Downtown cassette collector keeps old Eastern music alive

AMMAN — Amidst the changes brought by modern technology, a small cassette store in downtown Amman has withstood the rapid changes of the music scene and has become a reminder of bygone days. 

Tawfiq Mohammad, 77, is still deeply attached to his store, which he slowly transformed into a small “museum” of a wide range of old Eastern music tapes. 

Established in 1984, the store is located in downtown Amman, opposite to the Roman Theatre, a spot that used to be the commercial hub of the capital. 

Mohammad, who used to live in Lebanon when he was young, said he used to spend his time collecting cassettes. 

“I used to listen to old songs when I was young. I was working at a restaurant in Lebanon, where I stayed for 20 years. Later on, in 1982, I moved to Amman,” he told The Jordan Times in recent interview. 

The Ramallah-born man recalled that, when he got his first salary, he immediately bought a recorder and kept recording songs from the radio, out of fascination for all kinds of music. 

“When I opened my store in Amman, I used to bring cassettes from Syria and to send people to Iraq to bring back some cassettes. Syria was the main centre of cassette selling in the Middle East,” he recounted. 

Egyptian artists including Abdul Haleem and Um Kalthoum had a huge fan base in Amman at the time, according to Mohammad. 

Opening a cassette store in Amman during the 1980s was therefore a “profitable business”, Mohammad explained. 

Though his store was the smallest shop compared to his competitors in downtown Amman, his “unique” collection made him the “most sought-after” seller in Amman. 

Internet and CDs deeply affected the profession of Mohammad, as music fans can now carry thousands of songs on a USB device or a mobile phone.

Although Mohammad sometimes spend three days without receiving a single customer, he said his purpose of keeping the store opened is not to generate money, but to keep his passion alive.  

“Collecting cassettes is my hobby and they are like my children. I will never get rid of my children!,” he concluded.