When I think of Jordan, of course all the clichés of the Orient come to mind. Hookah, Bedouins, Sheiks, Arabic coffee – black, strong and powerful and freshly brewed mint leaves, but bagpipes? The bagpipe, the instrument of choice of the Jordanian military, which is said to have come to Scotland from Mesopotamia via the Levant. Through the British Mandate, the instrument came back to the Middle East, where this tradition has been preserved to today.

I don’t know anything about this mural, designed by Thomas Powell. The artist is based in Georgetown, Malaysia. I don’t know, if it was designed in the frame of a Baladk Festival, nor how old it is.

Thomas Powell

The pictures in this post are shown by courtesy of a friend currently living in Amman