Salt, Sept. 13 (Petra) — Balqa Governorate hosted a series of
cultural events on Saturday, ranging from children’s activities and
heritage performances to discussions on religious history and the
representation of place in Jordanian literature.

The Balqa Culture Directorate, in cooperation with the Salt branch of
the Moderation Forum for Thought and Culture and the Arab Child
Forum, organized a kite festival in the Maghareeb area, drawing wide
participation from children in the local community.

The festival combined recreational and cultural activities aimed at
encouraging children to engage with their surroundings and providing
interactive opportunities for creative expression.

The directorate also held a cultural heritage evening featuring a
lecture titled “Jordan: Land of Prophets and Companions,” delivered
by former Salt Mufti Dr. Hani Al-Abed.

Al-Abed explored the Kingdom’s religious and historical significance,
highlighting locations associated with prophets and companions and
the cultural and spiritual heritage they represent within the
national memory.

The program also featured a folklore performance by the Arab Child
Forum girls’ troupe, a poetry reading by Rania Abu Huweileh and a
rebab performance by musician Ghaleb Al-Sahloul.

The activities form part of the directorate’s efforts to expand
access to cultural programs across the community and offer
initiatives combining education, arts and recreation, particularly
for children.

In a separate event, the preparatory committee of the Jordanian
Writers Association’s Salt branch held a panel examining the presence
and absence of local geography in Jordanian fiction, with Balqa
serving as a case study.

The discussion, titled “Is the Jordanian Novel Afraid of Its
Geography? The Unspoken Place Between Presence and Absence in
Jordanian Narrative: Balqa as a Model,” was held at Al-Jadour Café in
downtown Salt in the presence of Balqa Culture Director Dr. Mona
Saud.

Short-story writer Samia Al-Atout, novelist Dr. Mukhled Barakat and
journalist and writer Kamel Al-Nsour discussed the relationship
between place and Jordanian narrative, while short-story writer
Hadeel Al-Rahamneh moderated the session.

The panel was organized as part of Salt’s cultural and literary
activities and the Jordanian Writers Association’s efforts to broaden
discussion on Jordanian literature and narrative.

//Petra// RZ