AS-SALT IN

ARCHITECTURE
EYE
DONE BY : YAQEEN ALSHAMI, FARAH MOAMMAR
WHAT HAVE BEEN SAID ABOUT

AS-SALT

‫الأ م ير أ رسلا ن‬
 AS-SALT 4
THE ARCHITECTURE IMAGE OF 5
THE CITY
AS-SALT PATH 8
MEMORIALS 9
HAMZA STREET 10
AS-SALT ARCHAEOLOGICAL 11
MUSEUM
JABAL JADAA 18
ABU JABER MUSEUM 19
AS-SUKAR BULINDING 25
ALMUASHER BUILDING A 26
INDEX

ALAZAB HOUSE 27
BAIT AZIZ 28
ALKHATEEB HOUSE 29
AL-AIN PLAZA 30
AS-SALT GREAT MOSQUE 31
DEER LATIN CHURCH 34
AL KHADER CHURCH 39
As-Salt In Architecural Eye THE ENGLISH HOSPITAL 40
AS-SALT CASTLE 43
REFERENCES 46
AS-SALT
"AL-AWAEL CITY..

The city of Al-Salt is located in the center of Jordan,

about 35 kilometers away from the capital, Amman. It

is the capital of Al-Balqa Governorate, and it is located

at a point of contact between Jordan and Palestine,

where it overlooks the mountains of the city of

Nablus. It was considered the first capital of Jordan

before the capital Amman. Which means a forest, and

from (Saltus), a word derived from the Latin Saltus (He

says it is derived from the Syriac word “salta” which

means rock and hard stone.

HOW WAS THE

ARCHITECTURAL IMAGE

OF THE CITY OF SALT

FORMED?
The current architectural image in the city of

Al-Salt resulted as a result of being affected

by many factors around it, perhaps the most

important of which are human and natural

factors.
 the city of Al-Salt is a mountainous
city with a distinctive topography
represented by gradient and
inclination .The whole city is made up
of a group of mountains and valleys,
so this dimension The natural or
natural formation of the region had a
major role in shaping the
architectural environment.the
architectural environment in Salt was here was affected by the natural
built on a natural environment formations of the city that drew the
system, meaning that the architecture
NATURAL FACTOR

urban identity and character of the

entire city, and we did not mention here
the architectural identity as we used the
identity Urbanism, architecture is on the
level of a building, while urbanism is on
the level of the entire urban urban
fabric, including buildings, squares,
roads and stairs.
As for the second dimension, which is the human

dimension, it is divided into two parts. The first

is how the city’s residents were affected by the

nature around them, and the second is how

architecture was affected by the city’s residents.

As for the city's residents being affected by the

nature around them, originally the city of Salt

was formed as a result of successive migrations

since ancient .The city’s non-segregated

development expresses tolerance between

Muslims and Christians who developed

traditions of hospitality evidenced in Madafas

(guest houses, known as Dawaween) and the

social welfare system known as Takaful Ijtimai’.

HUMAN FACTOR
 As-Salt grand mosque Ingles hospital

Ala'en plaza
AS-SALT PATH
Abu Jaber Alkhader church
museum Alkhader street
Municipal Square
Deer Latin church

Alhammam street
AlDeer street

Parking Sa'ed shalabiah street

Oqba bin
nafea' park

As-Salt culture
Toqan house after
center restoration and
Hamza street conversion to As-Salt
hirateg museum
MEMORIALS

Monument
Monument for

to the
Monument of
a poetry that

deceased
As-Salt
been written

Judge Musa
municiplity by abduallah

al-Saket nsour
 municipality of As-Salt city
It was established in 2001, and Jordanian stone was used in it

to preserve the architectural character that prevails in the

HAMZA STREET
region

As-Salt culture center

Part of the Salt Development Corporation (SDC)

headquarters, a non-profit association active since the

early 1980s. Multipurpose hall, school for handicrafts,

center for information technology, mosque, and

seminar rooms. SDC hosts and supports activities of

local associations, civil society organizations,

government departments, and the city's schools.

 AS-SALT

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

MUSEUM
TOQAN HOUSE

This house was built by the Touqan family in

two periods, the first during the years 1900-

1905.
at the end of the Ottoman era, and it is

considered one of the heritage buildings in

the city of Salt. And this family has another

house in Al-Hamam Street.

HOUSE PLAN

Description of the building: The first

floor consists of three rooms and the

second of seven rooms, and there is a

basement floor that was used for storage

and a khan for animals.

BUILDING ENTRANCE :

This building has two

entrances and can be

accessed by two

external staircases that

lead to the first floor,

and there is a side

stairway branching

from them leading to

the second floor. The

second floor can also be

accessed using an

internal staircase.
WINDOWS AND DOORS

Their design was consistent with the nature of the site, the place and

the architectural style in terms of arches, wonderful iron protection

drawings, decorative stones that decorate the entrances, windows

and doors, and the building’s heights were wrapped with a veil of

decorative stones of the utmost precision and beauty, which added

other artistic paintings to the building, which still maintain their

beauty until today. . The second floor also features an open backyard.
MAIN FACADE

The front façade is characterized by ornate stones and stone columns that resemble Roman

columns with their crowns of great accuracy and beauty.

TILES AND
As for the tiles used on the second floor,

they are wonderful artistic paintings that

FLOORS blended with the authentic Arabic-Islamic

character. It is like cutting decorated

carpets in its various forms, which

indicates art in design, quality of

manufacturing and construction skill. It is

noteworthy that this tile still maintains

its original condition without change,

despite the successive generations and

families that occupied this building and

occupied it with departments and schools.

One of these schools is the Tariq Bin

Ziyad School, which occupied it for many

years. As for the tiles of the first floor, it

is made of yellow stone, as well as all the

internal and external stairs.

 As for the walls, they are made of yellow stones from the inside and

outside, and they are distinguished by the thickness and height of the

ceilings, which gave them the property of thermal insulation, which is cold

in summer and warm in winter. Blinds were not used indoors or outdoors.

The ceilings of the first floor came in the form of intersecting arches that

walls and ceiling

rest on thick walls, while the ceilings of the second floor were designed in

the manner of iron bridges and flat roofs.

Jabal Jada'a
ABU JABER

MUSEUM Between 1896 and 1905,

the Nabulsi architect
Abdel Rahman al Aqrouq
built the finest and most
refined house in As-Salt for
the Abu Jaber family. It
houses the Historic Old Salt
Museum, as well as a
Tourist Information Desk in
one of the shops facing the
street.
ENSTABISHING:
Construction of the ground floor began in 1892 in two

phases:
1- first is from the eastern side, made of white stone that

was brought from Wadi Shuaib.

2-As for the second stage on the floor from the western

side, it was built of yellow stone that was brought from the

stairs area in Salt in 1896.

In1902, the construction of the first floor began as a result

of the multiplication of family members, so that the floor

was divided into three independent apartments, so the

families lived in this floor, and this floor was prepared to

receive guests and hold banquets, and the ground floor

was fully used as a guest house, a warehouse for grain, and

a khan for animals and an acceptable outing.

DETAILED PLAN

In 1906, the second floor was added to the building, where salt stones were used again,

and other materials brought from abroad (marble from Italy, bricks from Germany, and

glass from Belgium) were used on this floor. The floor included three apartments, each

with an inner courtyard and a hall. Decorated to receive guests. The most important

characteristic of this floor is the accuracy of its details. Ornate ceiling, sloping ceilings and

suspended staircases. It also featured walls with a thickness of 30 cm and bearing slanted

ceilings of wood covered with red tiles. All floors of the building were built by the Nabulsi

builder Abd al-Rahman al-Aqrouq.

CONSTRUCTION

It consists of several rooms of different sizes and is roofed with either barrel or cross

vaults. This type of construction requires that the walls be thick, ranging between 60

cm and 100 cm, and the doors are arched. As for the roof, it was built in the form of

intersecting domes. colored decorative tiles (measuring 30 x 30 cm), in colors

including black, yellow, pink, and the natural color of the stone.
 As for the drawings on the tiles, they are flowers and plants,
and the European influence appears clear, as many common
DECORATIONS
designs were used in European decorative art, and geometric
drawings were also common, as the influence of the
decoration art (arabesque) appears clear.
ABU JABER HOUSE AT THE PRESENT TIME:
The galleries were arranged in a way that

matches the interior design of the museum

with the least amount of spatial

modifications, and then it was equipped with

exhibition equipment, tools and furniture.

The ground floor included a visitors' center, a

studies center, and a temporary exhibition

hall, while the first floor contained permanent

exhibition halls of the city's history and

geography. The second floor focuses on

cultural and architectural themes and the

daily life of the city.

AS-SUKAR BULING
As for the family of as-sukar, they have two buildings, the first is
known as the main sugar building and the other is the secondary
sukar building. The first consists of four floors with distinctive
architectural details built between the years 1279 AH / 1879 AD
- 1302 AH / 1884 AD, by Abdul Rahman Aqrouq, while the
secondary building is older than the building The main building
consists of two floors), and stones from the quarries of Al-Salt
were used in its construction, while the glass and tiles were
brought from Jerusalem.
MUASHER BUILDING A

Among the other buildings is the Muasher building, which is entered from the

open courtyard leading to the Sugar Building, and can be reached by climbing a

winding staircase that starts from the main Salt Square

 Surrounded by stairways in

MOUSHER BUILDING B
a prominent location,

Mouasher Building B is

notable for its well

proportioned set of

windows. It is flanked by

Mouasher Building A to the

right, and Anis Mouasher

House on the left, which is

the seat of the Salt Film

Center (Royal Film

Commission – Jordan)
 In the late 1950s, Abdel Hafez Al-Azab

purchased the building from the heirs of

ALAZAB HOUSE

Abdel Ghani Al-Amad and then rented it as a

school (Said Al-Bahra School).

The structure consists of two liwan (sitting

spaces) and five rooms which are noticeable

for their distinct barrel-vaults and cross-

vaults. The rooms are located on both sides

of the building and are separated by an

outdoor courtyard. This building was

constructed by Abdel Rahman Kokash.

BAIT AZIZ

Built in the early 1900s restored as the first bed and breakfast in

As-Salt, overlooking panoramic views.

Beit Aziz combines tourism and community empowerment.

Tourists staying at the hotel are introduced to As-Salt’s heritage,

and can learn to make crafts and home-made delicacies from local

women.
ALKHATEEB HOUSE Built for an extended family, it has three

parts altogether: a peasant’s house half

dug into the mountain (1860), a courtyard

house (1880), and a family house (1925).

It is characterized by thick walls,

traditional cross-vaulted rooms, and a

horse stable. A unique piece of Arabic

writing is engraved above the main

exterior gate of the house. The writing

translates into: "Ye Door Opener, Open

the Finest of Doors".

AL-AIN PLAZA
It preserves the remnants of its

shops and palaces, the manicured

yellow ones, Tire, and its art, Al-

Eizariya, the trench, the stairs, the

stump, and the gadoor, and they are

organized in a way that suggests the

project. Its houses are built of floors

on top of each other

The features of the square in the past

are the Attia tiles that extend in front

of the house of Haj Ali Al Attia, which

are stone slabs polished with great

care, yellow and soft in texture. Social,

whether religious or even political, and

a starting point for trends, gifts and

reforms
 AL-AIN PLAZA
The southern area of ​the square includes the

AS-SALT GREAT MOSQUE

Abu Jaber building, which bounces off the

residential complex in a residential building,

and its composition and shape contrast with

the building blocks in Salt in terms of building

materials, architectural character, and the

relationship with the topography of the area.

From the last century, between it and the

governorate, the Great Mosque and other

buildings were built, as they were built in the

past
 The square is the main public space in the
heart of the old city. The center of the square
has been emptied of the buildings that
previously filled it and replaced by a small

AL-AIN PLAZA :
cultivated area that serves as a traffic circle.

The new space was developed so that it will

be redesigned and expanded (the square) so
that it is based on strengthening the role of
the square as the center of life for the region.
Both sides of the square” and dealing with the
topographical setting in which there are
steps.
 AS-SALT GREAT MOSQUE
This mosque was built in the early Islamic
eras in the architectural style that was
followed in the construction of mosques in
that era of time, in terms of the presence of
the courtyard and the minaret with its spiral
drawers and the stone water pool, the ends of
ablution, which are also surrounded by stone
seats. The floors were made of solid stones,
and the mosque was covered with mats, and
the mosque was lit with lanterns or candles
until the electric current arrived in the city at
the beginning of the last century.
 The site has been tested

in the population center

or close to it and the

LOCATION AND
availability of water for

ablution and other things

ENTRANCE
that worshipers need. The

Grand Mosque consists of

two architectural units,

the square and the

chapel. The main

entrance to the mosque is

located on the southern

side of the square.

 BUILDING DESCRIOTION
.The minaret is located in the southeastern
AS-SALT GREAT MOSQUE

corner and supervises the water stairs, so it is

located directly under the eastern gallery at the
mountain, and water flows from it to the pond
permanently. There was a tunnel (basement)
connecting the castle to spring water. As for the
walls of the mosque, they were made of stones,
mud and lime, and were distinguished by their
thickness, and the intersecting ceilings rested on
them, which gave the building the advantage of
being cold in summer and warm in winter.
RECONSTUCTION STAGES
1-During the Mamluk era, Sultan al-Zahir Baybars, during his reign (1260-1277 AD),
carried out maintenance and expansion of the mosque.

THE GREAT MOSQUE

2-The Ottoman era: The Mufti of Salt and the imam of this mosque, Sheikh Mustafa
Yousef Zaid Al-Kilani (1850-1892 AD) Reconstruction and expansion of the mosque.

3-The Old Mosque: The building of the old mosque was renovated in 1340 AH. It witnessed
the addition of commercial buildings (shops) attached to the mosque building, topped by
buildings occupied by the Sharia Court.

4-The new mosque, the rebuilding of this mosque began in 1974 AD the main entrance to
the mosque now directly overlooks the stairs of the blacksmiths opposite the Anglican
Church and the ascent to the chapel by steps, and the location of the old minaret was
changed, so that it became at the end of the front facade overlooking Al-Ain Square.This
building was opened in 1979.
 Restoration and maintenance, and in the year 2007-

2014 , Where another floor was built above the first

floor, and the chapel consisted of two floors topped by

a green roof.
reconstuction stages
As for the stones used, they were yellow stones

trimmed. The mosque was lit with chandeliers and

lamps, and the floors were carpeted. The old pool had

been replaced by modern sanitary facilities and tools.

And the main entrance became mediated by the shops

established in the front façade. The two floors of the

chapel There is also an internal door on the first floor

leading to the second floor. There is another entrance

to the mosque located in the corner of the south-north

side, which leads to the two floors by degrees. This

building was opened in 2015 .

DEER LATIN CHURCH
The first Catholic church in Jordan is located
within the scope of the Latin complex located next
to Al-Ain Square, where the complex includes the
church, the monastery and the school. The Italian

1870-1886
priest and architect John Moretan, who planned
many churches in Palestine, designed this church
in the year 1886, and relied on the architecture of
its construction on high cross ceilings, eight round
triple columns, and Corinthian heads carved in
stone.Latin Church was inscribed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 2021 as part of As-Salt -
The Place of Tolerance and Urban Hospitality.
 It was named after the shrine of Al-Khidr, peace be
upon him. Where there is the Al-Khader Church,
which is located on the upper street in it, as well as
the Greek Orthodox Church, and what shows the
beauty of the street is the crowded shops, starting
Al-Khader church

from the famous shoemaker street in the region,

which starts at the first stairs of Al-Khader Street
and can be the first departure for those who wish
to walk in it .
The Church of “Al-Khidr” or “Saint George” in Al-
Salt, as it was built around an ancient cave during
the period of Ottoman rule in Jordan, specifically
in the year 1682. It was restored in 2004 and was
renamed after our master Al-Khidr, who many
Christians in this region believe in the existence of
several miracles that occurred in this cave and
then the church later on.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Khidr Church is not
only a place exclusive to Christians, but Muslims
also come to visit and pray in it.
THE ENGLISH HOSPITAL
or what is called the "English Mission Hospital"
in Salt
where it started operating with 11 beds,
according to the documents of Al-Hussein
Hospital in Salt
Historical information indicates that the hospital
included a pharmacy and a treatment center, and
there were two doctors in it, one of whom was a
Syrian named Tawfiq Gibran and another
Palestinian named Ibrahim Zourob.
1904 treatment rooms were added to the general
hospital, with 11 rooms. An upper floor was also
added to the General Hospital Building 1923.
 THE ENGLISH HOSPITAL
The restoration of the old English Hospital in the city
ENGLISH MISSION HOSPITAL

of Salt to become a center for training and

rehabilitation of teachers and specialists for people
with special needs "the deaf and dumb" by the Holy
Land Foundation for the Deaf and Dumb in
cooperation with the Evangelical Synod that owns
the building.
The English Hospital consisted of a warehouse
building located on Al-Khader Street, the Sunday
School building (above the warehouses), the old
church building, the new church building, the doctors
and nurses residence building, the main hospital
building, and the two buildings of the council official.
AS-SALT CASTEL
Al-Salt Castle is one of the signs of the chain and

strategy in the Levant, and it was a prominent

1200 -1300 CENUTRY

archaeological landmark for the city due to its

location and importance: it is a mountain located on

the top of one of the majestic and ancient

mountains of Al-Salt. Northeast of the city. and a

wooden parade up the castle outside raised at night

at danger. Its length extends to the floor extending

to the center of the city (under the building of the

Great Mosque of Salt, where it flows to today

through the rocks from under the building of the

Great Mosque), where it flows to today through the

rocks from under the building of the Great Mosque.

 It was Destroyed by
It was destroyed by

1198 1261 1889

the Tatars. Ibrahim Pasha

It was built during the

1260 It was rebuilt in the
1840 Zahir al-Omar rebuilt

reign of the great King Mamluk era by al-

it after that

Issa bin Al-Malik Al-Adil Zahir Baybars the

abandoned
Al-Ayyubi. The builder Mamluk
of the castle was Aybak
bin Abdullah

CHRONOLOGY OF THE CASTLE

BRIEF The castle was surrounded by a wall built of huge stones, and on
this wall there were four towers for control and monitoring, and
today only the remains of one tower remain. The castle was
surrounded by a wide trench ranging between 20-40 meters wide
and 15 meters high in some places, and a wooden bridge was
above this trench. He arrives at the castle outside and is raised at
night in danger. And the castle had an underground tunnel
(tunnel) extending from the castle itself to the center of the city of
Castle towers
Salt under the building of the Great Mosque of Salt), where this
Four square-shaped towers were erected on
tunnel was used at the time of the siege for the exit or entry of the
the castle wall, and they were called after the
soldiers from it or the supply of water that flows to this day
names of the clans residing in them, namely:
through the rocks from under the building of the mosque, which
-1- Burj Al-Hajj, relative to the Qutaishat clan,
was The city of Al-Salt and the source of the water spring drew
which was the first to reside in the castle).
from it a spring that was called (Ain Al-Khandaq), and a branch
2- Burj Abu Hammour, relative to the
flowed from it to the castle. It is reported that one of the foreign
Hamamra clan.
travelers saw this tunnel in the year 1812 AD while passing
3- Hussein Al-Sobh Tower, relative to the Al-
through Al-Salt, and it is now buried under the ground and
Fawair clan.
disappeared in 1938.
4 cucumber tower relative to the Awamla
BOOKS:
AS-SALT TARIKH WA SOWAR BY : IAEMAR AS-SALT
AS-SALT AND ITS VINICITY BY GORG FARED DAUOD
THE HISTORY OF AS-SALT BY: MOUHAMMAD ALKHRISAT

RESEARCHS:

REFRENCES
FUNCTIONAL ROLE OF HRRITGE AND HISTORICAL BUILDING IN THE CITY OF

AS-SALT AT JORDAN: PRECEPTIONS OF VISITORS AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

THE URBAN PROFILES OF PEACE TOURISM IN ARAB CITIES: OPPORTUNITIES

FOR CHANGE TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY. CASE STUDY: AS-SALT (JORDAN) AND

CONSTANTINE (ALGERIA) CITIES

AS-SALT CITY BY :OLA ALNSOUR
AS-SALT SOPHISTISATE PROJECT BY:MARAM WALID , SAMAR GHASSAN < RUBA

ANNAJAR MAISON ABDARAOOF

WEPSITES:
UNIVERS ART : AS-SALT
NEWSPAPER:
JANOB.JO
ALGHAD NEWSPAPER
MOI.GOV.JO
AR-RA'Y NEWSPAPER
BO70TH.JO As-Salt In Architecural Eye
UNESCO