the urban sprawl of Amman. French and Korean engineers who built the cement factory lived in Fuheis and also helped to make the town more open.
A grass-root movement to promote culture developed in the late 1980s, sparked by young people who had studied at Russian, Syrian and Iraqi universities, Mr Daoud says.
“They were keen to improve the town once they came back,” he adds.
Their crowning achievement, he says, was the annual Fuheis music, art and literature festival in the summer. It is modelled on similar events in Lebanon and was launched without any Jordanian government support three decades ago.
At the same time several neglected properties in old Fuheis were turned into venues for events such as poetry recitals, art and meditation teaching, as well as restaurants and cafes.
One of the houses, now an events hall, was a priest’s residence.
The preservation drive helped make Fuheis among the cultural destinations of the Levant, Mr Daoud says.
He points out Palestinian poets Mahmoud Darwish and Fadwa Toukan among the prominent guests at literary events in Fuheis.
The late Syrian painter Fateh Al Modarres and Egyptian cartoonist George Bahgoury, both important figures in Arab modern art, exhibited at Mr Daoud's gallery.
They were also anti-establishment figures.
Mr Daoud steers away from talking about politics. But he says that much work is still needed to clean the environment and enforce preservation laws to stop new buildings from further encroaching on the old part of Fuheis.
Effects of pollution from the cement factory, which stopped production more than a decade ago after protests by Fuheis residents, linger in the farmland and in the groundwater, he says.
But with environmental degradation affecting Jordan's agriculture at large, the grapes and peaches of Fuheis are still mostly produced on small plots, and taste better.
“There is some farming left," Mr Daoud says. "People still come to Fuheis looking for quality."
AS IT STANDS IN POOL A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
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More coverage from the Future Forum
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
AIR
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UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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