Location : Mafraq (Rihab & Fudayn), Irbid (Pella & Beit Eids)-Jordan

Year : 2022-2023

Project Lead/ Project Manager: Sura Al Halalsheh

TURATH has developed Site Maintenance and Tourism Development Plans (SMTDPs) and closely monitored the on-ground implementation of SMTDP activities at the four aforementioned sites. The plans for site maintenance and rehabilitation encompassed thorough site documentation, site assessment, and cultural significance evaluation. These assessments were crucial in determining the requirements, priorities, and potentials for each targeted site. Subsequently, small-scale conservation interventions were carefully designed and executed by local community-based cash workers, some with limited or no prior experience in conservation activities. All activities where implemented using compatible traditional material and techniques. In addition to this, TURATH devised strategies for site presentation to enhance the tourism prospects of each location. The project also integrated ongoing sustainable tourism activities within the Governorates of Irbid and Mafraq and the broader context through consultations with key stakeholders and by fostering synergies with existing tourism companies. What gives this project specificity and value, is the training and capacity building of around 600 Syrian and Jordanian community members, where each worker received an on-site one-to-one training from cultural heritage conservation experts. This training encompassed activities such as stabilizing walls, conserving mosaics, re-pointing walls using lime-based mortar, relocating or removing blocks, cleaning and treating walls, conserving historic plaster, and various other conservation techniques.