Jordanians travel through time in this old signs museum
In an attempt to preserve the memory of the Jordanian capital, Amman, a calligrapher opened a museum where he exhibits shop signs installed between the 1950s and 1990s.
AMMAN, Jordan — Above Central Cafe, one of the oldest coffee shops in the center of the Jordanian capital, Amman, on King Hussein Street, lies a museum exhibiting old signs installed in Amman between the 1950s and the 1990s.
“A journey through time,” is how the curator of the Old Signs of Amman Museum and calligrapher Ghazi Khattab describe the experience of visiting the museum that exhibits signs that belong to shops, doctors, clothes shops, hotels, libraries, coffee shops and government institutions.
Khattab, who masters Arabic calligraphy, started collecting vintage signs in 1986 to preserve the memory of Amman and the work of the calligraphers.
Khattab started pursuing his passion for Arabic calligraphy while in school, and he worked for many classical calligraphers. He then developed his skills further in Germany and majored in signs art in the 1980s.
