AMMAN, Jordan — One of Amman’s oldest staircases, al-Kalha stairs, was an uninspiring concrete block in the heart of the city until a group of artists led by engineering student and graffiti artist Abdul Rahman Amjad made it into a piece of art.

The young artists turned the staircase into an open air work of art, displaying lines from the famous poem “Identity Card” by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and a portrait of the poet drawn on the walls. They also painted portraits of Lebanese singers Fairouz and Marcel Khalife.

Amjad, who worked alongside painter Miramar Mohd, told Al-Monitor that the difference was “striking” after they started working on the staircase in 2016. “You will not recognize the stairs. They have changed 180 degrees,” he said.

The change in al-Kalha staircase is only part of what young Jordanian artists are doing to splash Amman with color. They mostly focus on the eastern part of the capital, which suffers from unregulated construction, unmaintained roads and an inadequate sewage system. The buildings, the dark gray of concrete, increase the gloomy atmosphere further.