Break from gloom and doom

This year’s Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts opened on July 21 to great enthusiasm and joy, bringing together artists and poets from Arab and foreign lands. 

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji, the president of the festival’s higher committee, said at the opening ceremony that holding the festival on time despite regional turmoil and conflict is a living testimony to Jordan’s own stability and security. 

There is always room in people’s lives for pleasure and relaxation, and the festival, launched in 1981, is the exact occasion to do just that. 

Featuring eight Arab artists, five Arab bands, seven foreign bands, 12 Jordanian bands, 81 Jordanian artists, and 112 local and Arab writers and poets in its 31st iteration, the festival will no doubt rekindle the hearts of the attendees with joy and love for life. 

The event’s namesake is of course the Greco-Roman town — known in old times as Gerasa — that aims to reconnect the glorious past with the present in the most positive terms and aspirations. 

Jordanians and foreign visitors are therefore encouraged to attend the festivities and bask in their joyous spirit. 

Jerash is only 45 kilometres north of Amman and therefore within the reach of most people, including by public transport.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki made it a point to attend the opening ceremony in a show of solidarity with the organisers of the festival, which concludes on July 30. 

Amidst the grim atmosphere of the region, one is in urgent need for a break from the gloom and doom scenarios surrounding Jordan. 

This is exactly what the festival aims to do over the coming few days.