Development of Interpretive Signage Along Tourist Trails at Mkies
Location : Mkies, Irbid- Jordan
Year : 2011
The Ministry of Tourism embarked on an initiative to improve quality of tourism services and addressing cultural site management in Jordan (archaeological and heritage sites all over the Kingdom). The initiative attempts to address tourism services and cultural site management, infrastructure rehabilitation in archaeological sites, visitor centers rehabilitation or creation, and interpretation and presentation of heritage and archaeological sites to the public, in addition to other related concerns and issues.
The Ministry of Tourism, together with the Department of Antiquities, had invested a lot in cultural site management and conservation at Mkies. The Visitor Centre Project in ready to become functional and running. The Visitor Centre provides information to the visitor on various trails that vary in concentration and duration. But they all share the advantage of exploring the various layers of occupation and history that Mkies had been through (ancient, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Early Islamic (Ummayad), Ottoman, and Contemporary). Implementing these various trails through the provision of proper types of signage is one step in the right direction, as it is considered one important component of the Management Plan that was prepared for Mkies, but was never implemented.