Khaberni - The Greater Amman Municipality launched the "Baptism Trail", a Christian pilgrimage that starts from the Amman Tourist Walkway in the downtown area towards the Iraq Al-Amir area and ends at the Baptism Site, as part of the municipality's strategy to turn Amman into a globally attractive tourist city.
This was during a field visit by students from the College of Architecture and Design at Petra University to the Iraq Al-Amir area, aiming to familiarize students with the historical and architectural heritage of the capital, and to see the infrastructure works that have been implemented at the site within the development projects of the area.
The Executive Director for Development Projects of Amman’s neighborhoods and tourist routes at Amman Municipality, Engineer Mohamed Abu Zeitoon, presented the achievements made by the Amman Municipality by launching thirteen tourist routes, including the Amman Walkway path, the Baptism Trail from Amman to Al-Maghtas, the Cultural Tourism path, the Religious Tourism path, the Quraysh Treaty path, the Jordanian – Hejazi Railway path, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers journey, the Roman Street path, and the Old Towers path.
He mentioned that these routes have been uploaded to the Amman Municipality Explorer to enable visitors to Amman to easily access them and experience a unique tourism experience.
Abu Zeitoon stated that the visit aims to familiarize students with the historical and architectural importance of the capital, pointing out that the Iraq Al-Amir area is one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Jordan, featuring carved caves and the Qasr Al-Abd, which embodies the magnificence of Hellenistic architecture and the precision of stone engravings.
He added that Amman Municipality is working on developing tourist routes and connecting archaeological landmarks with natural and cultural sites through safe pathways, interpretative panels, and maps that contribute to highlighting the city's identity and enhancing the touristic and educational experience.
Abu Zeitoon explained that student participation in the visit is part of a practical program aimed at enabling them to document archaeological buildings and propose development ideas for paths and connect historical points with environmentally friendly urban elements, using digital techniques to build 3D models that contribute to showcasing the place’s identity and history.
Dr. Salam Mar’ai from the College of Architecture and Design at Petra University emphasized the importance of cooperation with Amman Municipality in linking students' architectural design projects with real projects, explaining that the students will work on supporting the development of the Baptism Trail, especially designing the outdoor sites between the area of the caves of the prince, and the area of Qasr Al-Abd, within the course of engineering and site coordination
It is worth mentioning that the final designs will be presented to the Greater Amman Municipality, which will take them into consideration in its future development projects.
During the visit, the students listened to a briefing by the head of the Tourist Routes Department, Engineer Moataz Al-Muhairat, about the tourist routes in the Iraq Al-Amir area, and the developmental works carried out by the Municipality under the Iraq Al-Amir Tourist Path project.
It is noted that the tourist routes project comes within the outputs and initiatives of the smart city in Amman.
