Sami's Book PDF

Tourism Studies from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Volume 15
Sami Alhasanat
Tourism, Politcs and Social Change
Tourism, Politics and Social Change

in Petra Region, Jordan
in Petra Region, Jordan

Tourism, Politics and Social Change in Petra Region, Jordan A Community in Crisis, 1994 – 2014
A Community in Crisis, 1994 – 2014
Since 2007 Wadi Musa has experienced an exponential rate of change and an economic success as a direct
result of its selection as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. Its increased value as a tourism
destination has created socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities leading to what might be characterized as a
liminal period in the lives of the community. Using Victor Turner’s theories of social drama, the author argues
that the parliamentary campaign period in 2010 represented an effort to redress a breach in the community
structure by erasing clan distinctions and crossing hierarchical boundaries to reintegrate politically under
the rubric of Bani Laith.
The goal of the work presented here is to capture a community at a time of critical transition in its social,
cultural, political, and economic lives – all of which are entangled almost inextricably with tourism.
Alhasanat
Tourism Studies from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

Profil Verlag GmbH München Wien
ISBN: 978-3-89019-714-2
Sami Alhasanat
Tourism, Politics and Social Change in Petra Region, Jordan
Tourism Studies from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt Volume 15
Editor Hans Hopfinger
Chair of Cultural Geography, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
Sami Alhasanat
Tourism, Politics and Social Change in Petra Region, Jordan
Adress:
Editor Author
Prof. Dr. Hans Hopfinger Dr. Sami Alhasanat
Chair of Cultural Geography Full time lecturer at Alhussein Bin Talal
Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt University
Ostenstraße 18, 85072 Eichstätt/ Germany Petra, Wadi Musa, 71810, P. O. Box 106
Jordan
Printed with the generous support of the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt and the
Catholic Academic Exchange Service (KAAD, Bonn/Germany).
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek
Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;

detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at <http://dnb.ddb.de>.
PhD thesis at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (2015) with the title “Tourism, Poli-
tics and Social Change in Petra Region, Jordan. A Community in Crisis, 1994–2014”.
Pictures of the cover illustration reproduced courtesy of the German-Jordanian Society and
taken from a field-trip organized by the Chair of Cultural Geography (Catholic University of
Eichstätt-Ingolstadt).
© 2016 Profil Verlag GmbH München Wien

Layout: Sabrina Henschel, Eichstätt
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ISBN 978-3-89019-714-2
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the restrictions of copyright law without prior permission of the publisher. Any infringement
of copyright law constitutes a punishable offence. This applies in particular to duplication,
translation, microfilm recording as well as storage and processing in electronic systems.
Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my community in Wadi Musa. It is also dedicated to my fam-

ily: my late mother and father, sisters, brothers, wife and children.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Dedication................................................................................................... 5
Abstract....................................................................................................... 11
Zusammenfassung...................................................................................... 15
Acknowledgements.................................................................................... 19
An autoethnographical prologue................................................................ 23
I Economic, Environmental and Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism.... 37

1.1 Review of the literature on the impacts of tourism.................................... 37
1.2. Economic impacts of tourism..................................................................... 39
1.3. Environmental impacts of tourism............................................................. 40
1.4. Socio-cultural impacts of tourism............................................................... 42
II Methodology, and Theoretical Framework............................................ 47

2.1 Research methods....................................................................................... 48
2.1.1 Classical ethnography................................................................................. 48
2.1.2 Triangulation method: Combining quantitative and qualitative methods.. 50
2.1.3 Qualitative Data: Surveys and interviews.................................................. 51
2.1.4 Quantitative Data: Archival sources, statistics and document collection... 53
2.2 Theoretical framework............................................................................... 56
2.2.1 Semiotic analysis........................................................................................ 56
2.2.2 Root metaphors and key symbols............................................................... 57
2.2.3 Social drama and ritual process.................................................................. 58
2.2.3.1 Comparative symbology............................................................................. 59
2.2.3.2 Rites of Passage ......................................................................................... 60
2.2.3.3 Social Drama ............................................................................................. 62
2.3 Definitions of crisis..................................................................................... 64
2.4 Doxey’s Irridex Model................................................................................ 65
2.5 Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC)............................................................... 66
2.6 Elections, Intikhābāt as social drama......................................................... 67
III Interpretation of the local people’s perceptions about tourism in

Petra........................................................................................................... 71
3.1 The broad-sweep survey............................................................................. 71
3.2 Interpretation of the mixed feelings and no feelings towards tourism
in Petra........................................................................................................ 74
3.2.1 Mixed feelings............................................................................................ 74
3.2.2 No feelings.................................................................................................. 77
3.2.3 Interpretation of positive and negative feelings towards tourism in Petra. 79
3.2.3.1 Positive feelings ......................................................................................... 79
3.2.3.2 Negative feelings ....................................................................................... 82
8 Table of Contents
3.3 Analysis of data gathered through Facebook............................................. 91

3.3.1 Positive feeling .......................................................................................... 92
3.3.2 Neutral feeling ........................................................................................... 94
3.3.3 Negative feeling ......................................................................................... 95
IV The Ethnography of Wadi Musa: A Community in Transition............ 103

4.1 Jordan in regional context........................................................................... 104
4.2 Brief historical contextualization of Wadi Musa........................................ 105
4.3 The ethnography of Wadi Musa................................................................. 109
4.3.1 Modern communities of Bani Laith............................................................ 112
4.3.2 Kinship structure and tribal identity........................................................... 112
4.3.3 Tribe, religion and state.............................................................................. 120
4.3.4 Family structure.......................................................................................... 124
4.3.5 Legal structure............................................................................................ 125
4.3.6 Religion...................................................................................................... 125
4.3.7 Economic base............................................................................................ 125
4.4 Political history to 1994.............................................................................. 126
4.5 The establishment of the Petra Planning Council (PPC) in 1995............... 127
4.6 The Petra Regional Authority, 2002........................................................... 128
4.7 Wadi Musa in 2006 .................................................................................... 128
4.8 Socio-political change in Wadi Musa, 2007 – 2010.................................... 130
4.8.1 New Seven Wonders of the World (N7W)................................................. 131
4.8.1.1 Jordanian government support and promotion of N7W............................. 132
4.8.1.2 Local celebration of Petra’s N7W selection............................................... 132
4.8.1.3 Immediate impact of N7W on Petra tourism.............................................. 132
4.8.1.4 Wadi Musa before and after N7W.............................................................. 133
4.9 Petra’s economic significance to Jordan..................................................... 136
4.10 Vulnerability of the tourism market in Jordan............................................ 136
4.11 The establishment of (PDTRA) in 2009..................................................... 137
4.11.1 Planning for Tourism Management in Petra Region.................................. 138
4.12 The role of the 2010 elections.................................................................... 139
V Wadi Musa as a “community in crisis” or socio-cultural tension and

ambiguities................................................................................................ 143
5.1 Wadi Musa as a community with socio-cultural tensions and
ambiguities.................................................................................................. 143
5.1.1 The institutional aspect............................................................................... 144
5.1.2 The socio-cultural aspect............................................................................ 145
5.1.3 The personal aspect.................................................................................... 146
5.2 Recurring motifs and themes from the interviews and groups................... 147
5.2.1 Value disorientation associated with tourists and hotels............................ 147
5.2.2 The obsessive concern over decisions regarding land use......................... 148
5.2.3 Perception that tourism has made people greedy ...................................... 149
5.2.4 Internal conflict amongst tourism providers............................................... 150
Table of Contents 9
5.2.5 Perception that tourists are given legal priority over residents ................. 150
5.2.6 The final element in defining crisis incorporates its causes........................ 151
5.3 Crisis as a liminal period in “social drama”............................................... 152
5.3.1 1994 – 2007 as a “breach” period in Wadi Musa........................................ 153
5.3.2 2007–2010 as a breach/crisis period in Wadi Musa .................................. 155
5.3.3 Significance of the 2010 elections to the breach/crisis .............................. 155
5.3.3.1 Recurring themes expressed in pre-election meetings............................... 156
5.3.3.1.1 The desire for a relatively young MP....................................................... 156
5.3.3.1.2 The need for better public services.......................................................... 157
5.3.3.1.3 The urgent need for more job opportunities ............................................ 157
5.3.3.1.4 Access to decision-making processes concerning their region................ 158
5.3.3.1.5 Resentment over lack of control over regional aspects .......................... 158
5.3.3.1.6 Resentment about the establishment of PDTRA ..................................... 159
5.4 The liminal character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa ................................ 160
5.4.1 Embodiment character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa............................... 161
5.4.1.1 Shutting down of the PDTRA .................................................................... 162
5.4.1.2 The akshāk (kiosks) problem ..................................................................... 165
5.4.1.3 Closure of the main entrance and a demand for jobs................................. 169
5.4.1.4 Banning of the anniversary of the rediscovery of Petra............................. 172
5.4.1.5 Resentment of the SMP.............................................................................. 174
5.4.1.6 Claims to change the Board of Commissioners of PDTRA....................... 176
5.4.1.7 Disapproval of returning JD6 million to the treasury................................. 177
5.4.1.8 Horse and camel owners’ quarrel .............................................................. 179
5.4.1.9 The Petra By Night protest ........................................................................ 181
VI Redress and reintegration: a community’s attempt to reconstitute

itself............................................................................................................ 187
6.1 From breach/crisis to redress...................................................................... 187
6.2 Constructive redress of social crisis and potential for reintegration of
the community ........................................................................................... 188
6.2.1 The four stages of the social drama............................................................ 189
6.2.2 Past efforts to redress social breach in Wadi Musa ................................... 191
6.2.2.1 Efforts by local and national government................................................... 191
6.2.2.2 Tribal mediation / arbitration....................................................................... 193
6.2.2.3 Cross-tribal electoral coalition-building in 2007/08–2010......................... 193
6.3 2010 Elections, intikhābāt as social drama in Wadi Musa......................... 195
6.3.1 The nomination process for the 2010 elections.......................................... 197
6.3.2 Specification of qualifications sought for the official coalition candidate.. 198
6.3.3 Economic issues at the centre of the campaign.......................................... 200
6.3.4 Women and youth as emergent forces in the vote ..................................... 200
6.4 Wadi Musa as a community seeking redress.............................................. 202
6.4.1 The metaphorical baggage in Bani Laith symbolism ................................ 203
6.4.2 Importance of “Bani Laith” vs. the separate tribes .................................... 208
6.5 Desire for redress of socio-political “breach” ........................................... 212
10 Table of Contents
6.5.1 The youth’s desire for redress .................................................................... 213

6.5.2 Importance of host-guest behaviours in the redressive process................. 215
6.5.3 Campaign meetings during the day – constituency hosts candidate in
clan’s dīwān ............................................................................................... 217
6.5.4 Maqar meetings at night – candidate hosts constituency in a temporary
“sacred space” ............................................................................................ 217
6.6 Social drama............................................................................................... 218
6.6.1 The campaign period – preparations, structure and procedure................... 218
6.6.2 Local conflicts and competition during elections ...................................... 219
6.6.3 The maqar “theatre” ................................................................................... 222
6.6.3.1 The maqar itself – structure, location, décor, banners................................ 222
6.6.3.2 The structure/ritual of the nightly conventions........................................... 224
6.6.3.3 The speakers, speeches............................................................................... 225
6.6.3.4 Deputations and tribal delegations ............................................................ 226
6.6.3.5 Electoral maqar as a theatre to act out the period of redress...................... 227
6.7 The structure of the Election Day............................................................... 228
6.7.1 Celebrations during Election Day .............................................................. 230
6.7.1.1 Candidate’s inspection visits during Election Day..................................... 231
6.7.1.2 Election night: ritual frenzy climaxing in communitas.............................. 231
6.7.1.3 Levelling of hierarchy and overturning of normal order ........................... 232
6.7.1.4 Altered states of consciousness.................................................................. 233
6.8 Al-ʻUrs al-waṭani (the National Wedding)................................................. 234
6.9 The Tahani, congratulations period............................................................ 240
6.9.1 Protocol/structure of tahani visits............................................................... 240
6.9.2 The feast: Preparation of feast and the feast itself...................................... 241
6.9.3 Closure: the candidate enters into a new status in the order....................... 243
An autoethnographical epilogue................................................................. 245

Glossary of Arabic Terms........................................................................... 266
Appendices................................................................................................. 268
References.................................................................................................. 277
List of Figures............................................................................................. 286
List of Tables.............................................................................................. 287
List of Maps................................................................................................ 287
List of Abbreviations.................................................................................. 287
Abstract
The goal of the work presented here is to capture a community at a time of critical tran-
sition in its social, cultural, political, and economic lives – all of which are entangled
almost inextricably with tourism.
Wadi Musa has experienced an exponential rate of change and an economic success
since 2007 as a direct result of its selection as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the
World” (N7W). In order to establish a baseline against which to measure change, it was
necessary first to establish a portrait of the study community, Wadi Musa, in 2006–2007,
just before N7W. A combination of quantitative measures and qualitative description
gathered through archival research, interviews and participant observation to construct
a Geertzian “thick description” of the study community. Wadi Musa was described in
its regional context (history, culture, politics, kinship system and economic base) in the
context of the critical transition in its social, political and economic lives. The thick de-
scription of Wadi Musa as it was in the summer of 2007 (when Petra was named one of
the “N7Ws”) entailed an extensive use of an array of archival sources including studies,
reports, books, articles and government files. At the same time the ethnographic sources
were evolved including participant observation, broad-sweep surveys and interviews of
a cross-section of the Wadi Musa community. The ethnography, though marshal in the
service of Turner’s theoretical constructs, aspires to achieve a Geertzian “thick descrip-
tion” of a pivotal time in the life of a community in transition.
The combination of quantitative measurements and qualitative information has given

texture and depth to the portrait of the community by constructing a Geertzian “thick de-
scription” of the subject. From this thick description it was possible draw root metaphors
and key scenarios – terms used by anthropologist Sherry Ortner – which are used by the
community to order cultural life. These root metaphors and key scenarios in turn pro-
vided the symbolic material necessary to understand what Victor Turner calls the “social
drama” via which communities process crises and transition periods in their cultural life.
Analysis and interpretation of the data derived from both quantitative and qualitative
resources such as archival resources (studies, reports, books, articles and government
files) and ethnographic resources including meetings, interviews and the broad-sweep
surveys revealed that Wadi Musa has achieved an economic success after the selec-
tion of Petra as one of the N7W. This success was represented by the fact that in 2007
Petra hotel rooms were fully booked through 2010. The October following N7W was
a record high for the number of visitors in one month: 99,616 (March–May is nor-
mally high season in Jordan). 350 % increase in tourists to Petra for 2008 (from 230,772
in 2006 to 813,264 in 2008). Parallel increase in income from international visitors:
JD593,523,011 ($840,802,676).
The data also revealed that the local community is aware of its existence in Petra for
many generations, which enhanced its since of identity. People are attached to their
12 Abstract
homeland as they are concerned about the exponential rate of change that tourism
brought about to their region. In contrast, the data further demonstrated that was Musa
has witnessed an exponential rate of change represented by finding that the local econ-
omy, planning for future development, local government and the rapid transformation
in the form of the local government are driven by increasing tourism. These findings
are combined with the sense that the local communities themselves are disenfranchised
from decision-making processes concerning their region, which resulted in resentment
of the local people. Even the benefits of tourism are insecure due to the influence of
regional events beyond the control of the local market.
Wadi Musa’s increased value as a tourism destination has created socio-cultural tensions
and ambiguities leading to what might be characterized as a liminal period in the life of
the community. Due to the rapid increase in tourism Wadi Musa was characterized as a
tourist community under social, political and economic strain. Wadi Musa has experi-
enced a disruption of daily life and institutional forms as a result of N7W. While Wadi
Musa as a community has not been destroyed, its basic assumptions about its identity –
its subjective sense of self, its existential core – are certainly threatened. It can be argued
that this perceived “threat” lies primarily in the locals’ sense that they have no access
to control over their own lives. These threatening “disruptions” cross-cut institutional,
socio-cultural and personal aspects of society.
In the public meetings associated with the Petra Strategic Master Plan (SMP), the elec-
tions and the broad-sweep interviews, locals expressed disagreement with the status quo
in their region, ranging from distrust to anxiety. The latter is fed by the ambiguity per-
meating the development process in Wadi Musa. They consider that the needs of tourists
take priority over theirs. There was a sense also that tourism is responsible for many
problems: uncertain income, political injustice, pollution, congestion, water scarcity and
social inequalities within the community.
Certain themes also emerged from the data including resentment about the establishment
of Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), which was perceived
as an expensive, bureaucratic and uninterested in the local community. The perception
that foreign investment is being courted while local investment, development and job
creation are ignored. Envy of families in the tourism business: a perception that tourism
income is unequally enjoyed. However, the master planning and the 2010 parliamentary
elections processes gave voice to the community’s sense of cultural disaffection and its
perception that tourism is its cause. Extensive interviews of individuals, as well as over
one hundred meetings with stakeholder and focus groups elucidated for this researcher
the community’s self-perception as disrupted, threatened at its “existential core”.
With N7W, however, the rate and scale of change steepened exponentially, 2007–2010
was breach/crisis period bringing the Wadi Musa community to the point of social crisis.
This was demonstrated as: Massive influx of visitors, asymmetrical balance in competi-
tion for resources in favour of tourists. Sudden, exponential growth in PDTRA – accompa-
Abstract 13
nied by widely publicized changes in governmental style. Massive and widely publicized
growth in tourism income. Sudden, sharpened awareness of tourism’s failure to benefit
most locals. Critical increase in unemployment as the “youth bulge” increased. Public op-
position to Strategic Master Plan for Petra. Critical increase in complication and expense
of bureaucratic processes. Elections/SMP brought land use issue into public forum.
Victor Turner’s theories of social drama provided a method to analyze this liminal pe-
riod and to pose a means of constructive redress and reintegration of the community. The
parliamentary campaign period in 2010 represented an effort to redress a breach in the
community structure by erasing clan distinctions and crossing hierarchical boundaries
to reintegrate politically under the rubric of Bani Laith. The community, however tem-
porarily, re-imagined and reconstituted itself in such a way as to redress the 2007–2010
breach/crisis period. Turner’s theory of social drama provided an analytic structure
within which to analyze the events and dynamics of the period from 2007–2010, which
culminated in the parliamentary elections of November 2010. The elections – my selec-
tion as a candidate, the major campaign issues and points of conflict within the constitu-
ency, the results and the aftermath – are parsed as social drama. Particular attention is
devoted to the election itself as an example of public ritual by which the community
attempted to reintegrate itself. Analysis of the root metaphor of Bani Laith and th the
key scenario of the “national wedding” (ʻurs waṭani) articulate the discourse implicit in
the social drama.
This thesis concluded that redress and reintegration did not last for a long time. Unfortu-
nately, it was a temporary, short-lived experience enjoyed by my community: The social
drama in Wadi Musa did not run its course in bringing people to a long-lasting state of
harmony and unity. Reintegration was present only during the election days and prob-
ably during the short space of time around the elections – the first few months of that
period. The tribes and clans of Petra Region failed to “muddle through” how to work
together – articulate themselves over the long term as a unified entity. They collapsed
back into tribal infighting and competition amongst the tribes of Petra on one level and
on the other amongst the shoyoukh, opinion leaders (opportunistic individuals), and
dominants of tourism business in Petra Region. All of this resulted in a reversion which
surely alienated the shabāb or the youths, either by occasioning the legitimization and
formalization of the schism, or having the whole community circling back into crisis
again. This tribal infighting and competition jeopardized potential towards moving for-
ward with Petra and its people.
Zusammenfassung
Das Ziel dieser Arbeit stellt die Erfassung einer Community dar, die sich in einer Zeit
entscheidender Umbrüche, sowohl in sozialer, als auch in kultureller sowie in politi-
scher und ökonomischer Hinsicht befindet – dabei sind alle diese genannten Aspekte
zutiefst mit dem Tourismus verbunden.
In direktem Zusammenhang mit der Ernennung als eines der „New Seven Wonders of
the World“ (N7W) im Jahr 2007, hat die Destination Petra tief greifende Veränderungen
erfahren. Um eine Basis zur Erfassung dieser Veränderungen zu schaffen, musste zu-
nächst ein Überblick zur Situation der zu untersuchenden Community in Wadi Musa vor
der Ernennung als ‚N7W‘ – im Zeitraum zwischen 2006 und 2007 – geschaffen werden.
In diesem Zusammenhang kam eine Kombination aus quantitativen und qualitativen
Methoden zum Einsatz – im Rahmen der Verwendung von Daten aus dem Archiv, der
Durchführung von Interviews sowie teilnehmender Beobachtung – mit dem Ziel einer
Geertzschen Dichten Beschreibung der zu untersuchenden Community. Dabei wurde
Wadi Musa in seinem regionalen Kontext (Geschichte, Kultur, Politik, Verwandtschafts-
system und ökonomische Basis) beschrieben, im Zusammenhang entscheidender Verän-
derungen im sozialen, politischen und ökonomischen Sinne. Die Dichte Beschreibung
in Bezug auf Wadi Musa im Sommer 2007 (als Petra als eine der ‚N7W‘ benannt wurde)
geschah durch Auswertung einer Vielzahl an archivarischen Quellen (u.a. einschlägige
Studien und Dokumente, Bücher zur Thematik sowie Daten der Regierung). Gleich-
zeitig vollzog sich die Implementierung ethnographischer Forschungsstrategien, u.a.
durch teilnehmende Beobachtung, breit angelegte Befragungen und der Durchführung
von Interviews eines Querschnitts der Gemeindemitglieder Wadi Musas. Die Ethnogra-
phie, wenngleich sie in Turners theoretisches Konstrukt eingebettet werden kann, zielt
auf eine Geertzsche Dichte Beschreibung eines zentralen Zeitabschnitts im Leben einer
Community im Wandel ab.
Die Kombination aus quantitativen und qualitativen Daten im Rahmen der Geertzschen
Dichten Beschreibung trug maßgeblich zur Erlangung von Struktur und Tiefe im Hin-
blick auf das Bild des Untersuchungsobjektes bei. In diesem Zusammenhang war es
möglich, grundlegende Metaphern („metaphors“) und Schlüsselszenarien („key scena-
rios“) (vgl. Sherry Ortner) heraus zu filtern, die zur Ordnung des kulturellen Lebens der
Gemeinde herangezogen werden. Die genannten grundlegenden Metaphern und Schlüs-
selszenarien lieferten wiederum das symbolische Material zum Verständnis des sog. „So-
cial Drama“ (vgl. Victor Turner), das sich im Kontext der gruppenspezifischen Verarbei-
tung von Krisen und Zeiten des Wandels im Hinblick auf das kulturelle Leben vollzieht.
Die Analyse und Interpretation der Daten erfolgte unter Verwendung quantitativer und
qualitativer Quellen. Die Akquise erfolgte durch Archivarbeit (unter Verwendung ein-
schlägiger Studien und Dokumente, Bücher zur Thematik sowie Daten der Regierung)
als auch mittels ethnographischer Methoden, die bei Meetings, Interviews und breit an-
gelegten Befragungen zum Einsatz kamen und deutlich machten, dass Wadi Musa nach
16 Zusammenfassung
der Wahl Petras als eines der Neuen Sieben Weltwunder ökonomische Erfolge verzeich-
nen konnte. Dieser Erfolgt äußerte sich darin, dass im Jahr 2007 alle Hotelzimmer bis
2010 ausgebucht waren.
Der Oktober nach der Wahl zum ‚N7W‘ verzeichnete mit 99.616 Besuchern ein monatli-
ches Rekordhoch (was insbesondere aufgrund der Tatsache erwähnenswert ist, dass sich
die touristische Hauptsaison in Jordanien normalerweise von März bis Mai erstreckt).
Im Jahr 2008 konnte Petra, im Vergleich zu 2006, eine Steigerung der Touristenzahl um
350 % verzeichnen (von 230.772 Besuchern im Jahr 2006 auf 813.264 Besucher im Jahr
2008). Parallel dazu wuchsen die Einnahmen durch die internationalen Besucher auf JD
593.523.011, was USD 840.802.676 entspricht.
Zudem zeigten die Daten, dass sich die lokale Bevölkerung ihrer generationenübergrei-
fenden Existenz in Petra bewusst ist, was sich positiv auf das Identitätsbewusstsein aus-
wirkte. Die autochthone Bevölkerung definiert sich über eine enge Bindung zur Heimat,
die sich in Sorge um die tiefgreifenden regionalen Veränderungen, die im Rahmen der
Entwicklung des Tourismus einhergehen, äußert. Demgegenüber stehen die oben ge-
nannten Erkenntnisse eines rapiden Veränderungsprozesses Wadi Musas dadurch, dass
die lokale Wirtschaft, die Planungen für die zukünftige Entwicklung, die Regionalver-
waltung und deren rapide Änderungsprozesse aus dem steigenden Tourismuszahlen
hervorgehen. Diese Erkenntnisse gehen mit der Wahrnehmung einher, dass die lokalen
Communities selbst nicht in die regionalen Entscheidungsprozesse eingebunden sind,
was zu Unmut führte. Selbst die Vorteile des Tourismus sind, durch die Einflüsse regio-
naler Vorkommnisse, die außerhalb der Kontrolle des lokalen Marktes liegen, von einem
unsicheren Charakter geprägt.
Wadi Musas zunehmende Bedeutung als Tourismusdestination führte zu soziokulturel-

len Spannungen und Unklarheiten, was als „liminal period“ im Lebenszyklus der Com-
munity charakterisiert werden kann. Durch die rapide Zunahme des Tourismus stand
Wadi Musa als touristische Community unter sozialem, politischem und ökonomischem
Druck. Als Folge der Ernennung zu einem der 7 Neuen Weltwundern musste Wadi
Musa einen Zusammenbruch des alltäglichen und institutionellen Lebens hinnehmen.
Während Wadi Musa als Community noch nicht zerstört wurde, ist die grundlegenden
Identitätswahrnehmung – im Sinne des subjektiven Selbstwertgefühls, des Kerns der
Existenz mit Sicherheit in Gefahr. Es kann damit argumentiert werden, dass diese wahr-
genommene „Bedrohung“ sich in den Augen der lokalen Bevölkerung vor allen Dingen
als Kontrollverlust über das eigene Leben zu haben wiederspiegelt. Die thematisierten
Brüche bergen hohes Gefahrenpotenzial und führen zu einer Spaltung der institutionel-
len, soziokulturellen und persönlichen Aspekte der Gesellschaft.
Im Rahmen öffentlicher Treffen in Verbindung mit dem Petra Strategic Master Plan
(SMP), der Wahlen und der breit angelegten Interviews, brachte die lokale Bevölkerung
ihren Dissens hinsichtlich des Status Quo in der Region zum Ausdruck. Die Diskurse
waren dabei von Misstrauen bis hin zu Besorgnis geprägt. Letztere wird von der Ambi-
Zusammenfassung 17
guität gespeist, die den gesamten Entwicklungsprozess in Wadi Musa durchdringt. Die
lokale Bevölkerung hat den Eindruck, dass die Bedürfnisse der Touristen höhere Prio-
rität genießen als die eigenen. Zudem wurde der Tourismus als Verursacher einer Viel-
zahl an Problemen deklariert: unsicheres Einkommen, von Ungerechtigkeit geprägte
Politik, Verschmutzung, Staus, Wasserknappheit und soziale Ungleichheit innerhalb der
Community. Im Rahmen der Auswertung der Daten kamen zudem bestimmte Konflikt-
punkte zum Vorschein, wie der Unmut gegenüber der Gründung der Petra Development
and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), die innerhalb der lokalen Bevölkerung als
kostspielig, bürokratisch und trivial wahrgenommen wurde. Des Weiteren herrschte die
Wahrnehmung vor, dass Investitionen aus dem Ausland begünstigt werden, während In-
vestitionen und Entwicklung auf lokaler Ebene sowie der Schaffung von Arbeitsplätzen
keinerlei Beachtung geschenkt wird. Die Beziehungen der Familien, die im Tourismus
tätig sind, sind von Missgunst geprägt: dabei spielt die Wahrnehmung, dass die Erträge
im Tourismus ungleich verteilt sind, eine Rolle. Jedoch bestärkten die Aktivitäten im
Zusammenhang des Petra Strategic Master Plan sowie die Parlamentswahlen im Jahr
2010 innerhalb der Community das Gefühl kultureller Entfremdung, was auf den Tou-
rismus zurückgeführt wurde. Im Rahmen umfangreicher Gespräche sowie über 100 Zu-
sammenkünften mit Stakeholdern und Gesprächsgruppen wurde deutlich, dass sich die
Community selbst als innerlich zerrissen und existenziell bedroht wahrnahm.
Im Rahmen der Ernennung als N7W nahm das Ausmaß an Veränderungen exponenti-
ell zu. Die Periode zwischen 2007 und 2010 war durch eine Vielzahl an Brüchen und
Problemsituationen gekennzeichnet aus, die Wadi Musas Bevölkerung an den Punkt
einer gesellschaftlichen Krise brachten, die sich durch folgende Elemente auszeichne-
te: (1) Massive Besucherströme und ungleiche Wettbewerbsbedingungen im Kontext
des Zugriffs auf Ressourcen, wobei Touristen bevorzugt wurden; (2) Schlagartiges und
exponentielles Wachstum der PDTRA, das von breit propagierten Änderungen im Re-
gierungsstil begleitet wurde; (3) Massives und breit propagiertes Wachstum des Ein-
kommens im Tourismus; (4) Plötzliches und verschärftes Bewusstsein dass der Großteil
der Bevölkerung nicht vom Tourismus profitiert; (5) Bedrohlicher Anstieg der Arbeits-
losigkeit im Rahmen der Zunahme des „Youth Bulge“; (6) Öffentlicher Widerstand ge-
genüber dem Strategic Master Master Plan for Petra; (7) Öffentliche Diskussion des
Themas „Landnutzung“ im Rahmen der Wahlen und des SMP.
Die Turnerschen Theorien des Social Drama lieferten die methodische Grundlage zur
Analyse der „liminal period“ und zeigen somit einen Weg der konstruktiven Beseitigung
sowie der Neuordnung in Bezug auf die Community auf. Die parlamentarische Kampa-
gne im Jahr 2010 war von Bemühungen geprägt, Brüche in der Gesellschaftsstruktur der
Community zu beseitigen, was sich im Kontext der Eliminierung klanspezifischer Unter-
schiede sowie der Überschreitung hierarchischer Grenzen vollzog. All dies geschah mit
dem Ziel, sich politisch unter Bani Laith neu aufzustellen. Zumindest kurzzeitig konnte
das Community-Bewusstsein wiederhergestellt werden, was sich darin äußerte, dass die
Krise, die sich seit 2007 abzeichnete, überwunden werden konnte. Turners Theorie des
Social Drama lieferte die analytischen Grundlagen zur Analyse der Vorkommnisse und
18 Zusammenfassung
Dynamiken zwischen 2007 und 2010, die im Rahmen der Parlamentswahlen im Novem-
ber 2010 ihren Höhepunkt erreichten. Die Wahlen – im Sinne meiner Nominierung als
Kandidat, der zentralen Themen der Wahlkampagne, der Konfliktpunkte innerhalb der
Wählerschaft, dem Resultat sowie den Folgen – werden im Kontext des Social Drama
analysiert. Dabei gilt der Wahl an sich – im Sinne eines Beispiels eines öffentlichen
Rituals, durch das die Community Anstrengungen unternahm sich wiedereinzugliedern,
besondere Aufmerksamkeit. Die Analyse der „root metaphor“ von Bani Laith sowie das
Schlüsselszenario des „national wedding“ (ʻurs waṭani) zeigen den Diskurs auf, der im
Social Drama inbegriffen ist.
Die vorliegende Arbeit kommt zu dem Schluss, dass die Phase der Beseitigung negati-
ver Aspekte und der Neuordnung nicht lange anhielt. Leider war die genannte Periode
(positiver Entwicklungen) für meine Community nur von befristeter und kurzzeitiger
Dauer: Das Social Drama in Wadi Musa konnte die Menschen nicht zu einem länger-
fristigen Zustand der Harmonie und Einheit bewegen. Eine Neuordnung konnte ledig-
lich während der Wahltage sowie möglicherweise in den ersten Monaten während des
Wahlkampfs konstatiert werden. Die Stämme und Clans der Region Petra haben ver-
sagt, „sich durchzuschlagen“ was die kollektive Zusammenarbeit sowie die Deklaration
als Einheit angeht. In diesem Zusammenhang kann ein Rückfall zu stammesinternen
Machtkämpfen und Wettbewerb – auf der einen Ebene zwischen den Stämmen von Pet-
ra, auf der anderen Ebene zwischen den shoyoukh, Meinungsführern (von opportunisti-
schem Charakter geprägt) sowie dominanten Akteuren im Tourismus der Region – Petra
konstatiert werden. Die genannten Entwicklungen resultierten in einem Rückschritt, der
mit Sicherheit zur Desillusionierung der shabāb oder Jugend beitrug. Die Desillusio-
nierung entstanden dabei entweder durch die Legitimierung und Formalisierung einer
Spaltung oder andererseits durch einen erneuten Rückfall in die Krise. Die geschilderten
Machtkämpfe innerhalb der Stämme sowie der Konkurrenzkampf gefährdeten das Po-
tenzial, einen Fortschritt für Petra und seine Bevölkerung zu erlangen.
Acknowledgements
Since my long PhD journey started in 2010 a number of wonderful people have accom-
panied me in achieving my ambition.
Alḥamdu li Allah rab al-ʻAlamīn. All praise is due to Allah, the God of all mankind. This
work could not have been achieved without the help of Allah. From this departure point
I believe that the one who does not thank people may not thank God, therefore I express
my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hans Hopfinger of Katholischen Uni-
versität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KUE). He has guided all my work with patience and dedi-
cation and inspired me with great confidence to conduct my research in such a creative
modern academic discipline. This work would not have had significant value without his
expertise. I feel privileged to have Prof. Dr. Hopfinger as my supervisor.
My sincere thanks are also due to Prof. Dr. Michael Becht, the Dean of the faculty of
Mathematisch-Geographischen at KUE. Many thanks also to the Vice Dean, Prof. Dr.
Hans-Martin Zademach. All thanks are also due to Mrs. Claudia Banzer, the secretary of
the faculty for her strenuous efforts while arranging for my PhD disputation.
I am also grateful to my co-supervisors, Prof. Dr. Harald Pechlaner from the Chair and
Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at KUE for everything that he helped me
with. Many thanks also to my second co-supervisor, Prof. Dr. Andreas Kagermeier from
the University of Trier for his encouraging words and for sharing his expertise to make
my work of this quality.
Amongst the Jordanian friends I shall never ever forget Dr. Basem al-Twaissi, the man
who encouraged me by insisting that I must pursue my higher education. He is the friend
who has always believed in me and has accompanied me on my lengthy educational ad-
venture, starting from Al-Hussein Bin Talal University followed by my doctoral studies
at the KUE. His wonderful wife, Dr. Maram Fraihat, deserves all thanks for her support
and encouragement in many ways.
I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Muhammad al-Nawafleh, the former Vice President
at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University and presently the General Commissioner at Petra
Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) for his support during my work
at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University; also my friend Dr. Hani al-Nawafleh, the former MP
of Petra in the Jordanian Parliament, for his continuous encouragement and for pushing
me to continue with my PhD work. My sincere thanks also to Mr. Tareq al-Falahat for
his continuous support.
Many thanks to all of my colleagues at the Petra College for Tourism and Antiquities.
Here I mention the former Dean, Dr. Ziad al-Salameen, the present Dean of the College,
Dr. Muhammad al-Farajat for his continuous support, the Vice Dean, Dr. Mukhles al-
Ababnah, Dr. Muhammad Tarawneh, Dr. Sa’ad al-Twaissi, Dr. Feras al-Shakhsheer, Dr.
20 Acknowledgements
Musa al-Masa’deh, Dr. Adnan al-Shiyab, Dr. Jebreel al-Helalat, Dr. Bashar Ma’aeh, Dr.
Fawzi Abu Danneh, Dr. Samer al-Sa’bi, Dr. Ma’moun Habiballah, Dr. Adeeb al-Sala-
meen, Dr. Mansour Shgairat, Dr. Bilal Abu Helalah, Mr. Fayez al-Hasanat, and all of the
staff of the College for their enormous support during the different stages of my PhD.
This project could not have seen the light of day without the support of my friend Dr.
Emad Hejazeen, the Commissioner of the Petra Archaeological Park at PDTRA. To him
I owe the favor of introducing me to my supervisor in the first place.
I will never forget my friends and colleagues from Germany who have been a great in-
fluence on my doctoral process. First of all is Sabine Weisel to whom I am indebted with
sincere thanks for her assistance with my enrolment at the university. I could not have
completed the enrolment process at the KUE without her help. Many thanks are due
also to Mr. Reinhard Geißler, the man with a permanent smile, the man who works very
hard without any complaints, the man who has helped me with his time and every effort
during my stay in Eichstätt. Not only Mr. Geißler, but also the kind and professional sec-
retaries, Mrs. Sandra Sigl and Mrs. Theresia Neubauer and the entire staff of the Chair
of Cultural Geography at KUE. Special thanks are due also to all of my colleagues at the
Chair, to Dr. Holger Lehmeier, Judith Gilsdorf, Florian Kohnle and Rainer Fugmann for
their support throughout my studies. I must also express my sincere thanks to my friends
and colleagues from Jordan, Dr. Malek Bader and Dr. Sa’ad al-Sa’ad. My memories of
being in Eichstätt with them will last the longest. Special thanks to my wonderful friends
in Ingolstadt, Jameel Fare’ and Abdelqader al-Masri and many others for their warm
hospitality, assistance and support during my repeated visits to Germany. I will never
forget my great friends in Zurich, Switzerland, Ibrahim al-Rafayah and his wonderful
wife Mari Heinsalo. Thank you both for your warm hospitality during my frequent stays
with you at your house in Zurich.
Indeed, I would like to single out Dr. Erin Addison with my sincerest thanks for eve-
rything she has helped and supported me with. She actually taught me as much as she
could about Western philosophy. She guided my work towards research methods and
anthropology and paved my way with her patience to make this work possible, and to be
of special and outstanding value. Thank you Erin and on an ordinary day / the extraordi-
nary way / you turn to me and say – I believe in this.
As for my dear sister Marion Cobban in Scotland, I feel I have inadequate words to
thank her for everything she has supported me with. Her continuous advice and sweet
words have been paramount in helping me to finish the hard work that I started. Her edit-
ing of my writing has added great value to my work. I cannot thank you enough, Marion,
for everything you have helped me with.
I am most grateful to my family, especially to my wife Sawsan al-Twaissi and my chil-

dren, Hadeel, Muhammad, Malak, Ahmad, Ro’a and Sura. They have constantly sup-
ported me with their time, clothing, food and milk to become the father they want to
Acknowledgements 21
be proud of. Similarly, I shall never forget my sisters and brothers, Najah, Ruqaia and
Samia, Abdullah, Aref, Abdelhadi and Adeeb. Adeeb, especially, has been extremely
supportive of me in every possible way that a brother can be and is ever present with me
in all the stages of my life.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all those in Jordan, Germany and else-
where who have given me helpful comments and other assistance towards the comple-
tion of my thesis. They are too numerous to mention individually, but you will know
who you are and you will always be in my thoughts.
Sami al-Hasanat
Eichstätt, October 2015

An autoethnographical prologue
The goal of the work presented here is to capture a community at a time of critical tran-
sition in its social, cultural, political, and economic lives – all of which are entangled
almost inextricably with tourism.
Thesis
Since 2007 Wadi Musa has experienced an exponential rate of change and an
economic success as a direct result of its selection as one of the “New Seven
Wonders of the World.” Its increased value as a tourism destination has created
socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities leading to what might be characterized
as a liminal period in the lives of the community. Using Victor Turner’s theories
of social drama, I will argue that the parliamentary campaign period in 2010
represented an effort to redress a breach in the community structure by erasing
clan distinctions and crossing hierarchical boundaries to reintegrate politically
under the rubric of Bani Laith.
Tourism, as will be demonstrated in this research, has been the main driver of change,
a significant catalyst in the configuration of cultural identity, and figured as an explicit
and dominant issue in the election process of the year 2010. Whether or not that effort
at redress was successful remains to be seen. Wadi Musa, until a generation ago a rather
homogenous and traditional Arab village, seems in 2014 deeply divided over matters of
self-identity and, indeed, the role and importance of tourism as a daily presence in its life.
It so happens that this village, Wadi Musa, is my own, where I live with my wife and
six children, four brothers and three sisters and their thirty-nine children, and literally
hundreds of cousins, aunts and uncles of varying degrees of relationship. I belong to the
dominant tribe in my geographic area, al-Layāthneh, or Bani Laith, which includes some
20,000 people. But for brief periods away for military service and study, I have lived my
entire life in Wadi Musa. In 2000 I started a tour agency in Wadi Musa with my brothers,
and in 9 November 2010, I was elected Member of Parliament for my region until 4 No-
vember 2012. The reason that tourism is a daily part of all of our lives is that Wadi Musa
is the town that is nearest to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra. In the main body
of my research we will have much more to say about Petra – but it is important to convey
something here – just a shadow – of how profound is the impact of tourism on all of us.
In 2014 Wadi Musa is a town of 17,414 people (DCSP, 2014). In the first quarter of 2010,
for example, 209,240 people visited Petra – 88,356 in March alone (PAP, 2011): More
than five times our population in a month, an average influx each day equal to 18 % of
the town’s population. To put these numbers in perspective, 2.06 million people visited
Athens, population 3.252 million (CIA, 2011), during the entire seventeen days of the
2004 Summer Olympic Games: about two-thirds Athens’ population (Olympic, 2011).
24 An autoethnographical prologue
Greece spent two years and EU8 billion preparing for the Games, and it is widely be-
lieved that these preparations contributed crucially to the country’s plunge into bank-
ruptcy (Itano, 2008; Wearden, 2010). Imagine the inundation if, for example, over 20
million people descended on Athens for a month. This is proportionately what is hap-
pening in Wadi Musa. In contrast, the streets of Wadi Musa are substantially the same
as they had been for twenty years; the only access to Petra is to enter through Wadi
Musa. There is only one main street by which to enter the Archaeological Park, and it
is the same one the locals must use to go to any of the banks, government departments,
schools, hospital, the pharmacies, the bakery or the butcher. Imagine the impact on our
village in terms of traffic alone, as hundreds of tour buses descend the steep, narrow vil-
lage streets – to say nothing of the cultural encounter this implies.
In my research I aim to explore something I apprehend as a local person on an intuitive

level and want to understand as a researcher on a more explicit, phenomenological level.
Since I began working in tourism in 1993 – just before the tourism explosion which
followed upon the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty in 1994 (Hazbun, 2002) – I have seen
a rapid transformation of attitudes and economic success with an increase in the local
economic income amongst the population of Petra’s host communities. In my Master’s
thesis I began to grope towards ways of defining and explicating these transformations.
That work continues here.
When I presented my early quantitative research and outlined the trajectory of

my doctoral thesis for faculty and classmates in Eichstaett, however, my ability
to conduct adequately objective research on my own community was bluntly
questioned. Therefore I want to begin this work by taking up the question of
reflexivity – in autoethnographical mode, to establish my own position in this
research topic.
In navigating the methodological terrain of my dissertation work I have visited a number

of disciplines and methods. Classical, or “analytic” ethnography, tempered by post-
modern insights, seems to me the richest way to express a portrait of my community 1.
Clifford Geertz’s landmark essay, Thick Description, was compelling to me, and such a
textured, nuanced, self-aware description is what I (perhaps hopelessly) aspire to. Even
1 The terminology I use to refer to “turns” or “movements” in the unfolding of ethnography and qualitative
research in general follow at least the first of our Denzin & Lincoln’s “eight moments” in the history of
qualitative research: traditional (1900–1950), modernist (1950–1970), blurred genres (1970–1986), and
crisis of representation (1986–1990). The accelerated compression of the last four “moments” – post-
modern (1990–1995), post-experimental inquiry (1995–2000), the methodologically contested present
(2000–2004) and the fractured future (2005–) (Denzin & Lincoln 2000 [2nd edition]:3) – suggests the
myopia that comes from writing about a subject so immediate that perspective is as yet unavailable. I will
use the term “post-modern” to refer to the entire critique of modernity, including structuralism, semiotics,
phenomenology, deconstruction, critical ethnography, etc.
An autoethnographical prologue 25
considering the valid post-modern critiques, Malinowski’s work Argonauts of the West-
ern Pacific (1922) is an absorbing account of a culture. Victor Turner’s works on the
Ndembu (1967; 1969) – and everything which issued from his exploration of a particu-
lar society – is equally impressive. Nonetheless it is important to keep always in the
forefront of consciousness Geertz’s sound proviso, that these works of ethnography are:
“[…] interpretations, or misinterpretations, like any others, arrived at in the

same way as any others, and as inherently inconclusive as any others, and the
attempt to invest them with the authority of physical experimentation is but meth-
odological sleight of hand. Ethnographic findings are not privileged, just partic-
ular: another country heard from. To regard them as anything more (or anything
less) than that distorts both them and their implication […]” (Geertz, 1973: 13).
I recognize that I have intimate connections with the community I am studying: I am far
more than a participant observer. “Complete member researcher” (CMR) describes an
ethnographer who is in every way a member of and insider in the participant group he
or she is observing. Peter and Patricia Adler (1987) refine the CMR into two types: the
opportunistic member and the convert member.
“Opportunistic CMRs […] may be born into a group, thrown into a group

by chance circumstance (e. g., illness), or have acquired intimate familiarity
through occupational, recreational or lifestyle participation. In each case group
membership precedes the decision to conduct research on the group” (Anderson,
2006: 379).
As I clearly fall into the Opportunistic Complete Member Researcher (“OCMR”) catego-
ry, I recognize the value of locating myself in relationship to ethnography, with all its colo-
nial and elitist connotations, and in relation to my research subjects (family, constituency)
as well. An acute sense of reflexivity will be crucial to constructing a credible narrative
about not only my own culture, but my home town, my family – for Bani Laith is, quite lit-
erally, my family. What I am offering is, of course, an interpretation of my own world. As
a family member and a previously elected official there is not only a reciprocal influence
between my research subjects and myself – I profoundly desire, indeed hope to intensify
that reciprocity. My interpretation will, thus, inevitably fail to be “scientific” in the modern
sense, “objective”; my narrative will be “as inherently inconclusive” as any other.
And yet I am reluctant to abandon all authority to relativism, to say that any account of
my community is as valid as any other. Precisely because of my previous role as a public
official and as a tourism provider I have had altogether some experience with foreign
consultants and “development” officials who are operating on very thin information
about my community and my country, my culture, while making decisions which have
a profound impact on its everyday life. Their “interpretations” are not textured enough
to make effective judgments about funding, infrastructure, zoning, licensing – decisions
which have serious consequences for locals such as myself, my brothers, my tribe.
In their well-known work entitled Naturalistic Inquiry (1985), in the chapter on “estab-
lishing trustworthiness” as an ethnographer, Yvonne Lincoln and Egon Guba remark
that “prolonged engagement [with the subject community] provides scope, persistent
observation provides depth” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985: 304). My relationship with my
subject entails both lifelong engagement and – perhaps more recently – persistent obser-
vation. While I recognize that it is as difficult to “make the familiar strange” as it is to
make the strange familiar (Blanche, Durrheim, & Painter, 2006: 321), I do believe that
my fluency in the local Arabic dialects and in the particular intricacies of life in an Arab
Muslim village in Jordan allow me to interpret us more accurately than a non-Arabic-
speaking anthropologist who has spent a year – or five or ten – here.
It is also the case that my academic training, my years as a tour guide (and consequent
exposure to many people of other cultures) and my past experience as a politician at the
national level train me to interpret my community with more critical insight than, for ex-
ample, my very intelligent and perceptive, but uneducated, untraveled and insular uncle
who is a shaikh of our tribe, steeped in the myth and tradition of Bani Laith in ways that
national politics can only disillusion.
In certain ways education and politics have marginalized me within, at the edge of, my
community – made me a fence-sitter, one foot in and one foot out. I am in some ways
alienated from my community because of my previous political influence, my fluency
in English, my education, my time abroad and my associations with westerners via the
tourism trade. At the same time all of these things lend me a certain prestige – indeed
these were explicit requirements for candidacy for the parliamentary seat. I have become
a person who straddles the margin between village and urban life, “local” and “foreign”
(baladi ou aajnabi), private sector and public sector, even as muwātin ʻādi – a regular
citizen (poor, uneducated, undistinguished). My previous dedication to my public office
required that I step outside my tribal role and consider my community in its broader –
national – context. This semi-marginality gives me a different perspective, in the same
way a field-savvy western anthropologist might gain perspective on an indigenous Lao
community, or a critical Chicago School sociologist is able to write an ethnography of a
Chicago neighbourhood (Deegan, 2001: 12‑13).
Since Thomas Kuhn’s work on The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962 (Kuhn,
2012) not much more needs to be said about the validity of the “qualitative” critique
of positivist assumptions about scientific objectivity and the privileging of quantitative
data. Ethnography is only one mode of qualitative research, but so closely identified with
qualitative work that one oft-reprinted textbook on qualitative research uses the two terms
“somewhat interchangeably” (Glesne, 2006: 9). While classical ethnographies in the tra-
dition of Malinowski, Franz Boas and Margaret Mead certainly drew on the positivist tra-
dition, in the post-modern world it might be said that most qualitative research, and cer-
tainly all ethnography, is constructivist. The constructivist paradigm, continues Glesne,
“maintains that human beings construct their paradigms of the world, that no
one perception is more ‘right’ or ‘real’ than the other […] The scientific values
of validity, objectivity and generalizability, etc., do not apply in the same way (or
at all) as they do for postpositivists or logical empiricists” (Glesne, 2006: 9).
Constructivism recognizes the researcher’s role as an interpreter of a set of observa-

tions, on which the researcher’s own social and political apparatus is borne. It might
be said that the researcher brings his own set of tools to the craft, and the result is sig-
nificantly shaped by the use of those tools as opposed to a different set. The increasing
recognition of the power wielded by the interpreter over ethnographic narrative led
to what Denzin and Lincoln, amongst many others, call the “crisis of representation”
in which “researchers struggled with how to locate their subjects in reflexive texts”
(Denzin and Lincoln, 2000: 3). Among the more adventurous of such struggles is au-
toethnography.
David Hayano coined the term autoethnography in his 1979 essay entitled “Autoethnog-
raphy: Paradigms, problems and prospects”. Here Hayano:
“[…] clearly laid out a case for self-observation in ethnographic research. Hay-

ano argued that as anthropologists moved out of the colonial era of ethnography,
they would come more and more to study the social worlds and subcultures of
which they were a part. In contrast to the detached-outsider character of co-
lonial anthropologists, contemporary anthropologists would frequently be full
members of the cultures they studied” (Anderson, 2006: 736).
While the Chicago School had already pioneered the use of autobiographically referent
material in ethnography (Deegan, 2001: 11-12), autoethnography goes further into the
use of personal experience as the main subject of a researcher’s narrative. Glesne uses
the term ‘autoethnography’ “to refer to the kind of writing that inquires into the self as
part of a socio-cultural context” (Glesne, 2006: 199).
Leon Anderson (2006: 377ff..) distinguishes between “evocative autoethnography” and

what he calls “analytical autoethnography”. Well-known champions of the evocative
mode, write:
“For autoethnographers, validity means that a work seeks verisimilitude; it

evokes in readers a feeling that the experience described is lifelike, believable,
and possible, a feeling that what has been represented could be true. The story
is coherent. It connects readers to writers and provides continuity in their lives.
What matters is the way in which the story enables the reader to enter the subjec-
tive world of the teller—to see the world from her or his point of view, even if this
world does not ‘match reality’” (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2011: 33).
From my perspective as an interpreter of my own culture it is vitally important to me

that my account of the social, cultural and especially economic dynamics of my com-
munity does, somehow “match reality”. Ellis and Bochner’s claims for autoethnography
are overtly political:
“Autoethnographers view research and writing as socially-just acts; rather than

a preoccupation with accuracy, the goal is to produce analytical, accessible texts
that change us and the world we live in for the better” (Ellis, et.al, 2011: 40).
On the contrary, I am preoccupied with accuracy. On one level, it seems to me socially

unjust to portray my community purely from my own subjective vantage point, since
discord and social dissonance characterize much of the research problem. On another
level, we shall return to this point shortly.
In my view:
Analysis which is not “preoccupied with accuracy” leads to poorly founded deci-
sions on which to “better the world we live in”.
What is my ambition for this research?
I aspire to tell more than my own experience. I want to portray my community. I

want to describe it as “thickly” – carefully, evocatively, in numbers, interviews,
surveys and metaphors, my voice and others’ – as I can. I want to portray more
than my own perspective, however critically.
As I have noted – and will explain further – I am not entirely typical of my community,
which is both a curse and a blessing, as far as research goes; so telling my own story is
not quite the same thing as telling Wadi Musa’s story. While any research is necessarily
grounded in self-experience, I want this research to reach beyond my experience and into
others’, fully recognizing that a key underlying element of the phenomena I am trying to
portray is the fact that we do not all interpret the situation in the same way. An “author-
saturated text” (Geertz, 1988: 8) will not serve the purpose I set out for myself – evoca-
tive autoethnography will not yield the thickest possible description of my community.
Anderson advocates for what he calls “analytic autoethnography” (Anderson, 2006:

374). Anderson shares with traditional social science and classical ethnography the aim
“to use empirical data to gain insight into some broader set of social phenomena than
those provided by the data themselves” (Anderson, 2006: 387). Anderson continues,
“[t]he definitive feature of analytic autoethnography is this value-added quality of not
only truthfully rendering the social world under investigation, but also transcending that
world through broader generalization”.
This is not really substantively different from what Geertz observed almost forty years
ago in “Thick Description”:
“The locus of study is not the object of study. Anthropologists do not study vil-
lages (tribes, towns, neighbourhoods […]); they study in villages. You can study
different things in different places, and some things – for example, what colonial
domination does to established frames of moral expectation you can best study
in confined localities. But that does not make the place what it is you are study-
ing” (Geertz, 1973: 22).
Geertz exhorted anthropologists to be “microscopic” in their reportage on concrete

cultural examples, but then to recognize their own role in writing the narrative which
interprets the example and transforms it into exemplar – but he never suggested that
we should not make that latter move. “Analytical” autoethnography seems to advocate
foregrounding “complete member researcher” methods and emphasizing transparency
about this status vis-à-vis the research and researched, but does not otherwise improve
on self-conscious thick description.
For example, an anecdote (Horse and camel owners’ quarrel) describes an incident that
took place in Wadi Musa, 3 April 2013 (see also section 5.4.1.8.)
“The camel drivers of Petra Archaeological Park – all of them from the Bidoul
tribe of Umm Ṣayḥoun – broke the rules of the Park and rode their camels up the
Siq4 to the visitors-entrance gate, trespassing on the routes allotted to the horse
guides – all of whom are Bani Laith, from Wadi Musa. The camel drivers were
protesting the fact that they do not receive a percentage of the entrance fees to Pe-
tra, as do the horse guides. The horse guides gathered in force and galloped down
the Siq, driving the camel guides back to their allotted territory. The leader of the
jamʻiyyah – more or less a union – of horse-guides vowed that if the camel drivers
persisted, they would ‘be ground to the earth beneath the hooves of our horses’.”
Asked if I believe that all interpretations of a text are equally valid, I have to say un-
equivocally no. I do “get” that each of us brings a different set of tools to the interpretive
table, and each of those tools is able to craft different interpretations, elicit different
potentials, from a given text. Some of those interpretations, the most skilful, likely com-
pete with each other in appeal, in persuasiveness.
The same goes for “reading” a community: the more and better tools you bring to the
effort, the better is the likelihood that you will “read” it accurately, with nuance and
the appropriate polyvalence. An organism is a complex thing to study. A community of
more than 20,000 organisms, e. g. Bani Laith, is complex in the extreme. Language and
cultural fluency are the two most important tools for the job. Without them, academic
preparation might not help.
I am aiming to understand something I feel is going on in my community: I see it, listen

to it, eat it at countless communal meals, struggle with it (literally, physically), talk with
it, smell it. I mean this literally. It is an empirical fact that my community is in conflict
over its identity, and literal, physical fights break out over it. The short anecdote above
can serve as one tiny example. It happened – or it was a collective dream. Anyhow. A
tourist might well have narrated the event as follows:
“The camel drivers of Petra Archaeological Park rode their camels up the Siq 2 to
the visitors-entrance gate. The horse guides gathered in force and galloped down
the Siq, driving the camel guides back to the Treasury. The leader of the horse
people yelled something in Arabic. It looked like a battle was taking place.”
Depending on whom the tourist relied for an interpretation – camel driver or horse guide
– the explanations of why this took place would have been very different and, on some
level, equally legitimate, equally “accurate”. A Bidoul camel driver’s account probably
would have rung of injustice; a Bani Laith horse guide’s would convey ruthless resent-
ment and disgust. So the competing accounts would be equally “accurate” if the goal
is to understand how the participants feel and why they are doing what they are doing.
But, like many dramatic moments in the life of a community, the horse-and-camel brawl
(hoshah) was symbolic of much deeper issues, both in the administration of the Park and
in the conflict between the Bidoul and Bani Laith communities, (“The conflict between the
Bidoul and the Layāthneh 3 escalated over the years as a consequence of tourist competi-
tion and differential access to education and market resources” (Kooring and Simms 1996),
Umm Ṣayḥoun and Wadi Musa, respectively. For relevant decision-makers (horse owners,
camel owners, the Park Commissioner, the mutaṣarrif, administrators at PDTRA 4) neither
the tourist account nor those of the stock owners are adequate – or fully accurate. Without
knowing that the Bidoul have a (legal) monopoly on concessions within the Park, or that
camels are not – as horses are – a feature of the traditional cultural heritage of the Petra Re-
gion, or that the Bidoul were evicted from Petra by the government when the Park was es-
tablished in 1986, or that they were then settled on land “appropriated” from al-Ḥasanāt and
al-Nawāfleh, clans of Bani Laith (see Appendix 3), (who now dominate the horse guides) –
how can the situation be assessed? How could a decision-maker function on the basis of infi-
nite, equally competing accounts? Would I, as a resident of Wadi Musa (or Umm Ṣayḥoun),
want a decision-maker to consider every account equally valid? Equally accurate?
2 Siq is a Greek word for a narrow chasm made naturally by an earthquake. The Siq is the main passage to
the ancient city of Petra.
3 Other authors transliterated Layāthneh or Bani Laith as (Liyathnah) and Bidoul as Bedul.
4 Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (Ar. Mufawwaḍiyyat Sulṭat Iqlīm al-Batra’ al-
Tanmawī wa al-Siyāḥi), the entity in charge of the government of Petra Region.
So it should be said that I was a politician. Before I was a politician I was a tour guide
and small-business owner, and before (and undergirding) all that I am al-Ḥasanāt of Bani
Laith, born in a goats-hair tent at Munīfeh – in the highlands above Petra – and raised
in Wadi Musa. The goal of my research is, of course, to understand: but to understand
with a bias towards policy-making and toward ameliorating conflict in my community.
I am, however, wary of overtly ideological enterprises such as critical ethnography and
action research. The roots of action research are found in the mid-twentieth century work
of Kurt Lewin, which was quite positivist in orientation (Glesne 17). In its postmodern
incarnation, however, critical action research and participatory action research refer to
collaborative processes in which researcher(s) and researched work together to analyze
a problem and effect change. Participatory action research has roots in Marxist libera-
tion theology as well as more secular human rights movements (Kemmis & McTag-
gart 2007: 273). What all of the various modes of action research share is a cyclic, or
“spiralling” method consisting of research, intervention and evaluation. In this case, a
researcher collaborates with the subject group to identify and explore a problem – or
“change,” in Kemmis and McTaggart’s words (276) – plan and implement a course of
action, and then to evaluate the effectiveness of the course of action (Glesne 17). Action
research emphasizes the collaborative involvement of the subject group and researcher
in solving a perceived problem (Kemmis and McTaggart 2007: 322), and results of the
research are evaluated in terms of what might broadly be called social justice:
“we can ask whether their understandings of their situations are less irrational
(or less ideologically skewed) than before, whether their action is less unproduc-
tive and unsatisfying for those involved, or whether the social relations between
the people are less inequitable and unjust than before” (322).
While I certainly wish for a more equitable and productive situation for Wadi Musa,
the goal of this research is focused on the first stage of action research: identifying and
understanding a perceived problem. Done well, the research might, I hope, serve to sug-
gest “interventions,” which should then definitely be evaluated carefully and learned
from – but that is a different project.
Critical ethnography has its roots in the radical social critique of the post-World War I
Frankfurt School. Also referred to as “orientational,” “ideological” or “cultural” studies,
critical ethnography argues from an explicitly ideological standpoint with the intention
of critiquing the status quo (Glesne 16). Following the path beaten by Herbert Marcuse,
scholars of the New Left in the United States argued for an ethnography of emancipation
from discourses of power elites.
“Frustrated by forms of domination emerging from a post-Enlightenment cul-

ture nurtured by capitalism, these scholars saw in critical theory a method of
temporarily freeing academic work from these forms of power” (Kincheloe and
McLaren 2002: 87-88).
Recently critical ethnography has been most identified with feminist studies and “queer
theory,” but also embraces critiques of power relations by indigenous peoples and a
wide variety of ideological perspectives. Critical ethnography is not so much a differ-
ent method as it is, in Michael Patton’s terms, orientational in its goals (2001: 131), it
is ethnography written from a stated orientation. Kincheloe and McLaren go so far as
to say that “inquiry that aspires to the name critical must be connected to an attempt to
confront the injustice of a particular society” (2000: 291).
While there is no doubt that any good ethnography (or bad, for that matter) has politi-
cal implications, neither is political advocacy (“critical ethnography”) the goal of this
research. I am actually aiming at some ideal of scholarly objectivity, even given all of
the valid critiques of the notion. Academics – the very idea of the dissertation – is based
in western enlightenment (specifically, secular humanist) thought, with its associated
notions of scientific objectivity. To ignore this is to expose myself – as a non-western,
Muslim thinker – to abuse for not being adequately rigorous and scientific in academic
(western, secular humanist) terms. It is also worth pointing out that evocative autoeth-
nography, a la (Ellis, et.al, 2011), cuts no ice with international aid agencies such as
World Bank, IMF, UNESCO and USAID, who have significant say in the economic
well-being and the very physical geography of my community. These entities are nota-
bly not predisposed to self-criticism or reflexivity, and yet they have a very “real”, quan-
tifiable impact on the economic, political and physical – and therefore socio-cultural
– landscape of my life and that of my community. In short, to make my point, to support
my thesis, I have to bring numbers to the table here: the phantom of objectivity, the
quantitative spirit of social “science”. Anyway, to turn to Geertz yet again –
“I have never been impressed by the argument that, as complete objectivity is

impossible in these matters (as, of course, it is), one might as well let one’s sen-
timents run loose. As Robert Solow has remarked, that is like saying that as a
perfectly aseptic environment is impossible, one might as well conduct surgery
in a sewer” (1973: 30).
In an effort to gain perspective on myself as a researcher, I asked someone with ethno-

graphical experience to interview me 5. I then used her transcript to help me define who I
am in relationship to my subject, which is to say, my own community, and how I came to
the research question itself. In Anderson’s language, once again, my “group membership
preceded my decision to conduct research on the subject group.” I didn’t start out with
5 My interviewer is a foreign scholar – “white,” affluent, American, a native English speaker, female, aca-
demically trained. I chose someone who is both “different,” “other” – but also in some ways like me: she
speaks Arabic; she has lived in Jordan for over seventeen years, but remains on the margins of Jordanian
and American ex-pat society. As have I, she has worked extensively with the Jordanian government, inter-
national aid agencies and in tourism. Like me, she maintains a residence in Wadi Musa, but spends much
of her time in Amman because of business. In short, she has enough experience both in academics and in
Jordan – and south Jordan, amidst Bani Laith – to ask pointed questions of me as a researcher and press
me to critical reflection.
a hypothesis about us and then proceed to infiltrate us to gain “insider” perspective and
data to prove or disprove it. If anything, mine has been a process of moving gradually
outward, so as to clarify and concretize some apprehensions which were at first vaguely
apparent to me as a member of the group – long before I was an “OCMR.”
In the transcript two themes clearly dominated: a preoccupation with inequity and my
struggle to educate myself. Other major, but less salient themes were my lifelong in-
volvement with tourism, religion and values, family and tribe, and poverty 6. The subject
of poverty might well be folded into the heading of “inequity”. It is worth noting that
important themes of my dissertation project are already present: tourism, tribe, political
and economic inequity. It is likely that my awareness of inequity is over-determined.
The various clans, or ḥamāyil, of Bani Laith lived in neighbourhoods of their own, clus-
tered around the water sources that ran through the canyons of Wadi Musa. A Wādi, in
fact, is a seasonal wash or a canyon with running water. My neighbourhood, or ḥārah,
was made up of families (ʻashāˊir) of Hilālāt, Nasarāt, Ḥasanāt and Twaissi from al-
ʻAbaidiyyieh clan. As a child I thought my ḥārah was the whole world. We had absolute
respect for the men of our ḥārah and called them all “uncles”. When one of our fathers
was away for some reason these “uncles” stepped in and took over his responsibilities.
The boys from each family often banded together to fight packs of boys from another
family, and our identities were importantly shaped by these boyhood struggles.
In my tourism work I had been promoting responsible tourism. I was optimistic about
the potential economic benefits of tourism for the local community. I felt that my com-
munity shared many of the positive returns of tourism that I have: increased income,
new opportunities for better education. I would not have earned my BA or my Master’s
degree but for my tourism business. I felt that tourism helped us to understand other
cultures by interacting with other people.
As Jordan’s primary tourist attraction, Petra had grown in economic significance since
1994. There was ongoing, official governmental conflict over the management of the
Archaeological Park and the Region, which was made a special administrative area in
1995, overseen by a cabinet level appointee in place of the local representation enjoyed
by the rest of Jordan. People felt disenfranchised from the management of their commu-
nity, and all over the Region I heard the repeated complaint that “we feel like foreigners
in our town”. There were ongoing jurisdictional conflicts over who had final author-
ity over the Park and the Petra Region – the relatively new Regional Authority? The
Park Authority, the Department of Antiquities, the Ministry of Tourism? Petra National
Trust? UNESCO? I could see that this was leading to mismanagement, and I wanted to
learn more about that.
6 I counted the paragraphs or lengthy remarks devoted to each subject: inequity (27); education (22); tour-
ism (17); religion/values (14) family/tribe (13) and poverty (12).
There was social competition in my town between those working in tourism and those not,
which created resentment and envy amongst us. I had been watching tour operators sucking
profit from both sides – locals and tourists: I wanted to see everyone benefit from tourism
revenue; I was sure this was possible, but I wanted to understand more clearly the different
realities colliding here, how to make concrete change. At the same time I was watching
children drop out of school to beg and sell souvenirs in the Park. Behaviours amongst the
youth were increasingly different from the older generations’, and considered immoral by
many who blamed them on the influence of tourists. There was something wrong, but was
this wrong thing in the mentality of people or in the political system? My Master’s research
– most of which was conducted in 2008 – revealed foremost that the issue was complex.
In general, people expressed relatively positive views of tourism – but, paradoxically, they
didn’t want their daughters or often even their sons to work in tourism. Many were unclear
about the role tourism was playing in planning and managing the Region.
In the year 2009 following my Master’s education in England, I returned to teach at al-
Hussein bin Talal University in the Petra College of Tourism, Archaeology and Hotel
Management, whose campus is in Wadi Musa. In the wake of Petra’s selection as one of
the “New Seven Wonders of the World” in 2007, Wadi Musa was deluged with tourists,
and entrance fees to the Park were raised dramatically. As the town became more glut-
ted, people were also recognizing the massive economic resource that Petra represents
– and their marginalization from that feast became more starkly obvious. When I was
admitted to the doctoral programme in Cultural Geography, I went with the express
intent to write a thesis on crisis management in tourism, because that is what I felt was
threatening to develop in the Petra Region. Which brings us to the present research.
I had already embarked on my doctoral work in Germany when, in September 2010, I

was called back from Germany by the shoyoukh of my tribe to stand as a candidate for
Parliament. Ironically, perhaps, much of what I have narrated here was construed as
qualifying me for the candidacy: the fact that I had established myself on my own in the
tourism industry; my education and fluent English; a willingness to challenge authority,
speak my mind; my strong identification with my family, clan, tribe and – largely by
virtue of my career in tourism – region, crossing tribal lines; my sense of inequity itself,
of marginalization.
In what follows I will try first to examine the development of the tensions which
led to the need for such a candidate. No doubt these are also themes which have
shaped and framed my interpretation of my subject. I will then turn to what I
interpret as my community’s effort at redress and reintegration of the fragmenta-
tion, or, in Turner’s terms, the breach of community.
I see my own selection for the Parliamentary candidacy in 2010 as an attempt to redress
the breach through social drama. My campaign coalesced around Bani Laith as a root
metaphor, a unifying symbol, and in fact I was the first candidate in the Region’s history
to be elected as a unity candidate.
The Turnerian cycle ends either with reintegration of the community or a formal le-
gitimization of the breach. As I started writing my dissertation a few years after my
election to Parliament, I am sad to say that our attempt at redress seemed to have been
unsuccessful. Bani Laith has once more disintegrated into tribal and clan factionalism,
exacerbated by a cross-cutting rift between the “youth” (shabāb) and the shoyoukh, or
tribal elders. Much of the time I feel helpless to help my people, myself.
I Economic, Environmental and Socio-Cultural Impacts
of Tourism
1.1 Review of the literature on the impacts of tourism
It was crucial to review a large number of studies which were carried out at differ-
ent tourist destinations in order to identify the various impacts of tourism. At the
heart of these impacts are the economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts of
tourism on the residents of different destinations. Moreover, it was crucial to study
the interaction between host and guest as well as those factors that affect residents’
own perceptions of the impacts of tourism on them. Economic, cultural and environ-
mental impacts are significant determinants of residents’ attitudes towards tourism
and its development and planning. People’s perception about tourism impacts varies
according to the level of personal benefits obtained from tourism (Oviedo-Garcia et
al., 2008).
The various impacts of tourism must be well managed in order for countries and com-
munities to maximize development opportunities in their tourism destinations. It is stat-
ed in the view of UNEP that:
“Managed well, tourism can play a positive role in the social, cultural, eco-
nomical, environmental and political development of the destination and as
such represents a significant development opportunity for many countries and
communities. On the contrary, unchecked tourism development can lead to very
damageable impacts” (UNEP, 2013).
As a result, for a very well managed tourism process in a destination, the various im-
pacts of tourism are perceived positively.
In terms of the distribution of the benefit from tourism it was stated that “tourism con-
tributes to the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, as the net benefits of
tourism do not ‘trickle down’ to the poor as previously thought. It is not the poor but
the local elites who often reap most of the profits” (Singh, 2003; Jameison, Goodwin,
& Edmunds, 2004). That could be evident in some tourism destinations. The dominant
beneficiaries might assume control on the tourism resources and amenities, therefore,
they reap most of the benefit from tourism revenue. According to Chok et al., (2007) it
was anticipated that tourism may help the poorer and least secure countries to improve
the economic and social troubles in these countries. It was also hoped that tourism
could solve the economic, social, political and environmental problems of poor na-
tions.
Many studies have been conducted in the area of tourism impacts on local commu-
nities, with conclusions being divided into positive, negative, or no distinguished
38 Chapter 1
impacts. For instance, a study on the economic impacts of tourism in the cities of
Guildford and Canterbury (England) revealed that the residents of the latter did not
appreciate the jobs created by tourism, while the residents of Guildford did. The au-
thors traced the difference in the attitudes of the two cities to the longer experience
of and exposure to tourism that the people of Canterbury have compared to those in
Guildford. The perceptions of the residents of Guildford were more positive than those
of the residents of Canterbury towards the economic benefits of tourism; yet the same
study showed that the residents of both cities perceived tourism as one reason for the
increase in the cost of living (Gilbert et al., 1997). “Tourism is arguably one of the
most important industries for job creation and gaining foreign revenues in developing
countries” (UNDP, 2011).
In terms of environmental impacts, some studies have revealed negative attitudes to-
wards the environmental impacts of tourism by respondents such as Anderek (1995)
who noted some potential environmental consequences including noise pollution caused
by planes, cars and tourists, water pollution, water discharge, and destruction of soil
and beaches. In contrast, other studies have shown that residents have a positive view
of the environmental impacts of tourism. For example, the study of Liu and Var (1986)
reveals that most of the respondents believed that tourism improves the quality of public
facilities and roads, provides more parks and recreational areas and does not lead to
ecological decline.
On the positive side of socio-cultural impacts, a study of Riga, Latvia, a member state of
the European Union located on the Baltic Sea, found that the local people noticed posi-
tive consequences in the areas of friendliness, honesty and trust (Upchurch and Teivane,
2000). In comparison, a study done in Botswana in Africa had the exact opposite find-
ings with an increase in crime rates, high prostitution rates, a greater use of alcohol by
the residents, break-up of traditional family structures, and adoption of vulgar language
by the youth (Mbaiwa, 2005). A study in a Turkish village noted that, initially, tourism
was perceived favourably, but over time became detrimental to the village with adverse
changes in community bonds, traditional values and customs.
It was stated by Baud-Bovy (1982) that various tourism development plans are faced
by constraints to implementing them on the ground. In the implementation and develop-
ment processes it is essential to consider socio-economic, socio-cultural, political and
environmental aspects. It is also crucial to involve the different stakeholders and tourism
activists in the destination itself. Another study by Tosun (2000) concludes that formu-
lating and implementing the participatory tourism development approach or integrated
approach in Baud-Bovy’s conclusion needs essential reform in the socio-political, legal,
administrative and economic structure of many developing countries.
The results of various studies, however, seem to vary depending upon which country is
being studied. Let us turn now to review more of the literature concerning the economic,
environmental and socio-cultural impacts of tourism.
Economic, Environmental and Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism 39
1.2. Economic impacts of tourism
Revenue from tourism contributes to a developing economy in many countries, creating

jobs, increasing exchange earnings and helping to improve social welfare, as well as
contributing to the Gross National Product (GNP) of a tourism destination. Closely as-
sociated with the attraction of inward investment is the role that tourism plays in encour-
aging new economic linkages and increasing the gross domestic product (GDP) of an
economy (Williams, 2009). The experience of many tourist destinations has shown that
tourism benefits are combined with costs to the locality (Butler, 1980). That is evident in
the high cost of living due to a rise in prices (AP and Crompton, 1993). However, tour-
ism can lead to job creation, benefiting local people and small businesses and increasing
the standard of living, according to many studies such as (Avcikurt and Soybali, 2002),
(Fariborz et al., 2009), (Pizam and Milman, 1986), (Milman and Pizam, 1988), (Ritchie,
1988) and (Tosun, 2002). Other authors (Weaver and Lawton, 2001) and (Tosun, 2002)
argue that, due to tourism seasonality, job structures have been disrupted in some cases.
Increases in the prices of goods and services have also been perceived as a negative
impact of tourism by residents in many studies (Avcikurt and Soybali, 1997), (Pizam,
1996), (Tosun, 2002), (Weaver and Lawton, 2001).
In a report by Intrepid Travel (2013) on the impacts of alternative types of tourism in

rural village communities in less developed countries, it was found that tourism changed
the shape of their traditional economy. The income from tourism benefited only the elite
few and created only low-paying jobs.
In Harrill’s study of residents’ attitudes toward tourism development (2004), it was

found that, while focusing on attracting tourists to a destination and enhancing the sup-
ply in it, planners should also focus on protecting the quality of life for both residents
and tourists. Such protection should include the social, economic and environmental
aspects in that destination.
Many authors (Liu and Var, 1986; Prentice, 1993; McCool and Martin, 1994; Pizam et al.,
1986; Tosun, 2002) have stated that tourism improves standards of living, as it increases
the income of people who work in the industry and brings about better investment and
business opportunities. In contrast, Upchurch and Teivane (2000) stated in their research
on Riga (Latvia) that tourism receipts did not improve their standard of living and did not
increase job opportunities. In support of this view, Gilbert et al., (1997) in their research
in Canterbury, revealed that tourism did not improve residents’ standards of living.
A number of authors have focused their attention on tax revenues derived from tourism.
In this context, Upchurn et al. (2000) stated that the residents of Riga perceived that
tourism did not increase tax revenue. This view was contradicted by Pizam et al. (1986)
who stated that tourism can lead to an increase in tax revenues. At the same time, in
the research carried out on Rhode Island (USA) by Tosun (2002), it was revealed that
tax revenues derived from tourism can lead to a reduction in residents’ own taxes. This
40 Chapter 1
perception, however, was contradicted by the findings of Prentice (1993) by which he

illustrated that tourism leads to an increase in residents’ own taxes.
From a study by Mirbabayev et al. (2006) on the economic and social impacts of tour-
ism, it was found that it is hard to make tourism business profitable anywhere without
the local community experiencing negative impacts. It is possible for the tourism indus-
try to collaborate with other industries in order to obtain profit for local businesses and
tourism organizations. The first step in doing that is to understand the needs and wishes
of both the host community and tourists.
The economic impact of tourism in Jordan provides the Kingdom with the majority of its
income and creates local jobs and business opportunities (Mustafa, 2011). An outstand-
ing research carried out by Shoup (1985) revealed that the economic benefits of tourism
to the city of Petra have been recognized since the early decades of the 20th century. He
also stated that the first hotels were built in Wadi Musa as he narrated the first involve-
ment of the local men in the earliest excavations in Petra. Moreover, local people were
contracted to provide transportation on horseback or camels for tourists.
The economic impacts of tourism were no more apparent than in Petra where Jordan’s
number one tourist attraction is located and jobs directly related to tourism (hotels and
tour services) and those that indirectly support tourism (souvenir shops and restaurants)
are essentially the sole source of income to the locals (Magablih, 2011). In the same
vein, it was stated by (Mustafa, 2011; Magablih, 2011) that in Petra there is an increase
in the number of tourist facilities including hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, car rental
offices and camps. They also stated that the economy of the local tribes in the Petra
region was evident in the engagement of members from these tribes in employment
in these various tourism services. The economic impacts of tourism, however, can be
measured and quantified by figuring out the level of direct, indirect and induced benefits
of the tourism industry. In Chapter Four, we will come to study more of the economic
impacts of tourism on the local community at Petra.
1.3. Environmental impacts of tourism
Apart from economic and socio-cultural impacts, tourism can also engender environ-
mental impacts which can be both negative and positive. Anderek (1995) noted some
potential environmental consequences such as noise pollution caused by planes, cars
and tourists, water pollution, water discharge, and destruction of soil and beaches. In his
research of three New Zealand areas, Garland (1984) noted that environmental factors
attributed to tourism by residents were pollution, traffic congestion and litter pollution.
Also in another study, residents revealed that tourism causes more pollution, leads to
the destruction of natural resources and the depletion of wildlife (Anderek, 1995). The
research of Lankford and Howard (1994) showed that the majority of the respondents
felt that tourism was responsible for an increase in litter and the problem of waste. This
problem has also been observed by the residents in the research of Brunt and Courtney
(1999) and Gilbert et al., (1997). Other perceived environmental problems are traffic
congestion (Brunt and Courtney, 1999; Johnson et al., 1994), and parking problems
(Lindberg and Johnson, 1997; Hammit et al., 1996).
While these studies have revealed negative attitudes towards the environmental impacts
of tourism by respondents, many other studies have shown that residents have a positive
view of the environmental impacts of tourism. As mentioned above, the study of Liu and
Var (1986) reveals that most of the respondents believed that tourism improves the qual-
ity of public facilities and roads, provides more parks and recreational areas and does not
lead to ecological decline. They also note that most of the residents think that tourism
does not cause congestion and disruption of the peace and tranquillity of parks. Addition-
ally, another study has shown that, generally, residents have positive attitudes towards the
impact of tourism on the environment such as conservation of the natural environment
(Sheldon et al., 1984), as well as improved community appearance (Perdue et al., 1990).
Mckercher (1993) argues that tourism needs both a special infra and supra structure.
That results in tourism consuming local resources, often leading to over-consumption.
Although tourism generates revenue, it is competing for scarce resources. He further
explains why some factors such as social influences, and cultural and environmental de-
velopment of tourism-related locations seems inevitable. Often the negative impacts of
tourism can be reduced by understanding these facts and the implications for both host
communities and host environments.
Tourism is the biggest industry in Petra, and the surrounding area has experienced
tremendous development since the site was designated a UNESCO site in 1985 (al-
Salāmīn, 2009). In light of this, the negative environmental impacts are a major concern
(Lubick 2004; Magalbih, 2011, Mustafa, 2011). With the passage of time and the ef-
fects of a harsh climate, combined with the stress from human activity and the largely
unplanned urban development, the already fragile site becomes ever more vulnerable.
Al-Salāmīn (2009) stated that the current situation in terms of preservation of the site is not
promising. Responsible authorities for conservation do not apply scientific methods when
protecting the site and its identity. He also asserted that, due to the lack of control on tour-
ism activities, there are factors threatening the preservation of Petra. These factors include
graffiti writing on the antiquities by some of the tourists and locals. Not only that, but also
the undesirable use of some of the old caves to keep animals. Moreover, using horses and
donkeys for tourist transportation causes erosion to the steps and pollution to the site. He
also emphasised that the worse impact ever is selling antiques to tourists by some locals.
Balancing these factors while still allowing visitors to take advantage of Petra’s magnifi-
cent beauty is a challenge to manage. In order to achieve sustainable tourism, it should
be integrated closely with all other activities that occur in the host region. Tourism, as
a competitor for scarce resources, depends highly on resources. Integration can occur
42 Chapter 1
only if there is a broad understanding of some of the “facts” about all types of tourism
development. Once this understanding is achieved, the advantages and disadvantages of
tourism development can be evaluated and better understood.
1.4. Socio-cultural impacts of tourism
Generally speaking, literature on tourism has revealed that tourism as an industry in-
volves socio-cultural impacts, both positive and negative. According to Smith (1995),
socio-cultural impacts are caused when there is an interaction between the local people
(the host population) and the tourists (the guests). This interaction affects both the guests
and the host society. Socio-cultural impacts have been defined by Glasson et al. (1995)
as the “people impacts” of tourism, placing emphasis on the daily changes in the qual-
ity of life of residents in tourist destinations, and cultural impacts relating to changes in
traditional ideas and values, norms and identities that result from tourism. Dogan (1989)
found that social characteristics such as habits, daily routines, social lives, beliefs and
values are affected as a result of tourism development. In addition, he postulated that
tourism development is accompanied by a variety of negative consequences such as an
increase in crime rates, social conflict, traffic congestion, a decline in traditions and an
increase in materialism.
Positive impacts of tourism can be in the form of improved community services, cul-
tural facilities and encouragement of cultural activities (Brunt and Courtney, 1999). The
study of Upchurch and Teivane (2000) in Riga, Latvia, indicates that residents identify
both positive and negative social impacts. Among the positive impacts, they mentioned
that friendliness, honesty and trust in people had greatly improved with the advent of
tourism in Riga. Residents also considered that prostitution, theft and the use of alcohol
and drugs had reduced in frequency in the community.
In contrast to this study, the research of Mbaiwa (2004) in the Okavango Delta, Botswa-
na, revealed that there was an increase in crime, prostitution and the use of alcohol, as
perceived by the residents. Other negative perceived socio-cultural impacts in his study
included racism, relocation of traditional communities, breaking up of the traditional
family structure, use of “vulgar” language by young people and the adoption of western
“safari”-style of dressing.
Broeck et al. (2001), in their study of Turkish home-stay tourism, found that, initially,
people were very welcoming, but as time went on, they became aware of the social im-
pacts of tourism which most of them considered to be detrimental. The authors reported
that the residents believed that tourism had changed the village, including community
bonds and traditional values and customs. In contrast to the above studies, Liu and Var
(1986) found that the majority of the residents in their study did not associate any social
cost with tourism. They also found that the majority of respondents considered that tour-
ism did not have an impact on the crime rate.
In the case of Lake Balaton, Budapest, according to a study by Ratz (2000), tourism
had both positive and negative impacts on the Siofok people who live by the lake. The
economic impacts were stronger and more positive than the socio-cultural impacts be-
cause of only a small difference in culture between hosts and guests and also due to the
monocultural economic formation of the area.
In the case of Aventureiro, Brazil, according to one study by Da Costa et al. (Anony-
mous) Tourism and Social Change: the Case of Aventureiro – Iiha Grande (RJ), Brazil,
social scientists should not use categories such as “traditional population” because such
terms are political categories used by social actors who are only interested in achieving
their own interests. Social change processes cannot be understood using such categories
because they assign cultural and economic immobility to social groups.
According to (Takahashi et al., 2001) social change can come about because of ecologi-
cal changes which cause deterioration of the natural resources and disease. This can also
occur as a result of technological change (for example, any kind of industrial revolution)
which in turn can lead to the creation of a new social order.
According to a study by Rundle (2001), the Cuban state is “packaging” Cuba as a destina-
tion for immoral and sensual Afrocuban women. “Jineterismo” means horse riding and is
an expression used in Cuba to indicate hustling or prostitution. Although it was practised
by many Cubans, regardless of their race or social class, it was rationalized to the level
that Afrocuban women are seen by default as jienetors. As a result, these women are sub-
jected to intensive police harassment. While the state is complicit in the “packaging” of
Cuba in such a way, they are trying to contain their activities and not to legitimize immoral
behaviour. One has to question the extent of the effect on the rest of the local population.
In their study on social conflict in communities impacted by tourism, Yang et al., (2012)
stated that tensions are identified as being based on beliefs, resources and power, and a se-
quential pattern of primacy is identified consistent with stages of the tourist area life cycle.
In her study of tourism and representations entitled Of social change and power relations in
Wādi Ramm [sic], south Jordan, Chatelard (2008) states that representations of Wādi Rum
and its vast desert were made only to sell the place to tourists as a “romantic” destination.
Sharma et al. (2008), in their study on exploring residents’ perceptions of the social im-
pacts of tourism on the Sunshine Coast, Australia, concluded that tourism impact is evi-
dent in traffic congestion and the roads’ incapacity to handle huge volumes of transpor-
tation traffic. It was also revealed that meeting people from other cultures in the world
provides an opportunity to enhance their understanding of those other people’s cultures.
The socio-cultural impacts of tourism on the local community at Petra are discussed in
detail here because they are the main focus of this thesis and, while the economic and envi-
ronmental factors are equally important, the socio-cultural factors have, arguably, had more
44 Chapter 1
immediate and significant effects on the local population (as well as likely to be longer last-
ing with implications for future generations) and require more attention to be paid to them.
The socio-cultural impact of tourism in Petra puts at risk traditions, skills and a long-es-
tablished way of life (Magablih, 2011). With Petra becoming an ever more popular tour-
ist destination, there is a challenge to balance the community’s continuing growth and
evolution while also maintaining its culture and values in an authentic and traditional
way (Mustafa, 2011). The vulnerability of being influenced through the interaction with
tourists and observing the tourists’ behaviour, the locals face a sometimes difficult task
in preserving all dimensions of their cultural heritage. This challenge not only affects
the local community but also affects the tourists as they desire an experience based on
genuine culture (Hejazeen, 2007, Alhasanat, 2011).
Taweel (2003) suggests that little is actually known about the socio-cultural impacts on
people around Petra. In his study of people’s attitudes in Wadi Musa (the main district
of Petra), Taweel (2003) found that their attitudes varied according to their level of de-
pendency on tourism and certain demographic variables. Interestingly, he discovered that
people with a lower level of education had a more positive perception of tourism than
those with higher education. That becomes evident when tourism is their only source of
income. Hejazeen (2007) states that most of the socio-cultural impacts are experienced
at Petra rather than anywhere else in Jordan because Petra is the main tourist attraction in
the country. The local people of Petra, therefore, become more dependent on tourism. He-
jazeen (2007) compared the socio-cultural impacts of tourism on five communities at five
historical sites around Jordan. Concerning Petra, he found that there were several nega-
tive impacts such as a number of local people starting to drink alcohol, children dropping
out of school, tourism behaviours being imitated by local people, sexual relationships
being entered into with tourists, and evacuation of tourist sites by local residents. How-
ever, he also identified a number of positive impacts, such as that work in tourism helps
to finance the education of local residents, locals learn foreign languages, tourism creates
investment opportunities and influences the interaction of locals with their own society.
In Petra in 2008 there were 1,572 local workers occupying tourist jobs at hotels, restau-
rants, car rental companies, travel agencies and working as tourist guides or horse guides
(MoTA, 2008; JTGA, 2008). In 2013 the number of people from Wadi Musa working
in tourism was 1,804 and in 2014 is 1,808 (MoTA, 2013; MoTA, 2014). Most of these
jobs are by self-employment and the majority are taken up by men. Women are thus not
encouraged to work in tourism in Jordan because of community social values which
reflects the social restrictions concerning men and women working together in tourism
initiatives (Hejazeen, 2007). Those younger men who work in tourism have adopted
western dress to some degree and have also learned many languages because of the op-
portunities of acquiring and practising the various tourists’ languages (Hejazeen, 2007).
However, the wealth accumulated from tourism by these young men gives them more
status than they would traditionally have in their society and thus isolates them from
their own culture, giving them expectations beyond what they would normally have.
Some immoral behaviour of some tourists may result in issues such as the occurrence
of sex tourism. This is the most controversial aspect of assessing socio-cultural impacts
(Swarbrooke, 1999). The argument centres around trying to identify to what extent sex
tourism is acceptable to local communities.
For example, sex with children is consistently considered as being totally unaccepta-
ble. Hejazeen (2007) states that, in Petra, sexual encounters do take place, but mainly
between local men and foreign women. In this study, it was found that heads of house-
holds considered that tourism itself does not contradict religious practice and traditions,
although they indicated there were potential threats that might affect the younger gen-
erations in the future. The question arises of what has caused this socio-cultural change
in men’s sexual behaviour and why? The rulings of Islam prohibit the free mixing of
men and women. According to (Delcambre, 2005; Hejazeen, 2007), sexuality in Islam
is controlled absolutely – any sexual relationship outside marriage is forbidden. It is
clear that Islamic morality applies equally to both men and women. In his study of the
socio-cultural impacts of tourism, Hejazeen (2007) states that “Islam does not oppose
tourism” but on the contrary, encourages its followers to travel the world in search of
learning and to interact with other peoples and cultures.
Research carried out by al-Ḥasanāt (2008) on the socio-cultural consequences of tour-

ism on the local community in Petra revealed, in agreement with Taweel (2003), that the
attitudes of the local people varied according to people’s level of dependency on tourism
and certain demographic variables. Data analysis of that study supports the evidence
that positive socio-cultural impacts of tourism do exist in the everyday lives of the Petra-
ians and also that the benefits of tourism far exceed their negative consequences.
II Methodology, and Theoretical Framework
In 2007 the Nabataean antiquities site of Petra, Jordan, was voted to be one of the “New
Seven Wonders of the World”. The publicity resulting from this international promotional
exercise brought a flood of tourism into Petra and consequently had profound effects on
Petra’s host community, Wadi Musa. Since 1994, when Jordan signed a peace treaty with
Israel, tourism has been the country’s fastest-growing business sector, and Petra tourism
has led growth in international tourism arrivals for over a decade (JTB, 2010; JIB, 2012).
Since 1994 the rapid growth in Petra’s economic significance to Jordan has occasioned
continuous changes in the local government administration and governance of the re-
cently formed entity known as the Petra Region – 755km2 of spectacular desert moun-
tain landscape embracing six settled communities and approximately two hundred
Bedouin tent groups with a total population of some 30,710 people (DoS, 2012). The
influx of international tourists, the overwhelming majority of whom are from Europe
and the United States (SMPD, 2010: 23), has exposed residents to contrasting cultural
norms which have engendered value disorientation, particularly amongst the youth. All
of these dynamics are conspicuous in Wadi Musa, where all but one of the twenty-nine
hotels of Petra Region are located. With the New Seven Wonders (N7W) selection, how-
ever, the pace of socio-cultural and political change in Wadi Musa became suddenly
and exponentially more acute. Combined with the demographic pressures known as the
“youth bulge” (Cincotta, 2003: 42-49), common to most of the Region, difficult eco-
nomic climate and scarce natural resources – particularly water – Wadi Musa has entered
a period of socio-political tension and cultural ambiguity which might be characterized,
in anthropologist Victor Turner’s terms, as a liminal period in the life of the community.
In late 2010 several processes – an election year, sharpening economic constraints, ris-
ing unrest in Jordan and neighbouring countries, the latest in a series of Regional master-
planning activities – converged in such a way as to throw these tensions and ambiguities
into high relief. Electoral caucus 7 members in Wadi Musa and neighbouring Ṭaybeh,
who are tribally identified with each other and share a parliamentary representative,
specified that the candidate officially endorsed by the caucus must be educated, have
a tourism background and be perceived as one of the shabāb, or younger generation 8.
The 2010 elections became a stage on which socio-economic and cultural conflict in
the community was played out and on which strategies for amelioration were put forth.
Victor Turner’s theories of social drama provide a framework within which to analyze
this uncertain period and the community’s efforts to redress its conflicts constructively.
7 The Arabic expression translated here as “caucus” is intikhābāt tamthīliyyah. A full discussion of the term
and the process appears below in Chapter Six.
8 shabāb refers to persons approximately 45 years of age and under, a broader group that is typically
considered the “younger generation” in the west.
48 Chapter 2
2.1 Research methods
In order to establish a baseline against which to measure change, it is necessary first to

construct a portrait of the study community, Wadi Musa, and Bani Laith, who make up
99 % of the residents of Wadi Musa and Ṭaybeh (Amarat, 2013). After a brief historical
sketch we will explicate the social, cultural, political and economic contexts in which
the tourism phenomenon of Petra has taken shape. It is necessary to establish an histori-
cal profile of al-Layāthneh / Bani Laith 9 as well as the communally-held mythos which
constitutes it, as Bani Laith provided the key symbol unifying the community in 2010.
This historical portrait is followed by a more detailed discussion of the period from the
Jordan-Israel Peace Treaty in 1994 to early 2007, which establishes the baseline against
which post-N7W changes – 2007–2010 – are to be measured.
A palette of methods are used to portray the community. Archival resources are used
to furnish historical context. Quantitative data drawn from tourism statistics, economic
reports and census figures furnish the economic and demographic profile of the com-
munity, and provide the background against which broad public opinion has formed.
Broad-sweep surveys of 10 % of the voting population of Wadi Musa were conducted
in order to characterize public opinion concerning the role of tourism in the life of the
community. Twenty two in-depth, information-rich interviews added detail and texture
to the information yielded by the surveys. All of these sources are layered into an eth-
nographic description of Wadi Musa’s socio-cultural, economic and political life. The
ethnography, though marshalled in the service of Turner’s theoretical constructs, aspires
to achieve a Geertzian “thick description” of a pivotal time in the life of a community
in transition.
2.1.1 Classical ethnography
Considerable space has been devoted in the prologue, above, to explaining my choice,
as a researcher, of classical ethnography over various, more explicitly post-modern
qualitative methods. In this case “classical ethnography” refers to accounts informed
by traditional anthropological approaches such as secondary data analysis, fieldwork,
observation/fieldwork, participant observation, interviews, mapping, kinship analysis
and visual document collection.
I have rejected evocative autoethnography because, to use once again Leon Anderson’s
concise phrasing, the goal of the research is “to use empirical data to gain insight into
some broader set of social phenomena than those provided by the data themselves”
9 The names al-Layāthneh and Bani Laith are virtually interchangeable in normal conversation. Tradition
holds that everyone in Bani Laith once used al-Layāthneh as a surname, but as the tribe (qabīlah) expanded
this became impractical and clans (ḥamāyil) began referring to themselves and each other by clan names,
then family (ˊashīrah) names, etc. See Chapter Four for details.
Methodology, and Theoretical Framework 49
(2006: 387). My researcher status as an “opportunistic complete member researcher”

(OCMR) positions me squarely within analytical autoethnography, but for the fact
that the research also attempts to describe the perspectives of those within the subject
community who have quite different, indeed conflicting, perspectives. To quote Geertz
again, “what the ethnographer is in fact faced with […] is a multiplicity of complex
conceptual structures […] which he must contrive somehow first to grasp and then to
render” (1973: 10). This task is better accomplished by looking beyond myself as a
datum.
Critical ethnography and “action research” are rejected in favour of analysis alone, be-
cause, ideally, adequate analysis should ground intervention. I approach the problem
from a previous political standpoint, unavoidably – a consciously political standpoint, it
is hoped. One of the shaping forces of that previous political position is the experience
of “interventions” in the landscape and community of Petra Region which have been
based on insufficient analysis. Simply put, the goal of the research itself is not policy-
making, though it is hoped that policy might be based on well-conducted research.
None of the foregoing should suggest that I do not embrace the post-modern critique of
positivism, the essentially structuralist insight that:
“[…] every perceiver’s method of perceiving can be shown to contain an inher-

ent bias which affects what is perceived to a significant degree. A wholly objec-
tive perception of individual entities is therefore not possible: any observer is
bound to create something of what he observes. Accordingly the relationship
between observer and observed achieves a kind of primacy. It becomes the only
thing that can be observed.” (Hawkes, 1977: 17).
Nonetheless, the provenance of the present research within the “developing world” im-
plies sensitivity to the way that “facts” are marshalled to very concrete and empirical
ends. This is one of the most important “relationships between observer and observed”.
That “developed”-world perceptions have tangible consequences for the “developing”
world is a felt experience by me. Perceptions have tangible consequences. The need to
base – and communicate – perceptions in terms of empirical observation is essentially a
colonially determined position, that of having to render one’s own circumstances in the
language of the patron. This is a matter about which more will be said later.
This research endeavours to achieve a synthesis of Anderson’s post-modern “analytical

autoethnography” and a traditional ethnography composed by an OCMR which avoids
“claiming illegitimate expertise over the people studied […] based on relationships of
hierarchy, control and so on” (Atkinson, 1994: 252). As much as my previous political
role in my community may be a source of bias, it also underscores the fact that there
are “political and ethical responsibilities” implicit in the ethnographic project of repre-
senting “others”, even others from one’s own tribe, family, community (253). In sum-
mary, then, classical ethnography is the overriding mode of discourse for this research,
50 Chapter 2
subverting objectivity by means of “objectivity” as the Tantrist subverts the passions

by means of passion. On a less precious note, I hope to approach an ambitious-enough
ideal: to grasp and render complex conceptual structures with perspicacity, if not ob-
jectivity.
2.1.2 Triangulation method: Combining quantitative and qualitative methods
The use of quantitative methods in qualitative research, particularly ethnography, is nei-

ther new nor novel (Olsen, 2004: 3). One employs quantitative measures in order to
analyze causal relationships between variables (Golafshani, 2003: 597) and as a way of
“testing” perceptions and generalizations which emerge from qualitative research. Na-
hid Golafshani, in her helpful article entitled “Understanding Reliability and Validity in
Qualitative Research” (2003), explicates the ways in which quantitative and qualitative
research paradigms require, respectively, different paradigms of reliability and validity
(601). Quantitative research demands replicability, measurable hypotheses and accurate
instruments. In qualitative research I am myself the instrument: replicability is replaced
by credibility, confirmability and the dependability or “trustworthiness” of mine as the
researcher; validity is judged by the applicability, transferability or generalisablity of
the interpretation (2003: 599-602; Martensson, 2007: 1329). Reflexivity is one way in
which I do not only attempt to manage bias, but also establish credibility/trustworthi-
ness with the reader by acknowledging my relationship to the subject and the effort to
be reflexive. Transparency regarding the process/methods of data collection also builds
credibility (Martensson, 2007: 1328). Using several approaches, or avenues, into a sub-
ject from several directions – multiple methods, multiple disciplines, multiple types of
data – is yet another way to establish the credibility, confirmability and generalisability
(empirical or theoretical) of an interpretation.
Using a suite of methods, types and means of data collection is known as triangulation
(Olsen, 2004; Golafshani, 2003), which ideally contributes to the trustworthiness of an
argument as each set of data and methods corroborates each other. “Triangulation has
risen as an important methodological issue in naturalistic and qualitative approaches
to evaluation [in order to] control bias and establishing valid propositions because tra-
ditional scientific techniques are incompatible with this alternate epistemology” (Ma-
thison, 1988) in (Golafshani, 2003: 603). Quantitative material, primarily economic
and demographic measures, for example, are used in this research to illuminate and
reinforce qualitative material gathered from surveys, interviews and participant obser-
vation. Surveys provide a broad scope of opinion which can be used both quantitatively
and qualitatively, whereas information-rich, purposeful interviews provide material for
semiotic interpretation and deeper understanding of socio-cultural patterns underlying
measurable data. Mixed-methods researcher, social economist Wendy Olsen, argues that
triangulation of methods can be used to achieve meta-interpretations when, for example,
the political, social and economic aspects of a phenomenon are treated and both quanti-
tative and qualitative data are employed (Olsen, 2004: 22).
The present research employs multiple methods of data collection, multiple kinds of
data sources and multiple investigators. Secondary data from DoS economic surveys,
for example, is balanced by primary data gathered on local sub-groups, such as tour-
ism operators in Petra Region, via targeted interviews (see 1.1.3, below). Participant
observation and fieldwork are integrated with data from visual documents and archival
materials. Broad-sweep, open-ended survey questions are given depth and detail by ref-
erence to information-rich oral histories gathered by me. In the administration of the
broad-sweep survey, three methods were used to gather responses: online social media,
myself, and responses given and gathered anonymously at neighbourhood shops and
gathering places throughout the community (see 1.1.3, below).
Secondary data analysis refers to the use of data not gathered directly by me. In this case
secondary data includes historiography and visual documents, such as photographs and
videography (see 1.1.4, below), and often includes quantitative data such as economic
statistics, census reports and other demographic data. This research includes economic
and demographic data gathered by the Jordan Department of Statistics (DoS). Other de-
mographic and economic data are gleaned from reports sponsored by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
World Bank, the European Union (EU) and the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID).
In the present research, secondary quantitative data are used to examine the economic
basis of local unrest by looking at demographic and economic figures for Wadi Musa and
south Jordan vs. Amman/Jordan as a whole. Data drawn from local (PDTRA) archives
are used to compare the demographic and economic profiles of local government institu-
tions vs. local population. Tourism data are drawn from the archives of these agencies as
well as the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan
(MoTA), Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and Petra National Trust (PNT). Information
on land values and land use is drawn from the archives of or interviews with officials
from the Directorate of Lands and Surveys.
In order to examine the economic basis of social conflict in Wadi Musa, primary research
was conducted to gather quantitative information comparing local income in tourist fami-
lies to local income in non-tourism families. This information was gathered by interview-
ing thirty-five members of tourism business owners or operatives in Wadi Musa 10.
2.1.3 Qualitative Data: Surveys and interviews
Quantitative material was gathered mainly in the service of contextualizing the percep-
tion of cultural stress which motivated this research in the first place. In order to capture
10 (DoS, 2009a)(xiii). Fully nomadic families operate largely outside the cash economy, and therefore their
“wealth” (in livestock and tribal lands) goes unaccounted for in DoS economic measurements.
52 Chapter 2
those perceptions as more than just a personal hunch, the research has utilized several
kinds of interviews.
As noted above, topical interviews were conducted with thirty-five individuals in the lo-
cal tourism industry to gather information on income to families in tourism. DoS reports
cite only average income for families in the Maʻan Governorate, of which Petra Region is
one sub-district. Maʻan Governorate is amongst the poorest in the country (MoPIC, 2004,
20; DoS, 2009b; DoS, 2012) and home to the largest percentage of nomadic pastoralists
(bedouin) 11. These average figures do not reflect the income of relatively urbanized fami-
lies living in Wadi Musa and working – in some cases for three generations or more – in
tourism, often at the international level. These figures are even less useful for assessing
the intra-community discrepancies between the income of tourism households and the
income of the remaining 80–85 % of households in Wadi Musa. Thus it was necessary to
conduct primary data gathering on this topic. As tourism income fluctuates seasonally and
is significantly constituted of tips and unrecorded income, I interviewed both individual
operators and the heads of the jamʻiyyāt, or associations of guides, horse owners, camel
owners, souvenir shops, hotel employees, hotels and restaurants, and tour operators. At
least four operatives from each occupation were interviewed (see Chapter Three below).
To capture a sense of current public opinion in Wadi Musa regarding Petra tourism, a
topical broad-sweep survey was conducted both on paper and via social media. A non-
directive question was posed (“What is your feeling about tourism in Petra?”) and posted
on my professional Facebook page, garnering 98 responses. In addition, 602 paper sur-
veys were collected in Wadi Musa. Salient themes, phrases and words were tallied and
analyzed semiotically. The target number was 700 responses, to represent approximately
10 % of the voting population of Wadi Musa 12.
Surveys were used in the service of both quantitative and qualitative analysis: quantita-
tive insofar as a general public profile of attitudes toward tourism was established. The
surveys were used qualitatively insofar as responses also served to establish certain
cross-cutting themes, motifs and concerns shared by the community.
In-depth, information-rich, oral history interviews were conducted in order to supple-

ment the thin archival materials regarding the history and kinship networks of Bani Laith.
While there are scattered references to Bani Laith in both Arabic and European histori-
cal works, there is no published (or, for that matter, unpublished) academic work which
exhaustively documents either Bani Laith’s presence in Wadi Musa or its genealogy.
11 The number of registered voters in Wadi Musa in 2010 was 7,978 (mutasarrifiyyat al-Batra’, 2010).
12 See for example, Baha’al-Din Touqaan’s (Touqaan, 1935) Arabic translation and edition of Frederick
Peake’s History and Tribes of Jordan, which corrects numerous errors regarding the genealogy of the
tribes. The importance of the accuracy of this information extends beyond mere historical curiosity, as
physical presence on and use of land by various families constitutes claims to land ownership and tribal
usufruct. Due to the intricacies of Islamic inheritance law, genealogy plays a part in these claims.
Much of the published information is flatly inaccurate – unfortunately a common state

of affairs in the western sources on tribal politics and genealogy in the Arab world 13.
To reconstruct the community experiences of election day in 2010, thirty in-depth, in-
formation-rich interviews were conducted with individuals who administered polling
venues, managed crowds and served in the maqar, the official campaign centre. These
interviews are integrated with videos, photographs and sound recordings of the activi-
ties. This information is particularly important in the absence of significant participant
observation of much of the day’s activities, as my presence was circumscribed by my
role as a previous candidate.
In summary, a broad-sweep survey and three types of interview were utilized in order
to gather two kinds of data. Targeted, topical, homogenous sampling interviews were
used to gather quantitative economic data. An open-ended, broad-sweep survey utilizing
maximum variation sampling was used to assess broad public opinion on Petra tourism.
In-depth, information-rich oral histories and targeted, or purposeful, interviews were
conducted to provide articulate and detailed accounts of specific events and tribal his-
tory and kinship. It is intended that this array of material from community members
triangulates each other and also serves as a body of information which triangulates with
quantitative data, archival and visual documents.
2.1.4 Quantitative Data: Archival sources, statistics and document collection
Chapters Three and Four, in particular, rely on historical documents and statistics to
establish a baseline for describing change from 1994–2010. Bani Laith kinship is dis-
sected at some length because history and kinship in an Arab village are inextricably
intertwined, and because relationships across family lines play an important part in the
tourism industry in Petra Region and in elections. Historical sources thus include pub-
lished accounts, written accounts, photographs, maps, land ownership records, govern-
ment documents, oral history and family trees, which are often annotated.
Archaeological interest in Petra is longstanding due to the very early human settlement at
Baiḍa, biblical association with Moab and Edom, and because of Petra’s importance. Ar-
chaeological research on ancient heritage has yielded the unintended benefit of early aerial
surveys and detailed maps of the Region (Kennedy, 1925) and general peripheral interest in
local life. Ken Russell’s work is a good example of a scholar whose work initially focused
on prehistory, but eventually shifted to an almost complete preoccupation with modern pas-
13 See for example, Baha’al-Din Touqaan’s (Touqaan, 1935) Arabic translation and edition of Frederick
Peake’s History and Tribes of Jordan, which corrects numerous errors regarding the genealogy of the
tribes. The importance of the accuracy of this information extends beyond mere historical curiosity, as
physical presence on and use of land by various families constitutes claims to land ownership and tribal
usufruct. Due to the intricacies of Islamic inheritance law, genealogy plays a part in these claims.
54 Chapter 2
toralist culture in the Petra Region (1988; 1993; Simms, 1997). Post-processual and post-
modern archaeological methodologies now document remains from the surface down, thus
yielding documentation of the material remains of contemporary settlement. Interestingly,
there has been little contemporary ethnography of Wadi Musa / Bani Laith or other tribes
in the Region. Ken Russell and Steve Simms have contributed more work on the al-Bidoul
than anyone has done on the other tribes or clans (qabā’il or ḥamāyil) in the Region.
The travelogue is also an important source from the Victorian period to the present. Both
“scientific” travellers and tourists get a lot factually wrong (about kinship, for example),
but they (often unwittingly) tell us a great deal about the history of tourism. Tourists’
photos and descriptions of their journeys to Petra offer a concrete view of the massive
changes which have taken place in Petra tourism. Although European travel accounts
have been mined thoroughly for their comments on the antiquities, they are reviewed
here for references to the built environment of Wadi Musa and vicinity 14. In addition
to those of European visitors, works by Arab and Turkish geographers and travellers
add another layer of commentary. The works of Muḥammad bin ʻabd al-Munʻim al-
Ḥimyari (727 AH 15 / 1327 AD), Yāqout al-Ḥamawi (622 AH / 1125 AD), Abu al-Fidā’
(723 AH / 1323 AD), Ḥamza al-ʻarabi and the Turk, Sweileh Mizoglu, contain referenc-
es to both Wadi Musa and Bani Laith / al-Layāthneh. Collections of old photos belonging
to local residents of Wadi Musa furnish yet another source of documentary information
about both tourism and the history of the community.
Equally important in describing the fact of change, and crucial to establishing the rate
of change in Wadi Musa, are social and economic surveys, studies and statistics. Once
again, due to Petra’s significance as a cultural heritage site and tourist attraction, a rel-
ative wealth of information is available. Between 1993 and 2011 no fewer than six
planning exercises have been conducted for Petra and Petra Region 16, each of which
14 Listed here in order by date: T. Legh (1819); J.L. Burckhardt (1822); C.L. Irby and J. Mangles (1823); E.
Rüppel (1829); L. Laborde (1836); B.B. Edwards (1837); J. Bertou (1839); J.G. Kinnear (1841); E. Rob-
inson and Eli Smith (1841, 1856); D. Roberts and George Croly (1842–1849); E.J. Morris (1842–1843)
D. Millard (1843); S. Olin (1843); W.F. Lynch (1849); J.L. Stephens (1851); U.J. Seetzen (1854–1859);
P. Lenoir (1872); H. Luynes (1874); H. Martineau (1875); F.W. Holland (1879); R.F. Burton, Richard F.
(1879); E. Hull. (1884, 1903); S.M. Palmer (1883); H.C. Hart (1885); E.L. Wilson (1885); C. M. Dough-
ty (1888); W.B. Ogden (1888); C. Huber. (1891); C. Clermont-Ganneau (1896–1899); G. Hill (1897);
M-J. Lagrange (1897, 1898); C.A. Hornstein (1898); E. Hornby (1901); W. Libby (1902); Brünnow and
Domaszewski (1904–1905, 1909); W. Libby and F.E. Hoskins (1905); R. Dussaud (1923); A. Forder
(1923); T. Canaan (1930)
15 AH: After Hijra. Working by the AH started during the era of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab, corresponding
to the year 622 AD, which is the date when early Muslims migrated from Makka to Madina. To convert
between the two systems: AD = AH*32/33 + 622. AH = AD – 622 * 33/32 (Khadour, 2013).
16 Draft Management Plan for Petra Archaeological and Natural Park. UNESCO. 1993; Petra Priority Action
Plan. Dar al-Handasah / USAID. 1996; US/ICOMOS. Petra Management Analysis & Recommendations.
1996; Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan. United States Park Service / USAID. 2000; Analytical
Studies, Detailed Land Use Plan and Special Regulations for the Protection of the Area along the Taybeh-
Wadi Musa Scenic Way. Sigma/USAID. 2000; The Strategic Masterplan for Petra. ATC/PDTRA. 2011.
provides information on demographics, land use and tourism current to that report. This
information can be contextualized by reference to international studies and situation
reports from World Bank, United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organiza-
tion (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), the European Union (EU), United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and other development agencies.
Jordanian government records and reports furnish much of the most recent quantitative
material. Economic indicators and census information are drawn from the Jordanian
Department of Statistics (DoS), which has posted 2012 statistics on their website. Land
prices and zoning information from the Directorate of Lands and Surveys are current,
obtained over the telephone and by office visits to the Directorate in Wadi Musa. Tour-
ism figures are increasingly carefully tracked and archived by PDTRA (PRA, PPC 17),
Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan (MoTA),
Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and Petra National Trust (PNT). However, due to the
inconsistent data-gathering methods across various agencies in Jordan, it is difficult to
produce crisp, up-to-date statistics on the tourism industry. There is no statistic avail-
able, for example, which estimates the tourism sector’s true added value to the Jordanian
economy; nor, for example, is there an account of tourist spending in Petra. Because the
entrance fee to Petra for Jordanians is very low, it is important to estimate the number of
non-Jordanian visitors in order to estimate Petra’s real value to the Jordanian economy.
Thus it is necessary to combine an array of statistics to come up with estimates of added
value. The means of arriving at such estimates will be detailed in each case.
In the absence of information on household income in Petra Region or in Wadi Musa,

primary research was undertaken to approximate local income, local salaries for a range
of positions, and to distinguish the income of tourism households from the average
household. As noted earlier, this was done by interviewing a range of people within each
occupation – asking, for example, employees, employers and accountants about salaries
for the same position or business. In some cases the relevant business association, e. g.,
the Association of Horse Guides, keeps records of income. Even so, operators them-
selves (e. g., guides, horse guides, waiters) were interviewed to check this information
and also to approximate income from tips and gratuities.
A vitally important source of information is to be found in photographs, videography and

sound recordings. As noted earlier, photographs of Wadi Musa are invaluable testimony
to the past, documenting change as clearly as any report or statistic. These resources were
even more important for the interpretation of the political campaign and election day
festivities. Many community members recorded events on their mobile phones either as
still images or videos. Speeches were recorded not only at campaign events, but also at
17 Two administrative bodies preceded PDTRA: the Petra Planning Council (PPC) and the Petra Regional
Authority (PRA). For more detail see below, Chapter Four.
56 Chapter 2
meetings I did not attend. I thus obtained a much wider perspective on the proceedings
than if I had relied only on my own participant observation. Secondly, none of the record-
ings and images gathered from others was made for the purposes of research – much less
this research. They therefore retain a certain naiveté that corrects for bias in my observa-
tions. Finally, visual documentation provides another layer of semiotic grist, a layer of
non-textual, non-verbal representations of key symbols, to the interpretation of events.
2.2 Theoretical framework
2.2.1 Semiotic analysis
Semiotic analysis opens up the cultural symbology present in the discourses of the in-
terviews, survey responses and visual documentation. “Semiotics” is here understood
as Clifford Geertz uses the term, as the basis for the study of culture. Geertz’s entire
concept of culture is “essentially semiotic”, by which he means that culture consists of a
web of shared meaning made up of signifiers and symbolic actions which “mean” some-
thing to a particular group of people. To analyze culture is to interpret these signifiers,
to explicate and construe “social expressions on their surface enigmatical” (1973: 5).
“Culture is public”, maintains Geertz, “because meaning is” (12). To study a commu-
nity is to study a network of “construable signs” – symbols and symbolic actions which
make up human behaviour. These symbols, or signifiers, are “symbolic acts or clusters
of symbolic acts”, (26) and the goal of studying them is the analysis of social discourse.
That study, analysis, interpretation is accomplished by minute observation of behaviour

in concrete contexts. Geertz writes:
“My own position in the midst of all this has been […] to try to keep the analysis
of symbolic forms as closely tied as I could to concrete social events and occa-
sions, the public world of common life” (29-30).
And elsewhere:
“[…] Behaviour must be attended to, and with some exactness, because it is

through the flow of behaviour – or, more precisely, social action – that cultural
forms find articulation. They find it as well of course, in various sorts of artifacts,
and various states of consciousness; but these draw their meaning from the role
they play (Wittgenstein would say their ‘use’) in an ongoing pattern of life […] not
from any intrinsic relationships they bear to one another […] Whatever, or wherev-
er, symbol systems ‘in their own terms’ may be, we gain empirical access to them by
inspecting events, not by arranging abstracted entities into unified patterns.” (17).
Geertz is responding to and rejecting abstract formulations of universally shared mental

structures, e. g., Levi-Strauss’s structural linguistic model, ideological methodologies
such as that of the Frankfurt School, or archetypal constructions such as C. G. Jung’s.
For Geertz, the only avenue into a culture is the “microscopic” interpretation of the “flow
of social discourse” in terms of concrete behaviours in a specific time and place. This
microscopic intimacy with a community and its quotidian life yields up the symbolic
forms around which meaning aggregates and is shared by that particular public. For a
practical discussion of the means to determine these crucial symbolic forms we turn to
Geertz’s student: Sherry Ortner’s discussion of “root metaphors” and “key symbols”.
2.2.2 Root metaphors and key symbols
It is by now an ordinary assumption that certain symbols or themes serve as hubs around
which the wheels of cultural meaning turn. “Dominant symbols” (Turner 1967), “core
symbols” (Schneider 1968; Geertz 1973), “key symbols” (Ortner, 1978, 2002) are,
thought, to use a different metaphor, to be at the heart of a given cultural code, and as-
certaining these symbols allows a researcher to follow the symbolic “blood” of that code
throughout its circulatory system. In her landmark essay, “On Key Symbols”, Sherry
Ortner notes that the ethnographer commonly observes that something, a symbol or met-
aphor or symbolic action, is particularly interesting (recurring, arousing, etc.) to a com-
munity and subjects this something to further analysis (2002:160). She actually provides
a checklist of the “not very intuitive or mysterious” indicators that a symbol (X) is “key”:
1. T
he local community tells the researcher so;
2. The locals are positively or negatively aroused by (X), vs. indifferent to it;
3. (X) appears in many contexts – behavioural, systemic, in action and/or conversation,
in symbolic domains such as myth, ritual, art, literature, etc.;
4. There is more “cultural elaboration” of (X) than other symbols;
5. Cultural restrictions regarding (X) are more elaborate and/or severe.”
(Ortner, 2002: 160).
Using these guidelines the material gained through interviews, surveys and documen-
tary analysis was mined for the richest metaphors.
Interviews were voice-recorded and then transcribed into Arabic (the primary research
language) and translated into English. Surveys were collected in hard copy or down-
loaded from the internet (in the case of the surveys responses on Facebook) and translat-
ed from Arabic to English. The Arabic texts were then “coded” by highlighting recurring
words, phrases and themes and tallying their frequency. He most oft-recurring themes
were considered to represent social, political and economic issues at the forefront of lo-
cal consciousness at the time. Two very rich and prevailing symbols/metaphors emerged
from the interviews and documents collected around the elections period: Bani Laith
and al-ʻurs al-waṭani, the “national wedding”. Using Ortner’s checklist as a heuristic
device, Bani Laith and ʻurs waṭani were selected as metaphors to be analyzed in depth
for the insights they might yield into cultural identity and socio-political processes.
58 Chapter 2
Ortner (2002: 161) usefully divides such dominant symbols into two categories – summariz-
ing and elaborating – which are distinct from each other but lie at two ends of a continuum
across which examples blur. Summarizing symbols lump complicated ideas together intui-
tively, not rationally; they “summarize”, in an emotional and uncontemplated way, powerful
cultural ideas. An example of a summarizing symbol is the American flag, planted on lawns
and posted in car windows and everywhere else in the days after September 11, 2001.
Elaborating symbols, on the other hand, sort out complicated ideas and make them un-
derstandable and communicable, “translatable into orderly action” (161). Elaborating
symbols are analytic and clarifying: they are essentially metaphors. Ortner again sub-
divides elaborating symbols into two further categories: conceptual “root metaphors”
(162) and “key scenarios” which suggest actions or strategies for successful conduct
within the community. “Key scenarios”, writes Ortner, “both formulate appropriate
goals and suggest effective action for achieving them” (163). As we will discuss in much
more detail below (Chapter Five), Bani Laith serves Wadi Musa as a root metaphor,
while the ʻurs waṭani can be fruitfully understood as a key scenario.
It is worth saying that we do not argue that these metaphors are the sole or paramount met-
aphors for understanding the life of a south Jordanian village in the early twentieth century.
Taking to heart Geertz’s warning away from “schematicism” and insistence on “attending
to behaviour with some exactness”, these metaphors are explored because they seem to
elucidate the community’s self-understanding during a time of important transition.
2.2.3 Social drama and ritual process
Chapters Four and Five are devoted to establishing that the community, in fact, is expe-
riencing a period of transition and cultural ambiguity. This transition and the resulting
socio-political atmosphere in Wadi Musa is established by composing a portrait of the
community before 2007 (Chapter Four), depicting the accelerated change in political,
administrative and economic structures from 2007–2010, and then composing a compa-
rable portrait of the community in 2010 (Chapter Five). These portraits are based largely
on historical research, economic and demographic data (Section 2.1.4, above). The ris-
ing sense of cultural dislocation and social tension in 2010 is fleshed out by means of
interviews and surveys (Section 2.1.3).
Chapter Four focuses particularly on the rapid transformation of “Petra” following the
Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty in 1994, support for which the monarchy marshalled explic-
itly by touting its potential tourism benefits (Hazbun 2002: 334ff.). From 1994–2006,
massive government funding, foreign aid and “development” initiatives fuelled succes-
sive changes in the local economy and political administration. The flood of tourism
permanently re-shaped Wadi Musa as a built environment and a socio-cultural entity.
Petra’s selection as one of the “New Seven Wonders” in 2007 initiated a new phase of
accelerated change which exacerbated existing social, political and economic tensions
within the community and raised local awareness both of the value of Petra as a tourism
commodity and the slenderness of their benefit therefrom.
Once having so argued, Chapter Six explores how the community, however temporarily,
re-imagined and reconstituted itself in such a way as to redress that cultural breach, to use
Victor Turner’s term. Turner’s theory of social drama provides an analytic structure with-
in which to analyze the events and dynamics of the period from 2007–2010, which cul-
minated in the parliamentary elections of November 2010. The elections – my selection
as a candidate, the major campaign issues and points of conflict within the constituency,
the results and the aftermath – are parsed as social drama. Particular attention is devoted
to the election itself as an example of public ritual by which the community attempted
to reintegrate itself. Analysis of the root metaphor of Bani Laith and the key scenario of
the “national wedding” (ʻurs waṭani) articulate the discourse implicit in the social drama.
In his 1974 essay “Dramas, Fields and Metaphors” Turner wrote, “when redress fails,
there is usually a regression to crisis (41)”. This thesis closes with an epilogue which
will narrate, returning to the autoethnographical voice of the prologue, the aftermath of
the 2010 elections. However, we still have to wait to see what the epilogue will report.
2.2.3.1 Comparative symbology
Victor Turner (1920–1983) is best known for his theory of ritual, which used his prede-
cessor Arnold van Gennep’s analysis of rites de passage (1960) as a point of departure
for a career of exploration into the ways in which individuals and social groups negoti-
ate and resolve transitions in their lives. Turner established his reputation in compelling
works, written in classical ethnographic mode, on ritual life amongst the Ndembu of
northern Zambia (St. John 2008: 1). As in these works he moved from rituals of transition
in individual life cycles to conflict and resolution at the community and tribal level, in
his lifelong intellectual trajectory he gradually broadened and deepened both his spatial
and temporal scope. After his landmark work The Ritual Process (1969), his focus moved
gradually from ritual in small-scale traditional societies to social change – “public ritual”,
“social drama” – in industrialized societies. His work was profoundly interdisciplinary,
ranging from the Ndembu to the Mexican Revolution (1969), Japanese Zen Buddhism
(1974a), the Carnival in Rio (1983) and much in between, and from medieval Europe
(1974a) to contemporary stage drama in the U. S. (1987). In the 1970’s Turner began
to refer to his ethnographic method as “comparative symbology” and he deployed his
prodigious comparative studies to argue, among other things, that his understanding of
ritual structure and its public analogue, social drama, are universal social mechanisms. In
his essay The Anthropology of Performance (published posthumously in 1987) he wrote:
“[…] social dramas, with much the same temporal or processual structure that
I detected in the Ndembu case, can be isolated for study in societies at all levels
of scale and complexity. This is particularly the case in political situations, and
60 Chapter 2
belongs to what I now call the dimension of ‘structure’ as opposed to that of

‘communitas’ as a generic mode of human relatedness” (33).
This claim is not as radical as it seems. Turner’s “processual structure” is accommodating

enough to allow for cultural specificity, without being so capacious that it is meaningless.
Although Turner aspires to a higher level of abstraction than Geertz does, he too constant-
ly harks back to minutely empirical observations of concrete social events and occasions.
As Geertz in his use of the term “semiotics”, Turner explicitly distances his analysis of
signs, signifiers and systems of signification from structuralist semiotics (1974b: 53).
While he is concerned with the interrelation between symbols, verbal and non-verbal,
and the concepts and values imbued in them and/or conveyed by them to users, he is not
concerned with technical linguistic matters in the synchronic sense that structuralism is.
Rather he is interested in semantics as it “pertains to meaning in language and context”
(54). This emphasis on empirical, temporal (diachronic) context tempers the abstract-
ness with which “processual analysis” is often discussed in Turner’s work:
“This is perhaps why I have often focused on the study of individual symbols,
on their semantic fields and processual fate as they move through the scenario
of a specific ritual performance and reappear in other kinds of ritual, or even
transfer from one genre to another, for example, from ritual to a myth-cycle, to
an epic, to a fairy tale, to citation as a maxim in a case at law” (55).
What is important about Turner’s structure for the purposes of the present
research?
The important thing is not its claim to universality, but the fact that it seems to
elucidate what’s going on in the specific cultural context of Wadi Musa.
To fall back once again on Geertz, “the essential task of theory building here is not
to codify abstract regularities but to make thick description possible, not to general-
ize across cases but to generalize within them” (1973: VII:15). The power of Turner’s
analysis is evident in the fact that nearly twenty years after his death his work is still
critiqued, reviewed and applied (St. John, 2008).
2.2.3.2 Rites of Passage
Arnold Van Gennep’s foundational work Les Rites de Passage, first published in 1909,
explicated rites of passage as ritual processes composed of three phases which accom-
plish a transformation in the status of the participant(s). Van Gennep focused on rituals
of transition from adolescence to adulthood, but there are many kinds of transitions
which are marked by rituals: baptism marks a Christian’s acceptance into the commu-
nity of Christianity – the transition from non-Christian to Christian; weddings mark a
couple’s transition from a private to public social unit and in some societies from adoles-
cence to adulthood; the ḥāj, pilgrimage to Makka marks the transition from one phase of
Muslim life to a more deeply committed phase; bar or bat mitzvah marks the transition
from being a child to an adult Jew; ordination marks a priest’s transition from secular
status to sacred status; funerals mark the transition from life to death – and so on, for
as many life phases found in as many cultural communities as have existed in history.
Van Gennep observed that rites of passage are structured similarly across cultures; there
are three “stages” to a rite of passage:
“separation: the initiate (that is, the person who is going through the transi-
tion) is stripped of his/her current social status and usually marked as somehow
different from others in the community; limen, or margin: the person enters a
period in which his/her status is ambiguous, and the normal rules of behaviour
and society are somehow disordered; reassimilation, reaggregation, reincorpo-
ration: the phase which marks entry into a new social status and in which order
is restored – but the person has a new role in that order based on the new social
status.” (Turner 1969: 94ff.).
Of these it is the limen, or liminal period in the ritual process which would preoccupy
Turner throughout his work. Limen means “threshold” in Latin, but can also be used to
mean margin or boundary, and the term as Turner uses it in his work refers to a period/
space/persona which occupies a status “betwixt and between” structures of or positions in
society (1967: 97). In the eponymous essay he also describes this “betwixt and between”
status as “interstructural” (99ff.), foreshadowing his lifelong preoccupation with the dia-
lectic between social structure and anti-structure (Turner, 1969, 1977, 1983, et al.).
The liminal period, the very quality of liminality, of “betwixt-and-betweenness” makes

possible the experience of communitas, a statusless, ephemeral experience of bonding
across socially hierarchical lines which makes change possible.
“In such a process, the opposites, as it were, constitute one another and are mu-
tually indispensable. Furthermore, since any concrete tribal society is made up
of multiple personae, groups, and categories, each of which has its own devel-
opmental cycle, at a given moment many incumbencies of fixed positions coexist
with many passages between positions. In other words, each individual’s life
experience contains alternating exposure to structure and communitas, and to
states and transitions” (1969: 360-61).
Already by 1974 Turner had extended the notion of communitas to embrace a wider
range of experience on the social stage, and equates communitas with all anti-structural
conditions of social life:
62 Chapter 2
“The bonds of communitas are anti-structural in that they are undifferentiated,

equalitarian, direct, non-rational (though not irrational), I-Thou or Essential We re-
lationships in Martin Buber’s sense. Structure is all that holds people apart, defines
their differences and restrains their actions […] Communitas is most evident in ‘lim-
inality’, a concept I extend from its use in Van Gennep’s Les Rites de Passage to refer
to any condition outside or on the peripheries of everyday life.” (1974a: 46-47).
In his early work on initiation ritual in a small-scale tribal society, Turner examined the
liminal period and liminal personae of individual initiates (1967). As he ventured out
into the social dramas of modern (and post-modern) industrialized societies he began to
re-cast or broaden his tripartite processual structure so that separation became “breach/
crisis”, liminal becomes “liminoid”, and reaggregation becomes redress/reintegration.
The critical dimension of the liminal period, communitas, which defines normative life
outside the ritual process, becomes in Turner’s “political field” anti-structure, which by
implication defines and is defined in relationship to structure (1974b: 76-78; 1987). This
is particularly important to the discussion of Wadi Musa / Bani Laith, which straddle the
distinction between traditional tribal society and modern industrialized society.
The liminal period and particularly the pivotal experience of communitas, in which
all participants in the ritual temporarily relinquish their normative status, yielded up
for Turner a wide ranging theory of the ways in which societies negotiate conflict and
change. His closing remark in The Ritual Process was:
“Society (societas) seems to be a process rather than a thing – a dialectical

process with successive phases of structure and communitas” (1969: 203).
Later, in Dramas, Fields and Metaphors (1974a) he wrote:
“Social dramas [in Ndembu society] took place in what Kurt Lewin might have
called ‘aharmonic’ phases of the ongoing social process. Not every social drama
reached a clear resolution, but enough did so to make it possible to state what I
then called the ‘processional form’ of the drama” (33).
It is Turner’s understanding of social drama as a way of handling “aharmonic” periods

of transition in the life of a community that interests us in the study of Wadi Musa.
2.2.3.3 Social Drama
Turner first laid out his four phases of public action in Dramas, Fields and Metaphors,
where he defines social dramas as “units of harmonic or disharmonic social process,
arising in conflict situations (1974a: 37-41)”. These phases, which developed from his
understanding of the stages of rites of passage, he calls breach, crisis, redress and re-
integration (or, in the case of failure to redress, legitimation of the breach, or schism).
A “breach” in community occurs when a person or group deliberately and publicly fails
to fulfil a normative obligation within the social relations of the community. This failure
of obligation is a symbolic catalyst for confrontation between groups, effecting a con-
flict or crisis. Typically the group or individual believe themselves to be acting in good
faith for the benefit of the community, they are “altruistic” (1974a: 37).
Up to the crisis point factions within the community intrigue amongst themselves in
private. The event which triggers the crisis is public and flagrant, and by implication em-
phasizes the normative, everyday structure of the community by interrupting the norm
(1974a: 38-39). (Crisis as a concept will be defined in the following section.) Crisis
widens the breach and creates a liminoid space and time between more or less stable
phases in the drama. Crisis “takes up its menacing stance in the forum itself, and, as it
were, dares the representatives of order to grapple with it” (1987: 2).
That grappling takes the form of redressive action. Such action may include informal ad-
vice between representative members of the community, traditional forms of mediation
and arbitration, legal action and/or symbolic public ritual as well as other mechanisms
recognized by the community (1987: 3; 1974a: 39). Both crisis and redress have a limi-
nal quality, because recognized order, authority and structure are scrambled and perhaps
inverted. In crisis a group or a representative individual publicly questions authority and
the normative order. The process of redress demands that authority speak to the situa-
tion, to subalterns (1987: 3; 1974a: 41).
Ideally, the fourth and final phase of the social drama is reintegration. In this phase the
conflict has been redressed and the community “re-groups”, having incorporated at some
level the experience gained from the previous phases. The drama was both cathartic and
catalytic. The redressive phase involves an exercise in “public reflexivity” (Turner, 1977:
466), basically, how a group explains itself to itself. The redressive action typically takes
place in a liminal space/time, though not, as in ritual threshold states, in secret or in a space
circumscribed as taboo. In Performance in post-modern culture (1977) Turner writes:
“In public metasocial rites we have to do with public liminality, and such rites
are often performed in the village or town square, in full view of everyone […]
All performances require framed spaces set off from the routine world. But meta-
social rites use quotidian spaces as their stage; they merely hallow them for a
liminal time” (467).
If redressive action is unable to restore the normative order, redress may take the form
of “legitimation of irreparable schism between the contesting parties” (1987: 4). When
redress fails, however, as noted earlier, the community usually sinks back into crisis.
Throughout the “performance” of the social drama the backdrop of normative social
structure and relationships persists (1974a: 43). In his brilliant essay on Carnival in Rio de
Janeiro (1983) Turner examined the complex orchestration of an enormous celebration to
64 Chapter 2
demonstrate that communitas and its associated chaos is only possible within a publicly
shared and carefully maintained structure; what appears to be chaotic is actually structured
by a social tradition governing this specific chaos. In social drama crisis is the flipside of
cohesion, and shared or diverging interests form the medium which, respectively, either
binds them or creates conflict (Turner, 1977: 45). Anti-structure is not just the inversion of
structure but rather its unravelling – nonetheless it cannot exist in the absence of structure.
Communitas, anti-structure, is thus inherently unsustainable. As the key point in the process
of transition from one order to a new one, communitas needs be temporary (1974b: 78).
“Communitas is the implicit law of wholeness arising out of relations between

totalities. But communitas is intrinsically dynamic, never quite being real-
ized”(1987:16).
In states of communitas, writes one critic, “interaction is characterized by personal hones-

ty, openness, a lack of pretensions or pretentiousness” (St. John 2008: 7). There is no quo-
tidian structure to accommodate anti-structure – once the event is over so is the openness
and egalitarian levelling of hierarchy. The liminal “betwixt-and-betweenness” that makes
communitas possible cannot exist on either side of the threshold as an order, or structure.
2.3 Definitions of crisis
Dick Glaesser, in his book Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry, defines crisis
as “critical change in important variables that endanger or destroy a system” (Glaesser,
2005). Glaesser’s emphasis on change is important to the definition of Wadi Musa as a
community in crisis.
Scholars Pauchant and Mitroff (1992), in their book entitled Transforming the Crisis
Prone Organization define crisis as “a disruption that physically affects a system as a
whole and threatens its basic assumptions, its subjective sense of self, and its existential
core”. As we will see later, Pauchant and Mitroff’s addition of a subjective and existen-
tial aspect to crisis is also important in discussing the life of a community undergoing
rapid cultural change.
Bill Faulkner (2001), in his article entitled Toward a framework for tourism disaster
management, defines crisis – distinguishing it from “disaster” – as “a situation in which
the root cause of an event is, to some extent, self-inflicted through such problems as inept
management structures and practices or a failure to adapt to change” (136). Faulkner’s
definition adds important material about the causes of crisis, and a significant distinction
between “crisis” and “disaster”.
Synthesis of definitions: These three definitions share an emphasis on the threats of

change, and Faulkner clarifies the nature of social change vs. disaster. To Faulkner we
would like to add the fact that social change is rarely sudden or instantaneous. As Faulkner
points out, it is “to some extent self-inflicted through such problems as inept management
structures or practices or a failure to adapt to change”. Such failures do not happen over-
night – they are the result of gradual change, accumulated misunderstandings and inappro-
priate responses to pressures on cultural systems, existential values, which do not allow
a community to work properly, which create a disruption in the normal flow of daily life.
With all of this in mind I would like to propose a synthesis of these definitions of crisis.
2.4 Doxey’s Irridex Model
In the Irridex Model, Doxey (1975) put forward a theoretical model as an attempt to
understand the perception or the attitude of the host community towards tourism devel-
opment stages (Table 2.1, below). The first stage, Euphoria, in a tourist destination, is
characterized by small numbers of tourists who favour a certain level of merging with
the local community at the destination. The host community has a welcoming attitude
toward tourism in their region. The level of commercial activities in the destination is
still limited. The second stage, Apathy, is characterized by an increase in the number
of tourists who are taken for granted by the host community. The relationship between
guest and host becomes formal. Marketing and promotional efforts are embraced to in-
crease tourist numbers to the destination. The third stage, Irritation, is characterized by
a huge increase in numbers of tourists accompanied by a negative perception towards
tourism and the destination reaches a saturation threshold. The final stage, Antagonism,
predicts a more negative attitude of local residents towards tourism in their area. In fact,
the “irritation” level is verging on antagonism. In addition, hatred towards tourists might
appear as well as a kind of hostility. It is an alarming issue that hospitality from locals
might change into open hostility.
Table 2.1: Doxey’s Irridex Model, adapted from Keyser, 2002
Stage Host Community Attitude Characteristics

Stage 1 Euphoria -- Small number of visitors.
-- Visitors seek to merge with the local community.
-- Host community welcomes tourism.
-- Limited commercial activity in tourism.
Stage 2 Apathy -- Visitor numbers increase.
-- Visitors are taken for granted.
-- The relationship between tourists and the host community is more
formalized.
Stage 3 Irritation -- The number of tourists grows significantly.
-- Increased involvement of external commercial concerns.
-- Increased competition for resources between tourists and residents.
-- Locals concerned about tourism.
Stage 4 Antagonism -- Open hostility from locals.
-- Attempts to limit damage and tourism flows.
66 Chapter 2
Of the four stages of the Irridex Model, it is the irritation stage that is to be examined by
the ongoing discussion in Chapter Four. This stage will also be revisited when the broad-
sweep surveys are analysed and attitudes of people in Wadi Musa are traced.
Yaesong cites Long’s supporting article (1990) on rural resident attitudes to tourism in
the U. S., “which indicate residents’ attitudes are initially favourable but become nega-
tive after reaching a threshold”.
2.5 Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC)
In the Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model, Butler (1980) noted that tourism devel-
opment passes through the stages of exploration, involvement, development, consolida-
tion, stagnation, and it might end up with either a decline or rejuvenation. Stages of
TALC, somehow, complement the stages of the Irridex Model. Attitudes of the host com-
munity are changing as tourism develops from one stage to another in their tourism area.
Exploration represents a stage when tourists are interested and curious about the destina-
tion. The involvement stage reflects this new interest in travel to the region in which it
occurs and the introduction of new services commensurate with the needs of tourists. In
the next stage, development of the product and tourism services occur. Therefore, this
development becomes the focus of attention of the host community. It also becomes the
concern of both residents and decision-makers. That concern could be generated from
the impacts that this development might bring to their tourism area. Consolidation is
likely to takes place when the destination reaches its carrying capacity. By this point,
more negative impacts might take place and the destination may go into decline. Only
when the destination overcomes the negative impacts might it rejuvenate.
Some research, however, including my own Master’s thesis, has shown that communi-
ties often hold a range of positive and negative attitudes at the same time. Butler’s graph
(Figure 2.1, below) attempts to incorporate this increased complexity.
Number of Tourists A
B
Rejuvenation
Critical range of
Stagnation
Consolidation C
elements of capacity
D
Development
Decline E
Involvement
Exploration
Time
Figure 2.1: Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC), adapted from Butler, 1980
One would suggest that Petra as a destination is reaching a stagnation point – one might
even say “saturation point” – at which appropriate planning and response to the “irrita-
tion level” might rejuvenate the site. Failure to accommodate the stresses which fol-
lowed in the wake of N7W, however, may lead to the decline of the destination.
Criticizing the lack of theoretical foundation for explaining these phenomena, John Ap
(1993) applied social exchange theory to the models of Doxey, Butler and others. In
his article he asserts that “residents evaluate tourism in terms of social exchange, that
is, evaluate it in terms of expected benefits or costs obtained in return for the services
they supply” (670). He finds that whether or not the exchange of resources is balanced
or imbalanced, tourism is viewed positively by the host community when the exchange
of resources is relatively high for the host community. However, this still needs to be
further investigated as the discussion in Chapter Five will develop.
2.6 Elections, Intikhābāt as social drama
Breach and crisis, as mentioned above, occupy Chapters Four and Five. These chapters
describe the gradual value disorientation and increasingly public friction between eco-
nomic classes within the community, between those supporting and benefiting from tour-
ism and those who were not, between traditional authority and the shabāb, or younger
generation and, on a different level, the local community and government, dissenters and
loyalists. We also examine the backdrop to the intikhābāt tamthīliyyah, or caucus nomi-
nation mechanism, which was developed in 2007 to address rivalries between tribes and
families and unite Wadi Musa in order to take the parliamentary seats dominated in the
past by candidates from Ṭaybeh and Maʻan, who benefited from Bani Laith’s internecine
quarrelling. Chapter Six examines the phase of redress, the “public meta-social rite” that
attempted to repair the breach in the community.
As Turner emphasizes again and again, there are elements of liminality to both the “cri-
sis” and “redress” phases of the social drama (1974a: 33; 1987: 4, et al.). The present
narrative will follow the tacking back and forth between conflict and mediation which
took place during the months preceding the campaign and election period until I was
called back – to become a candidate – from my studies in Germany by the shoyoukh of
my clan, or ḥamoulah, and my subsequent nomination by the intikhābāt tamthīliyyah.
Upon my official nomination, I agreed to replace my extended family surname, al-
Ḥasanāt, with the tribal name Bani Laith.
The period we will consider as the rite of redress was the thirty days of official cam-
paigning culminating in the election day itself and the victory celebration in Novem-
ber 2010. The period is locally referred to simply as al-intikhābāt – “elections”. The
relatively private and informal intrigue and mediation which were the precursors to the
tamthīliyyah emerged during the intikhābāt into the public arena in the form of carefully
choreographed performances. The morning immediately following the tamthīliyyah a
68 Chapter 2
huge ground was prepared and the campaign tent, or maqar, was erected. The maqar is
literally a theatre with a stage. A square plaza framed by goats-hair tents accommodates
thousands of chairs, a platform, podium, sound system and footlights. In the centre of
the plaza is a flagpole donned with the Jordanian flag and a huge picture of King Abdul-
lah II. It is on this “framed space set off from the routine world” that the ritual of public
redressive action was played out. In this space many elements of the recognized social
order are at once emphasized and blurred. Social hierarchy is elaborately observed in the
seating arrangements, for example, but the shabāb take the occasion to harangue their
elders and the shoyoukh.
The nightly performances at the maqar built in intensity toward the election day, when
the symbolic action burst forth into the entire village in crowds, demonstrations, pa-
rades, speeches, iconography, and intricate stage-managing. A pervasive theme of the
day itself, which emerged clearly in the subsequent interviews, was the threat of violent
hoshah 18, the traditional brawls which often accompany weddings and other celebra-
tions 19. The entire ritual frenzy climaxed in the communitas of the victory celebration
itself, held in the maqar on the night of the election.
Chapter Six explores the intikhābāt period in detail, using the Bani Laith and “national
wedding” (ʻurs waṭani) symbols to “unpack” the metaphorical baggage of the meta-
social rite of redress. The terms of the redressive action describe an exercise in public
reflexivity – the way in which a group explains itself to itself (Turner, 1977: 466). This
interpretation argues that, for a certain period, the fragmented, competitive, and conflict-
ing factions in Wadi Musa chose to describe themselves as Bani Laith, a united entity, in
a bid to reclaim authority and autonomy over the Region, literally their land, which had
been lost to them since 1994.
As for reintegration, the fourth and final stage of the social drama – either the Bani Laith
metaphor will work or it won’t. It will be internalized and incorporated as part of the new
order, or Bani Laith will refragment once again into competing interest groups. Turner
writes that in the “political field” one can assess the efficacy of redressive action by:
“[…] compar[ing] the ordering of political relations before and after […] Op-

positions may be found to have become alliances. Asymmetric relations may have
become egalitarian ones. High status will have become low status and vice versa.
New power will have been channelled into old and new authority and former au-
thority defenestrated […] The bases of political support will have altered. Some
components of the field will have less support, others more, still others will have
fresh support, and some will have none. The distribution of the factors of legitima-
cy will have changed, as also the techniques used by leaders to gain compliance.
18 Hoshah is a quarrel between two or more groups of people.

19 – and of which the al-Ḥasanāt are notoriously fond (as previously observed).
These changes can be observed, ascertained, recorded, and in some cases their
indices can even be measured and assessed in quantitative terms” (1974a: 42).
Either the tribes and clans of Petra Region will muddle through how to work together –
articulate themselves over the long term as a unified entity – or collapse back into tribal
infighting and competition amongst the shoyoukh for traditional social dominance, un-
derstood in terms of wāsṭa, influence in eliciting favours from government and court,
mainly for family members. Such a reversion will surely alienate the shabāb, either
occasioning the legitimation and formalization of the schism, or circling back into crisis
again. Failure to reintegrate in a new way will also mean relinquishing any hope of gain-
ing a measure of local control over and positive investment in Petra.
III Interpretation of the local people’s perceptions about tourism
in Petra
3.1 The broad-sweep survey
To capture a sense of current public opinion in Wadi Musa regarding Petra tourism, a
topical broad-sweep survey was conducted, both on paper and via social media. A non-
directive question was posed (“What is your feeling about tourism in Petra?”) and posted
on my professional Facebook page, garnering 98 responses. In addition, 602 paper sur-
veys were collected in Wadi Musa. Salient themes, phrases and words were tallied and
analyzed semiotically. “In fact, some semioticians, perhaps carried away, suggest that eve-
rything can be analyzed semiotically; they see semiotics as the queen of the interpretive
sciences, the key that unlocks the meanings of all things great and small” (Berger, 2004:
4-5). The target number was 700 responses, to represent approximately 10 % of the voting
population of Wadi Musa. Surveys were used in the service of both quantitative and quali-
tative analysis: quantitative insofar as a general public profile of attitudes toward tourism
was established. The surveys were used qualitatively insofar as responses also served to
establish certain cross-cutting themes, motifs and concerns shared by the community.
A word is in order about the way that the broad-sweep surveys were administered. In
“quantitative mode”, I made an effort to dissociate myself from the research process
(Golafshani 600). As mentioned, the goal was to survey 10 % of the community’s vot-
ing population. The original plan was to put printed surveys (a half page with the survey
question at the top) in neighbourhood shops throughout the community 20, with instruc-
tions to the shopkeeper not to comment unless questions were asked, but, if asked, to
identify the researcher and the purpose of the research (for his doctoral dissertation).
The reason for this relative anonymity was to ensure, within ethical bounds, that even
within a tightly knit community those who filled out the questionnaire were confident
of their own anonymity and, conversely, that as far as possible they were not writing
answers crafted mainly to please me as a researcher who was their parliamentarian at the
time the survey was conducted. Thus the main goal of keeping the survey as anonymous
as possible was to make respondents feel safe enough to be frank.
However, one limitation that arose was that the people who use the shops are often chil-
dren (running errands for the household) and men, and a limited number of women. In or-
der to overcome this limitation and to reach more young, educated people and particularly
women, I posted the same question on my Facebook page. Unsurprisingly, within a week,
98 responses, some of them lengthy and detailed, were returned. Facebook, however, has
two limitations: (1) it does not reach older people in the community and particularly ma-
ture women; (2) respondents are thus publicly “on record” not only to their legislator but
20 Small shops are located in every neighbourhood.

72 Chapter 3
to other members of their immediate community. Therefore I conscripted two young lo-
cal men to distribute questionnaires to community centres, schools, women’s associations
and other gathering places such as internet cafes and the main souq 21. Over 300 surveys
were gathered in this fashion. The distributors of the questionnaires were given the same
instructions as the shopkeepers with regard to authorship and purpose. When queried, the
distributors replied that fewer than ten respondents asked who the survey was for.
It was important for this research to characterize the public feeling about tourism in
the life of the community of Wadi Musa. An open-ended, broad-sweep survey utilizing
maximum variation sampling was conducted to include 10 percent of the voting number
in Wadi Musa. That was significant to understand the role of tourism in their lives. It was
also significant to know how the local community in Wadi Musa perceives tourism and
its impacts on the life of the community.
This section, however, was aimed at measuring the “pulse” of the people of Petra. In
order to do that, data was gathered through a total number of 602 broad-sweep surveys.
They were analyzed using MAXQDA 22, which helped in organizing thoughts and data
at the same time. It also helped in recognizing the most frequent codes and themes. In
order to have more of an insight into the data analysis in anticipation of interpreting
them and to study the causal relationships between codes and themes, it was necessary
to use one of the most up-to-date software tools called GABEK 23.
A difficult journey towards coding started with highlighting the most frequent expres-
sions and themes manually as a “bean counting process”. Once codes, sub codes and
themes started to gradually clear, documents were uploaded to the software. At an early
stage of the analysis, 87 codes, sub codes and themes were highlighted. The list was
reduced afterwards to become 45 only. Using one of the GABEK functions, namely
“Replace Synonyms”, the final list was filtered and reduced to leave the most signifi-
cant 22 categories. For example, expressions such as (decision-making, planning, de-
velopment, services, entertainment, support, care, attention, corruption, organization,
projects, cleanliness […] etc.) which are related to management issues were categorized
with management issues as one of the main categories.
All the 22 categories were subjected to in-depth analysis in anticipation of characterizing the
attitude of the local community in Wadi Musa about tourism and its role in the life of their
community. Let us turn now to interpret the results of the survey analysis which revealed
that respondents’ feelings about tourism in the Petra area falls into three main categories:
21 Souq is the market place.

22 MAXQDA 10 is a high-performance program for professional social science-oriented text analysis, ideal
for researchers from social sciences, education, economics, and many others, who work with and analyze
text in their professional capacities.
23 GABEK® is a PC-supported procedure for the analysis, processing and representation of normal language
texts.
Interpretation of the local people‘s perceptions about tourism in Petra 73
first is neither positive nor negative. It was referred to throughout the interpretation as mixed
and no feelings. Second is positive and third is negative feeling. Expressions leading to posi-
tive feeling were (wonderful, great, excellent, positive, beautiful, good and gain). In con-
trast, the expressions that engendered the negative feeling were (desperate, failure, disap-
pointment, sad, negative, painful, shameful, awful and bad), as shown in Figure 3.1, below.
Feelings about tourism in Petra
Positive feeling Mixed feeling Negative feeling
Desperate Bad
Wonderful Gain Failure Awful
Great Good Disappointment Shameful
Excellent Beautiful Sad Painful
Positive Negative
Figure 3.1: Respondents’ feelings about tourism in Petra
The overall evaluation list included 1212 evaluations for 22 expressions. It was found
that evaluations representing positive feelings totalled 426 out of the overall evaluation,
which is 35.1 % of the evaluation list. It was also found that negative feelings concern-
ing tourism in Petra amounted to 751, which comprised 62.0 % of the evaluation list. At
the same time, neutral was 35 out of 1212 evaluations which occupied only 2.9 % of the
evaluation list, as shown in Table 3.1, below.
Table 3.1: Evaluations overall of respondents’ feelings about tourism in Petra
Evolutions overall: 1212 100.0 %

of which Positive 426 35.1 %
of which Negative 751 62.0 %
of which Neutral 35 2.9 %
3.2 Interpretation of the mixed feelings and no feelings towards tourism

in Petra
3.2.1 Mixed feelings
It was shown in Figure 3.2, page 74, that a causal network of the mixed feelings was
generated by the causal effect between the positive socio-cultural impacts, benefits, neg-
ative socio-cultural impacts and the decline in tourist numbers to Petra.
74 Chapter 3
It was also shown that there is a beneficial effect between positive socio-cultural impacts
and the economic benefits generated from tourism revenue in Petra. Both categories
influenced mixed feelings positively.
Decline in tourist numbers resulted in bad influence on the economic benefits as decline
itself influenced the mixed feelings negatively. When decline decreased (in this case
decline means that numbers of tourists decreased; that means decline is getting bigger)
then negative socio-cultural impacts increased, which in turn reflected on the mixed
feelings amongst respondents in a negative way.
In other words, a causal network shows how respondents stored positive attitudes per-
ceived from both positive socio-cultural impacts and economic benefits. They also
stored negative attitudes generated from the decline in tourist numbers and negative
socio-cultural impacts. Their total experience, therefore, was mixed between positive
and negative feelings.
A increase, B increase
A B
A decrease, B decrease
C increase, D decrease
C D C decrease, D increase
Decline
Bad influence
(arrows)
Beneficial effect
(arrows)
Negative Sociocultural Mixed Positive Sociocultural

Impacts Feelings Impacts
Economic
Benefits
Figure 3.2: Mixed feelings about tourism in Petra: Causal network graph
Respondents agreed that tourism is beneficial in terms of positive socio-cultural impacts

and that it has potential economic benefit, but at the same time, there is a decline result-
ing from increasing negative socio-cultural impacts, which leads to a mixed feeling
towards tourism.
Mixed feelings started as positive and then changed to negative. This change in feeling
is influenced by many factors, such as the decline in numbers of tourists.
A20 said: “My feeling was very beautiful when I saw tourists filling the streets of Petra,
but in this current period my feeling is very bad because tourism is suffering because of
the lack of tourists in Petra”.
There are also other factors, according to A61, that generate such mixed feelings either
positively or negatively. The negative may come from the lack of services, projects, job
opportunities or not deriving an individual direct benefit from tourism revenue. A positive
feeling can be engendered by the natural aesthetic of the site of Petra. As an illustration of
this, A61 stated: “As a person who lives in Petra, I find that tourism in Petra is beautiful,
but at the same time it is bad. How is that? Beautiful: because it has beautiful and won-
derful views, and this is satisfaction for us. And bad: it does not yield projects that help
individual incomes, so no one benefits from it except those who work in it […]” (A61).
With mixed, but contradictory feelings to A61, F50 thought that tourism opened up job
opportunities as a source of income for local people, although, on the negative side, F50
also thought that tourism is the cause of negative phenomena arising, something that he
did not explain in more detail. “Positive feeling, somehow, [on the one hand] and nega-
tive on the other. The positive is that it provides job opportunities for the youth sector; it
is a source of income for many in the region. But the negative is the appearance of some
bad behaviours and the spread of some negative phenomena in the local community. Also
prices are expensive compared to other areas, and this has had a negative effect on a
group which does not benefit at all from the income from tourism” (F50).
Negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism in part foster such mixed feelings. High pric-
es, traffic congestion, cultural conflicts and the increase in the town’s population has af-
fected the attitudes of B12, E16 and F50 towards tourism in Petra, although their positive
attitude was convincing in terms of the national dependency on the income from tourism.
“My feeling is negative and positive at the same time. It is positive in that it [tourism] is
one of the most important elements on which the national income depends and also for
the people of Petra at the same time. It is also a negative for the people of Petra in many
ways, such as increased prices, congestion, the mixture of cultures, and the negative
impacts result[ing] from the differences in culture and tradition between tourists and the
people of the district” (B12).
Some people, like B58 and E67, realize that tourism plays a vital role in the life of the
community as it is the main reason for the development of the local community in Petra,
as well as helping to improve services and infrastructure in the region. These advantages
are offset by negative impacts on the customs and traditions of the local society, as mani-
fested by, for example, negative moral attitudes amongst the youth and little attention to
the needs of the local people. “Tourism in Petra […] is like a double-edged weapon […]
It has positive impacts and others which are negative […] The positives are that it has
a great impact on developing the local community and the areas adjacent to it, as it
contributes to developing services and infrastructure for the people of the region. As for
the negatives, attention has been diverted away from the people of the area towards the
foreign visitors […] and this has led, most of the time, to impacts on the customs and
traditions of the local society in a demonstrably negative way” (B58).
On the positive side of mixed feelings, some stated that tourism encouraged the learning
of other languages and awakened local people’s awareness of their own historical and
76 Chapter 3
cultural heritage, even motivating them to travel to other places in the country outside
their own locality. On the negative side, it was stated that there can be effects on those
who have direct contact with tourists, such as transferral of disease. It is also important
to mention that such mixed feelings originate from the negative attitude towards those
who exploit the benefits of tourism.
“Tourism in general is beautiful. It has positive and negative points.
* Positives:
Education and/or learning languages other than native language
Increase in income
Knowing the antiquities sites better than before
Travelling to areas outside local area through tourism
* Disadvantages:
The tourists affect those who work in tourism, who adopt their beliefs and cul-
ture, and who contract physical disease (through those who are not God-fear-
ing). Some people are benefiting from this money which they collect from Petra
and others do not (in general, those who have horses benefit and the ones who
do not […] never mind)” (E85).
Regarding the youth, E87 observed that they start drinking alcohol and believes that
tourism is destroying their moral consciousness. E87’s attitude appears to be that of try-
ing to tolerate and mitigate the negative impacts while accepting the fact that tourism is
a source of income on which local people depend. Here E87 said:
“Tourism has negative and positive impacts, but the negative impacts outweigh
the positive. As regards the youth, tourism has destroyed them morally. We see
that some of them drink alcohol and say bad words. But we do not deny that it
also has a favourable impact on the economy of some families, who depend on
tourism for their income”.
In contrast, F91 goes even further by mentioning the existence of an attitude and
behaviour of disobedience and non-cleanliness while still believing that tourism is
“beautiful”.
“Glory be to Allah, the God of the great throne, regarding what they describe. Wal-
lahi, [I swear by the name of God,] it is beautiful, but Allah may show guidance to
his servants, how much disobedience, atheism and dirtiness [there is] in it” (F91).
In conclusion, these respondents’ attitudes are located somewhere between the positive
and negative impacts of tourism, where they can observe two sides of the same situation.
While capable of describing their positive feelings about the benefits that they recognize
can come from tourism, they also stress the negative impacts without actually under-
estimating the positive side. However, they are not making a definitive decision about
whether tourism is good or bad. They can see both sides, but they are placing themselves
in the middle. They are neither positivists nor negativists.
3.2.2 No feelings
Figure 3.3, shown next, shows a causal network that was shaped by the interaction be-
tween the decline in both tourist numbers and the tourism situation in Petra, dominant
beneficiaries from tourism and the expression “we do not benefit” from tourism. The in-
teraction between the three expressions resulted in what was categorised as “no feelings”.
Due to the dominant beneficiaries, the tourism situation in Petra went into a decline. Not
only that, but also the decline in the number of tourists resulted in low benefit for people
from tourism revenue. When dominant beneficiaries increase, benefit for other people
decreases. It was also shown that benefits decreased and were negatively influenced by
both the decline and the dominant beneficiaries of the income from tourism.
Decline A B
Bad influence
(arrows)
No Beneficial effect
Feelings (arrows)
Dominant beneficiaries We do not benefit
Figure 3.3: No feelings towards tourism in Petra: Causal network graph
Negative feeling was hidden behind the theme “I have no feeling towards tourism in
Petra”. The increasing influence of dominant beneficiaries of income from tourism
revenue resulted in a decrease in the numbers of those who benefit. Almost similar to
those who have a mixed feeling towards tourism, those who have no feeling towards
it are even more confused to the point that they have lost any feelings toward tourism
in Petra. Quoting (A13): “No feelings. That is because the beneficiaries are a small
group from the local community, and I am not one of them”. This lack of determining
the right feeling is also frustrated by negative management issues such as bad services
and the high cost of living. It was necessary therefore to modify Figure 3.3 to inves-
78 Chapter 3
tigate more of the influence that management issues have on the other categories, as
follows:
A increase, B increase I/We do not benefit

A B Decline
Dominant
Bad influence beneficiaries
(arrows)
Beneficial effect No
(arrows) feelings
Management
issues
Figure 3.4: Causal network graph of the category (no feelings)
When management issues increase, dominant beneficiaries increase. The more manage-
ment issues there are, the less the benefit from tourism. In the same vein, a decline in the
number of tourists and management issues exchange influence relatively, i. e. a greater
decline in the number of tourists to Petra results in negative management issues. Nega-
tive management issues at the same time might result in a greater decline in numbers of
tourists. Figure 3.4, above provides a fuller explanation of what (A13) meant when he
said: “And the services presented by the Iqlīm [PDTRA] are terrible, with very high cost
(for nothing). I wish there were projects which would make tourists stay longer than one
day. And the most important thing: there needs to be people who are willing to combat
corruption because we see officials arriving in Petra by bus and leaving with the best
luxury cars and big bank accounts. From where?” (A13) sees that there is some corrup-
tion and he also suggests that there is a need for better management practices in terms of
services and control of high prices.
(A16) emphasized the need to promote tourism in Petra for the domestic market: “Tour-
ism, of course, has become almost ‘zero’. Domestic tourism does not exist. The region?
– I do not know. I hope that the situation will improve”. While (A17) states that “I do not
have any feeling about tourism in Petra”, (B10) recognizes the importance of tourism in
the life of the community, although he does not actually benefit from such tourism: “Ac-
tually tourism in Petra plays an important role in the development of Petra, although
I do not feel anything towards tourism because I do not benefit in any way from it, no
matter what my work is”.
Without further justification, (F11, F27 and G11) do not have any feeling about tourism
in Petra. They might not be interested in tourism in Petra in general or they might feel
frustrated to a degree where they do not want to think of or share anything concerning
tourism in Petra. In the light of the interpretation of the mixed and no feelings about
tourism in Petra, it is time to interpret positive feelings first and then we turn to interpret-
ing negative feelings.
3.2.3 Interpretation of positive and negative feelings towards tourism in Petra
The overall evaluation list included 1177 evaluations for 22 expressions as shown in
Figure 3.5, below. Evaluations representing positive feelings totalled 426 out of the
total, which is 36.2 % of the evaluation list. In the case of negative feelings concerning
tourism in Petra the evaluation list showed 751 negatives out of the 1177 overall evalu-
ations, which comprised 63.8 % of the evaluation list.
0% 20 % 40 % 60 % 80 % 100 %
Date: 18-07-2013
Number of Sentences used: 606
Number of Expressions used: 22 36.2 % 63.8 %
Positive
Negative
Figure 3.5: Local people’s feelings about tourism in Petra: Evaluation list
3.2.3.1 Positive feelings
Positive feelings towards tourism in Petra were described in expressions such as: direct
positive feeling (129), economic benefit (121), Petra as one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World (35), associations with identity (51), image of Petra (14), positive socio-
cultural impact of tourism (24), I/we benefit from tourism revenue (11) and the avail-
ability of job opportunities (8), as shown in Figure 3.6, next.
Expressions that represented specifically positive feelings include (gain, positive, beau-
tiful, good, excellent, great and wonderful). The expression “gain” was used to convey
a positive feeling, according to (B18): “Tourism is the gate of gain for the people of the
whole region”. The same expression was also used by (B30): “My feeling towards tour-
ism is that it is a gain for the people and the residents”. In both situations it was stated
80 Chapter 3
that they felt positively about tourism in Petra as it is a source of economic income. The
expression “positive” was mentioned specifically to express a positive feeling towards
tourism in Petra. For example, (A56) one of many (47) other correspondents said: “The
overall perception of tourism in Petra is, in general, positive, because a great percent-
age of the town is benefiting from tourism directly or indirectly […]”. Economic benefit
from tourism revenue generated a positive feeling. Respondents who talked about eco-
nomic benefit positively were likely to be amongst the beneficiaries of tourism revenue.
Positive feeling was also expressed as a beautiful feeling, such as that for (A70): “Tour-
ism in Petra is very beautiful. It has facilities and good tourist establishments and we
should never underestimate tourism in Petra”. (B33) stated: “It is a beautiful feeling”,
and (B36) said: “The feeling is beautiful, because tourism in Petra is one of the most
important ways of developing how to deal with foreigners and other worlds, and this
helps people to deal with others”.
This “beautiful feeling” enhanced the ability of some of the local residents in Petra
to learn to communicate and deal with tourists from many cultures (“worlds”) and
this helped to make them act more professionally in the tourism field. The expression
“good” was also used to express positive feeling. Here (A75) said: “In general tour-
ism is good, […]” while (A78) said: “So tourism as a whole is good, […]” and (F56)
stated: “It is good. We benefit from it by making money”. Again, economic benefit is
at the heart of the positive feeling about tourism in Petra. “Excellent” was also used to
convey a similar positive feeling, as in the case of (D08) who said: “Tourism in Petra
is excellent […]” (F61) said: “Tourism, in my opinion, is an excellent thing, because
it is a source of income for the people of Petra and the state […]” and (C48) stated:
“Tourism is an excellent source of income. Hence we cannot disregard the number of
beneficiaries of tourism. And it is the primary source of income for this town […]”
Tourism is perceived as an important economic income, and this engenders the “excel-
lent” feeling.
The phrase “great feeling” was employed as another way of expressing positive feeling
by people, such as (G06) who said: “Great feeling. There is tourism in Petra. I am so
proud because I live in one of the Wonders of the World”. The phrase this time is as-
sociated with pride and the recognition of Petra as one of the New Seven Wonders of
the World. Similarly the use of “wonderful” as stated by (E86): “Tourism in general is
wonderful […]” and (E55): “It is a wonderful feeling when we get to know other people
and know their customs and traditions […]” The positive feeling here is influenced
by the ability to interact with tourists as one of the positive socio-cultural impacts of
tourism.
It is worth mentioning that positive feeling towards tourism in Petra arose from people’s
recognition of tourism in Petra as a source of income. Positive feeling was also influ-
enced by some people’s perception of tourism as a catalyst of cultural interaction. This
perception also carried over into the factors of economic benefits, positive socio-cultural
impacts, image of Petra, Petra as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, identity,
availability of job opportunities and the impression that people are benefiting from tour-
ism revenue, as shown in Figure 3.6, below.
A increase, B increase Economic

A B
A decrease, B decrease benefits Positive Socio-
C increase, D decrease cultural Impacts
We benefit
Bad influence
(arrows)
Image of
Beneficial effect Positive Petra
(arrows) Feeling
Job
Opportunities
New Seven Wonders

Identity of the World
Figure 3.6: Positive feeling towards tourism in Petra: Causal network graph
As shown in Figure 3.6, above, all of the expressions result in a beneficial effect on each
other to influence the core positive feeling about tourism in Petra. 36.4 % of the evalu-
ation respondents stated that tourism is positive since it has a positive economic impact
and therefore they benefit from the revenue that tourism brings to the region through the
availability of job opportunities: “If we look at it from another angle we would find that
it provides job opportunities for unemployed youth […]” (A02).
This proportion of respondents perceive Petra not only as a source of pride or identity:
“I feel proud that Petra has put Jordan on the international tourism map, […]” (F72),
but also as a source of income through job opportunities. Respondents associated that
feeling with the selection of Petra as one of the N7W of the world and that link helped
to consolidate their positive feeling towards tourism in Petra. Here (F80) says: “Tour-
ism created the prosperity which made Petra one of the New Seven Wonders of the
World […] As tourism creates interaction between countries, we feel happy and joyful
getting to know other languages and people from all over the world. Before Petra be-
came one of the New Seven Wonders of the World it wasn’t known and a lot of people
didn’t come here”. This response illustrates many of the positive socio-cultural impacts
of tourism, including getting to know people from other countries and the opportunity of
learning their languages. Although Petra was known about before the N7W nomination,
some people think that this helped to bring the ancient city to the attention of a greater
number of people in the world.
82 Chapter 3
3.2.3.2 Negative feelings
The overall evaluation list included 1177 evaluations for 22 expressions. In the case of
negative feelings concerning tourism in Petra the evaluation list showed 751 negatives
out of the 1177 overall evaluations, which comprised 63.8 % of the evaluation list as
shown in Figure 3.5, page 79.
The explicit phrase “negative or bad feeling” was used in coding negative feelings to-
wards tourism in Petra. For example, (A06) responded: “Bad feelings, in the strictest
sense of the word”. Other phrases were also taken into consideration, such as bad, not
good, awful, zift (which means ‘asphalt’ in Arabic, but in this case it was employed by
some respondents to express negative feeling), shameful, frustrating, disappointing, sad,
painful and the word negative itself.
Negative feelings towards tourism in Petra, however, were shaped by many variables,
such as: management issues, negative feeling, dominant beneficiaries, decline in number
of tourists, negative socio-cultural impacts, I/we do not benefit from tourism revenue,
shortcomings in terms of promotion, distribution of wealth coming from tourism, and
environmental impacts, as shown in Table 3.2, below.
Table 3.2: Variables that shaped negative feeling towards tourism in Petra
Variable No. of instances

Management issues 194
Negative feeling 136
Dominant beneficiaries 80
Decline in number of tourists 76
Negative socio-cultural impacts 66
I/we do not benefit from tourism revenue 47
Shortcoming in terms of promotion 43
Distribution of wealth coming from tourism 36
Environmental impact 15
As shown in Figure 3.7, page 83, all variables intersect with each other in a causal net-
work, culminating in the main category of negative feeling towards tourism in Petra.
A B
C D C decrease, D increase Distribution of
wealth from
Bad influence tourism
(arrows) Dominant Management
Beneficiaries Issues
Beneficial effect
(arrows)
We do not Negative Environmental

benefit Feeling Impact
Negative Socio- Promotion

cultural Impacts
Decline
Figure 3.7: Causal graph of negative feelings about tourism in Petra
Management issues included all phrases related to the shortcomings concerning man-
agement of the tourism industry in Petra by the various official entities or governmental
bodies. Such entities are embedded within the government as represented by the Minis-
try of Tourism and Department of Antiquities (MoTA), Petra Development and Tourism
Regional Authority (PDTRA) and Jordan Tourism Board (JTB). Management issues
were criticized by 286 respondents in the broad-sweep surveys. Government is blamed
for all the shortcomings concerning management issues, such as the lack of marketing
and promotional activities for Petra, negative environmental impact on the historical
site, negative socio-cultural impacts, deployment of benefits to only a small group of
beneficiaries, which results in fewer benefits for the majority of people, and the unfair
distribution of wealth from tourism revenue.
Figure 3.7, above, illustrates how each variable has an influence on the others to contrib-
ute to the main category of negative feelings about tourism in Petra. Management issues
increase with an increase in the environmental impacts on the site and also with the lack
of promotional effort which contributes to the decline in numbers of tourists to Petra. Not
only that, but unfair distribution of tourism wealth, the lack of benefits for the majority
of people and the negative socio-cultural impacts reflect consequently in a negative way
on the management issues. In the same vein, management issues are increased by the fact
that only a small group of people derive economic benefit from tourism income. Let us
now turn to interpreting the interrelationship between the various variables – that shaped
the core negative feeling – by scrolling through respondents’ comments in more detail.
84 Chapter 3
Respondents criticized tourism management in the Petra Region using many different
words/phrases, as detailed in Table 3.3, below.
Table 3.3: Expressions used by respondents to disapprove of tourism management in Petra
Word/phrase No. of instances

Government 16
Decision-makers 1
Corruption 10
Responsibility 10
PDTRA 2
Management 81
Capacity building 3
Development 29
Planning 4
Shortcomings 28
Projects 14
Services 31
Concern/care/attention/support 57
Ironically, (B14) thinks that the government is wise to a degree, but that they do not pay
attention to issues that affect tourism in a negative way. They do not even acknowledge the
need of some of the people in Wadi Musa to benefit from tourism revenue. “We hope that
the government in its wisdom will enhance tourism business in the city of Petra, especially
in Wadi Musa. Some people benefit from tourism but the overwhelming majority do not – la
nās ou nās [only for some people and not for all]. Some people benefit – like those with hors-
es, souvenir shops, and others – and some do not”. The verdict was that government should
pay attention to the needs of all those who do not currently benefit from tourism revenue.
An explicitly negative feeling was expressed 136 times in the responses. Such negative
feeling was sometimes combined with an expression of disappointment in terms of the
level of service offered to tourists in Petra and the amount of positive change that was
expected to take place in the local community. Here, (C09) stated: “My feeling is that
I am very disappointed in the tourism situation in Petra. The services that are avail-
able have not yet risen to the level required – they have not even risen to the minimum
required. Local society has not improved to the level expected, meaning that the social
mentality has not changed at all […]” Another respondent (A07) said: “Extremely nega-
tive feeling. Tourism has disappeared from the Wadi Musa region in particular and from
the Kingdom in general. This is reflecting negatively on our lives and on ourselves”. The
current decline in the number of tourists to Petra can be attributed, at least in part, to the
so-called “Arab Spring” and also to shortcomings on the government side. This severely
affects the local community’s standard of living and increases financial commitments in
contrast to what people could cope more effectively with during times of greater tourist
numbers. Some people do acknowledge the importance of income from tourism and
expressed their worries about losing it completely. Such a concern is evident in the way
(A11) responded: “Tourism is the heart beat of life in Petra. This might now be at a very
critical near-death stage which might soon – and very soon – result in severe haemor-
rhage and death. This would be a very painful and ugly death. Very bad feelings”.
Respondents considered tourism business in Petra to be dominated either by government

or a particular number of beneficiaries. Negative feeling towards tourism in Petra result-
ing from the dominant beneficiaries of tourism occurred in 80 different places (surveys)
within the responses. Regarding exploitation of tourism by government, (A04) articulat-
ed his negative feeling as follows: “My feeling is that tourism benefits all those who are
controlling it, such as Iqlīm [PDTRA] or the Ministry [Ministry of Tourism]. That Minis-
try itself is the one that does not want to benefit from tourism – on the contrary it wants to
destroy it. Therefore the numbers of tourists entering [Petra] has been minimized”. As a
result of the shortcomings of management (A04) thinks that tourism will decline further
and that the Ministry of Tourism is the reason for that decline. Some people see tourism
as benefiting only particular people. As stated by (A02): “I see tourism in Petra as tour-
ism from which [only] a limited number of individuals benefit […]”. Supporting (A02)’s
opinion, (F78) stated: “Awful – bad. The income from tourism is in the pockets of the big
[people], and we, the small [people], are scarcely on the margin, which has been cut,
finally. What a pity”. Those who dominate tourism – “the big” – are reducing the chances
of “the small” to benefit and this situation has not been helped by the recent decline in
numbers of tourists. In this context (E28) said: “Tourism is important in this country, but
its beneficiaries are but a small group of people, yaʻni [that means], the big are eating
it and we desperately hope to increase the number of tourists to Petra so we can benefit
from it in the future. (I do not think so)”. What this respondent means is that in the con-
text of exploitation of tourism business by those who are dominant, it is unlikely that the
“small people” will be able to increase their share of benefits from tourism in the future.
The issue of the decline in numbers of tourists occurred 76 times throughout the respons-
es, which indicates the extent of negative feeling towards tourism in Petra. The decline
was due to many reasons, including the ongoing political situation in the Arab world (the
so-called “Arab Spring”), which visitors to the countries involved perceive as being a
threatening situation and which deters them from coming to Petra. Here (B70) said: “My
feeling towards tourism in Petra is a bad feeling and a very unpleasant feeling. The tour-
ism situation has deteriorated because of the political situation in the Arab countries,
and it is one of the reasons for the shortage in the number of tourists in Petra”.
Another issue that affects tourist numbers is due to management inefficiencies, including
neglect of the site. Again (B70) stated: “[…] But there are other reasons for the shortage
86 Chapter 3
of tourists and deterioration of the site of Petra – the absence of equality in tourism fields
and the lack of parks and recreation places […]”
A third issue is the lack of promotion and dependency on other countries, such as
Egypt and Israel, to promote Petra as part of their tourist packages. As stated by (A96):
“[…] But unfortunately this site does not receive [enough] interest and care and I am
not even satisfied with the means of promotion for the city. If we weren’t near Egypt and
Israel, Petra would not be known as it is now. Therefore we do not have as effective a
role in [promoting] Petra, as it deserves […]” In the same vein, (A64) stated: “[…] The
tourism situation in Jordan, in general, is bad. The absence of organized tourism promo-
tion reflected a negative image of Petra even before the political crisis […]”
Fourth, expensive prices affect not only local people, but also tourists themselves:
“[…] Tourists complain that Jordan is a very, very expensive country, especially hotels
and entry tickets for Petra” (A96). In the same context, (B81) thought: “In fact tourism
in Petra is in a continuous decline, and falling. This means that there is a decline in the
standard of living and other problems, without blessed effect. And I see many great wor-
ries in the owners of projects and the investors in tourism in the Liwa al-Batra’ [district
of Petra]”. (A96) brought up the issue of certain negative socio-cultural impacts of
tourism as represented in a decline in the standard of living of the local beneficiaries of
tourism revenue, which raised concerns among the local people.
Fifth is that the benefits to be derived from tourism are gained by only a small group of
beneficiaries. Respondents expressed their negative feeling based on a mixture of vari-
ables that they considered to affect the decline in tourist numbers. Such a negative feel-
ing was expressed by (B85) as: “Tourism in [the] Petra Region is in a state of decline
and instability”. (B87) confirmed this negative feeling and also raised the issue of the
absence of sufficient motivation regarding extension of tourist stays in Petra: “There is
nothing that encourages tourism in Petra although it is one of the New Wonders of the
World. Therefore it has declined and the level of living standards has declined with it.
This is not what we were expecting, after Petra became one of the New Wonders of the
World, when there should have been an increase in the numbers of tourists or tourism
products or entertainment”. Local people’s expectations of the nomination of Petra as
one of the N7W were high. They anticipated that there would be more product/services
development aimed at encouraging tourists to extend their stay in the region. Some
respondents acknowledged the importance of tourism for the region and described the
(current) tourist situation in Petra as being in a “critical death grip” – as described, for
example, by (A11) who predicts that if the tourist situation in Petra remains as it is cur-
rently, then Petra as a destination might experience a more severe decline or “death”.
Negative socio-cultural impacts appeared in 66 of the responses. People started noticing

negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism in the form of, for example, a higher cost of
living and some customs and traditions that are alien to the local population. (F65) ex-
pressed this as follows: “My feeling is very bad from the perspective of the high cost of
living […] people of the region come under the influence of strange customs and tradi-
tions from the west which are alien to village society”.
Complete dependency of some of the local people on income from tourism is another of
the negative socio-cultural impacts – especially due to the decline in numbers of tour-
ists, as illustrated by (A56) who said: “[…] The negative side is complete dependence
on tourism and this is wrong. Tourism is a blessing and a curse at the same time”. (B41)
stated: “[…] But at the present time some people have begun to suffer poverty from the
lack of tourism, and this is because tourism is the only outlet. The question remains, why
do not all residents of the area benefit from tourism? Hence some started building their
houses and bought cars out of money from tourism and some do not even earn a single
dinar from tourism […] Isn’t that inequality?[…]” Complete dependence on tourism
income was confirmed by (E47) who said: “[…] The tourism sector is a vital sector,
but all citizens in the city of Petra are dependent on tourism, and no other sources of
income exist […]”.
The vulnerable nature of tourism also results in serious damage to the local people when
they lose their jobs due to fluctuation in the numbers of tourists to their city. (A60)
stated: “[…] The [constant] increase and decrease in the numbers of tourists affects
individual incomes and leads to local people losing their jobs”. In the same vein, (B03)
distinguished a set of problems that can arise in terms of short tourist stays, shortcom-
ings in services and facilities which, if addressed, might help to extend the length of
tourist stays in Petra, negative socio-cultural impacts resulting from the absence of a
cultural exchange between host and guest, and the issue of dominant beneficiaries from
tourism revenue. Here (B03) said: “Tourism in Petra, in general, suffers from a num-
ber of related problems. Some of the most important of these are: there is no realistic
chance of real profit during the average tourist’s relatively short stay in the city because
there are no facilities, such as cinemas, cafes, or places where the local culture can be
displayed so that [the tourist] might be encouraged to stay for a longer period. All the
tourist facilities are concentrated in the tourist city [the ancient site], which only em-
phasizes the absence of any cultural exchange between the local people of Wadi Musa
and tourists. Any real benefit [from tourism] is limited and in the hands of a known and
restricted group in the city”. (B03) also said that, although tourists spend some of their
time visiting the antiquities in ancient Petra, they then return to their hotels and spend
the rest of their time without the possibility of interacting with the local community,
which denies the opportunity of any kind of cultural exchange between host and guest.
Harm comes in how the people of Petra have always been perceived by other Jordanians
as being rich people because of the existence of tourism in their vicinity. Service provid-
ers or shopkeepers outside Petra, for example, charge people from Wadi Musa more, i. e.
if someone from Wadi Musa goes to Amman to have their car repaired, they are charged
more because of this perception that they must be earning a huge income from living in
Wadi Musa and working in tourism. (B77) stated: “[…] The harm to the overwhelming
majority of the people of Wadi Musa lies in the way they are treated outside Wadi Musa
as [being] possessors of a lot of money, while the opposite is the case […] al-Batra’ has
88 Chapter 3
destroyed our houses, ya Na’ib [MP] Sami”. This is a request to me as the former MP
to realize what damage tourism in Petra has brought to its people.
Some people said that they do not benefit at all from tourism revenue in Petra. The
theme “I/We do not benefit” occurred 47 times. The issue of “benefit” is, therefore, a
major concern. It means that people see Petra not only as a symbol of their own identity
or Jordan’s identity, but also as an economic resource, as (B73) stated: “We feel proud
because Petra is one of the tourist cities in Jordan and one of the New Seven Wonders
of the World […] and most residents of the region do not benefit in a financial way from
the nature of tourism in Petra. Therefore a percentage of the entrance fees should be de-
ducted for the citizens who live there”. It is also important to know that people disagree
on this issue – some recognize the benefits of tourism even if they themselves do not
benefit. (B10) stated: “Actually tourism in Petra plays an important role in the develop-
ment of Petra, and I do not feel anything towards tourism because I do not benefit in any
way from it, no matter what my work is”. Some do not benefit and therefore think tourism
should not exist at all. For instance, (A15) said: “I do not get any benefit from tourism. I
pray to Allah to cut it off and never bring it back”. The same feeling was shared by (A48)
who said: “Tourism is a failure, and not feasible. I wish that tourism would fall apart
completely in this town, because we are not benefiting from it. On the contrary, it has hurt
us in every commercial concern in Wadi Musa, and one qirsh [Piaster] becomes two”.
Prices have doubled and the cost of living has increased significantly over recent years.
Some people judge tourism effectiveness from the benefit it does not bring to their com-
munity: “Tourism is not effective, not active, not strong, in other words, we are not
benefiting from it […]” (A22). Negative feeling, however, is related most of the time to
the theme “I/We do not benefit” financially from tourism as specified by (C87): “The
disappointment in tourism that overwhelms me, it is the absence of benefit. More than
75 % of the population of Petra are not benefiting from the tourism sector”. Some do not
benefit and interpret that as social inequality, and believe that the benefits should instead
be shared. (B39) stated: “Extremely bad, because none of the income returns to the peo-
ple of Petra, but particular people have assumed control over the whole tourist market”.
(B80) concurred: “It’s all the same. If it breaks down, if it increases, it has nothing to do
with us. We are not benefiting at all. The good of this town is for some and not others”.
Promotion as a dominant category occurred 43 times in responses. Respondents asserted

the importance of promoting Petra worldwide. Here (A96) said: “[…] I am not even
satisfied with the means of promotion for the city […]” and (A35)’s attitude centred
around the following: “[…] my feeling is the need for correct promotion for Petra […]”
Although some recognized the importance of Petra as a tourist destination, they also felt
that it is not as well known as it should be. (F51) stated: “Petra is one of the most impor-
tant tourist sites, but Petra unfortunately does not receive the right promotion. Most of the
people of the world do not know about Petra or about its historical value and its beauty”.
(F55) thinks that: “Tourism in Petra is not active, but is extremely desperate in the absence
of advertising programmes by the media […]” Some view Petra as a symbol of identity,

but believe that it is not recognized as a real city of wonders due to ineffectual promotion,
as stated by (F72) as follows: “I feel proud that Petra has put Jordan on the international
tourism map, so that it has become a tourist destination, and I hope that Petra will be
promoted in a way that matches its fame as an eternal human miracle”. (E66) stated: “My
feeling towards Petra is that it is a central complex for cultures and gathering individuals.
It gives me an internal sense of belonging and it is the most beautiful wonder in the world.
But there is a lack of promotion of Petra”. Others have also realized that there are short-
comings in the way Petra is marketed, somewhat less than it deserves. (F09) commented:
“[…] We hope that those responsible promote this area better internationally, because it
deserves our concern for it, better than it is now”. Some perceived the lack of promotion
as one of the most important things that Petra needs to become the destination that lives up
to people’s expectations. (A21) said that: “[…] it lacks many things – the most important
amongst them being tourism promotion […]”; and (D03) stated that: “Petra is one of the
New Seven Wonders of the World, but it is not very well marketed […] Therefore tourism
is being blown away by the wind and at any time there could be disaster”. (D03) was try-
ing to say that if tourism were to be promoted and marketed more effectively, a decline in
the numbers of tourists might be less at times of political disorder.
Distribution of wealth from tourism revenue was a theme which dominated 36 responses
as a way of expressing negative feeling about tourism in Petra. Some perceived tourism
revenue as wealth that was exploited by particular beneficiaries and that was not being
distributed equally amongst the people. It is worth mentioning that in the Islamic tradition
everything is shared equally amongst people. The rich help the poor. This support is guar-
anteed by Zakat24, which is a certain amount of money deducted from the rich to be given
to the poor. Because of this tradition, people insist that wealth from tourism revenue should
be equally distributed. People in Wadi Musa perceive the wealth generated from tourism
revenue as a collective capital, which needs to be equally distributed. In their thinking this
does not apply to other sources of income. In the response of (A57) it was stated clearly
that: “Tourism in Petra is considered the first of the primary resources for a certain group
of people but not all. There is no justice in that. All the population of the town must benefit
from it either directly or indirectly, thus making everyone partners in tourism work”. It
was also stated by (A54) that: “[…] and I, as a citizen in this beloved nation, I plead for
tourism in Petra to go on the right path and to make projects from which every citizen can
benefit and to distribute the income from Petra across the people of the region, and not to
frustrate them with the (state) treasury of Petra”. It was meant that when there are ongo-
ing projects, people may get involved and benefit can be shared. In the same vein (A56)
24 “One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore
held by human beings in trust. The word Zakat means both ‘purification’ and ‘growth’. Our possessions
are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back
balances and encourages new growth. Zakat is the amount of money that every adult, mentally stable, free,
and financially able Muslim, male and female, has to pay to support specific categories of people […]
The alms are only for the poor and the needy […] (The Holy Qur’an 9:60)”. (Islamicity 2013)
90 Chapter 3
suggested that: “[…] the outputs of development – from horses and hotels – should be
distributed so that it can be like a tax to be paid to the town itself”. It is worth mentioning
here that there are almost 350 horses registered in Petra. Families owning horses get EU8
from the entrance ticket to Petra, which is about EU50. In January 2014 it was stated by
the Prime Minister that PDTRA would receive 50 % from the entrance ticket. The rest is
divided between local tour guides, horse owners and government. People do not realize
that the PDTRA share would help regional development as an indirect benefit.
There was a certain belief that tourism benefit should not be dominated by only a few
beneficiaries, but that, on the contrary, it has to benefit all. Here (C33) expressed his neg-
ative feeling about not benefiting from tourism revenue by describing Petra as a “cem-
etery”, stating that “[…] For us, today, Petra is a cemetery, and we will be buried in it
one after another for what we are faced with by exploitation by a few people of this town
who are its beneficiaries, while the rest are eating sand. If Petra were exploited the right
way and everything were divided equally amongst the people of the town then the good
would be distributed throughout”. This belief that Petra should provide income for the
whole population, and not only for a few, was shared by (B67) who said: “Petra is for all,
and not limited to one particular group. And the number of beneficiaries from the tourism
sector does not exceed 2,000 people and 28,000 people await their chance for gain and
well-being”. That the benefit should include other areas in the Petra Region in addition to
the population of Wadi Musa was mentioned by (C03) who said: “The revenue from tour-
ism must be distributed amongst all the people of the Region who are not benefiting from
tourism at all, whether that is the people of Wadi Musa or Ṭaybeh or Rājif or Dlāgha”.
There is an increasing need for the just distribution of wealth in order to control poverty
in the region, as stated by (B26): “[…] There are no regulations. I add to that the sensi-
tivity of the people of the town and poverty and insufficient distribution of wealth […]”
Interestingly, environmental impact occurred only 15 times to express negative feeling.

Respondents highlighted a range of environmental effects that affect the site physically.
These varied from carrying tourists on donkeys to the remote monuments in Petra to chil-
dren who cut stones from the caves and sell them to tourists. Here (C71) expressed his
negative feeling which was generated by negative environmental behaviours: “Negative.
And the reason is that donkeys being inside Petra causes a bad smell and dirt inside the
city, and this spoils some of the ancient monuments of Petra”. (A24) thought that tour-
ism in Petra is: “[…] without benefit; only degradation of archaeological and historical
sites […]”; while (B01) asks for more concern to be paid to environmental issues, such
as the bad smell resulting from the deposits of animals used to carry tourists and negative
environmental behaviours of the Bedouin children who work there as vendors: “[…] I
beg those responsible for Petra for more concern [to be paid] to everything related to
this archaeological site (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), and for cleanliness,
especially horses and camels that carry tourists and to organize the bedou (Bidoul) re-
sponsible and to forbid the bedou children from entering it to sell […]”. Those children
cut the coloured rocks from the caves of Petra into small pieces and then sell them to
tourists at a cheap price. Such actions cause serious environmental damage to the site.
Tourists ride donkeys and mules to climb the staircase that leads to the Monastery and
the High Place of Sacrifice. The hooves of these animals cause a great deal of erosion to
the steps. (B55) highlighted this issue by stating that: “[…] It is necessary to put an end
to the donkeys and other animals that are inside the city causing erosion of the rock and
the amount of animal droppings […]” (C71) addressed the same environmental issues
by stating that it is: “[…] negative. And the reason is that donkeys are inside Petra and
the bad smell and dirt they cause inside the city, and they spoil some of the monuments
of antiquity inside Petra such as the steps to the High Place, and others”.
The over-use of water in Petra by tourists remains one of the most significant threats to
the environment and contributes to the negative feeling towards tourism. The average
tourist consumes 300 litres of fresh water per day not including recreational use; the
“luxury” tourist may consume up to 880 litres (UNEP 2011, 418). For example, in 2012
the five-star hotels in Petra consumed 121,960 m3 at a cost of JD220,018 or $310,759
(PWD 2013). (D55) expressed a strong feeling about this: “We buy a sea and put it in
Petra so tourists can swim”. (D55) is ironically suggesting here that the sea is brought
to Petra so that tourists’ demands for water might be satisfied while the whole region
suffers a scarcity of water.
In summary, negative feelings about tourism in Petra are the result of cumulative
factors such as: management issues, dominant beneficiaries, decline in number of
tourists, negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism on the local community of Petra,
lack of benefit from tourism revenue, shortcomings in terms of promotion, unjust
distribution of wealth generated from tourism revenue and negative environmental
impacts on the site of Petra. All of these factors are intertwined in a complex causal
relationship that highlights the feelings respondents have towards tourism in their
city, Petra.
3.3 Analysis of data gathered through Facebook
Broad-sweep interviews directly relevant to the topic were conducted using a social me-
dium (Facebook) in order to address the limitations – mentioned in the fifth paragraph
at the beginning of this chapter – that were apparent in the completed questionnaires.
When the responses were collected, I realized that there was a need to capture more of
the perspectives/conceptions about tourism in Petra of various people other than those
already surveyed. Questionnaires were originally distributed to community centres,
schools, women’s associations and other gathering places such as internet cafes and
the main souq. People who frequent such places are mainly children buying household
requirements, men, and only a few women, which was a certain limitation in terms of
achieving a more representative sample of people.
In order to overcome this limitation, a non-directive question (“What is your feeling

about tourism in Petra?”) was posted on my professional page on Facebook. In less
92 Chapter 3
than a week, 98 responses were received, although it appears that there is no method
of data gathering that does not have some limitations. Data gathering through social
media certainly has constraints. Firstly, older people and some women in the town
may not have access to Facebook; secondly, some responses were subject to the re-
spondents’ attempt to please me as a researcher, who used to be their legislator; thirdly,
all responses were visible and available for all respondents to see, which might have
deterred some respondents from conveying their true/real opinion. Nonetheless, re-
sponses gathered though Facebook came to complement those gathered through the
distributed surveys.
The software used to analyze the data collected through my professional page on Fa-
cebook was GABEK. The total of evaluations received was 138, of which 17 (12.3 %)
were positive, 117 (84.8 %) were negative, and only 4 (2.9 %) were neutral, as shown
in Figure 3.8, next.
Negative 84.8%
Neutral 2.9%
Positive 12.3%
%
20 40 60 80
Figure 3.8: Evaluation list of the surveys gathered through Facebook
3.3.1 Positive feeling
Specific positive feeling about tourism in Petra was expressed by only two respond-
ents, conveying an excellent impression, as stated by (B02): “Very excellent. Tourism
in Petra is the origin of tourism in Jordan”. At the same time, (I05) urged people to
be optimistic about tourism in Petra: “[…] we all must be optimistic about tourism.
As long as there are many people who care for the benefit of Jordan, firstly, and Petra,
second […]” Such optimism is related to the view that there are people who care about
tourism and therefore, they are seen as working for the benefit of the country. The causal
network revealed that there is an interrelationship between positive feeling and three
variables: namely, economic source, positive socio-cultural impacts and N7W. This
causal network, therefore, can be analyzed based on the beneficial effect that takes place
as a proactive interaction between the three variables and positive feeling, as shown in
Figure 3.9, next.
A B
A decrease, B decrease Positive Socio-
cultural Impacts
Bad influence
(arrows)
Negative
Beneficial effect Feeling
(arrows)
N7W Economic Source
Figure 3.9: Positive feeling about tourism in Petra, causal network
Due to the fact that tourism is recognized as an economic source, a beneficial effect oc-
curs at a level of positive socio-cultural impacts. Economic source is a result of N7W
which is itself a leading cause of both an economic source and positive socio-cultural
impacts. The overall consequences of the interaction between the three variables result
in the positive feeling about tourism in Petra.
While the evaluation list shows 17 positive feelings, only 2 responses actually support
that feeling, as stated by (B02 and I05) above. The other 15 positive responses evaluated
tourism positively because it is considered a source of income. As (A01) stated: “[Tour-
ism is] the nerve of Petra and its people […]” The word “nerve” is used to express the
importance of revenue that tourism brings to people, i. e. as part of a vital life force. In
the same vein, (H02) said that: “Tourism is the most important generator of develop-
ment in Petra […]” There is a positive feeling here about tourism in Petra, in this case
engendered by the development that tourism revenue can bring to the region. Another
positive feeling is engendered by the selection of Petra as one of the N7W, which was
expressed by respondents, for example (B04), who said: “Yes […] tourism exists in Jor-
dan because of the existence of Petra […] Yaʻni [that means] – like the body (tourism)
and the spirit (Petra) […] It is enough that the world considers it as a Wonder […]”
Petra is viewed as the masterpiece of all the other tourist attractions in Jordan and was
described by this respondent as the “spirit” that grants life to the body – “tourism”. At
the same time, (C01) felt positively and believes that Petra deserves to be one of the
N7W of the world by stating: “About six years ago Petra became one of the New Seven
Wonders of the World, because it deserves to be […]” Similarly, (D02) stated: “Petra
is deservedly one of the New Wonders of the World […]” However, as soon as some
respondents expressed their positive feelings about Petra being nominated as a New
Wonder, they turned to complaining about the shortcomings in terms of the amount of
concern and care they thought the ancient city deserves.
94 Chapter 3
The positive socio-cultural impacts of tourism were mentioned by only two respondents.
(A04) stated that: “I think tourism brings income and cultural diversity, […]” This occurs
through interaction between host and guest. People get to know about each other and they
can learn from each other. (A07) both agreed with and contradicted (A04) at the same
time by stating that: “Cultural diversity, yes, but the income [goes] outside of Petra”.
In conclusion, positive feeling about tourism in Petra was engendered by the recogni-
tion of its status as an economic generator and was also motivated by the optimism that
some people have about a better future for tourism to Petra. Its status as one of the N7W
created a degree of satisfaction and a sense of pride and identity, although there was also
acknowledgment that the site is not being adequately looked after and being taken care
of as well as it deserves.
3.3.2 Neutral feeling
This was neither positive nor negative and was found in only four responses. The focus
of one of these responses was a concern for the environment and about trees in particu-
lar. (I05) stated: ”[…] and conserving trees and replanting them instead […]”. A neutral
opinion was given by (A04) based on the status of Petra as one of the N7W. (A04) said:
“[…] It is enough that the world considers it as a Wonder […]” A similar neutral feeling
was expressed by (A05) who considered that there were advantages to be gained from the
special status of Petra as one of the N7W. Here (A05) said: “[…] and especially to benefit
from [its status as] one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. This is a special status”.
Respondents stressed the importance of Petra as a New Wonder and recommended utiliz-
ing this status to maximize benefit from it. (B07) emphasized the historical importance of
Petra as one of the N7W in another neutral feeling by stating that: “[…] Petra has a herit-
age of history and civilization and it is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World […]”.
It is not easy, however, to classify neutral feelings as either positive or negative. Re-
spondents’ feelings are not clear in this context. On the one hand, they started with a
positive feeling, whether that was about income generated from tourism, or from the
status of Petra as one of the N7W, and on the other, they changed to a negative feel-
ing when they started expressing their dismay due to shortcomings in care, services or
promotion within the site itself. It can be said that respondents in the neutral position
were to some extent positivists when they recognized the benefits that tourism can bring
and in another way they became negativists when they expressed their feelings about
shortcomings concerning tourism management in Petra.
3.3.3 Negative feeling
Data analysis revealed that 117 (84.8 %) out of a total of 138 evaluations were assessed
as negative feelings about tourism in Petra, as shown in Figure 3.8, page 92. Negative
feeling was engendered by themes and phrases such as negative socio-cultural impacts,
dominant beneficiaries, management issues, N7W and promotion.
It is now appropriate to examine the causal effect of the network that encapsulates nega-
tive feeling, as shown in Figure 3.10, below.
A increase, B increase Negative Socio-

A B
A decrease, B decrease cultural Impacts
Bad influence
(arrows) Promotion Dominant
Beneficiaries
Beneficial effect Negative
(arrows) Feeling
N7W Management
Issues
Figure 3.10: Negative feeling about tourism in Petra: Causal network graph
In-depth analysis and interpretation of the negative socio-cultural impacts revealed that
some respondents perceived tourism in Petra negatively in diverse forms: the youth
were influenced negatively, most likely due to exposure to tourism through working in
tourism businesses, traffic congestion in the streets of the town causes problems for local
people, as do high prices of consumer goods, and social division occurs between those
who benefit from tourism and those who do not. Here, (H05)’s response exemplifies:
“Seductive to our youth, loss of our rights, a waste of our abilities, the bad smell of our
horses, something I like very much [this was said ironically, the opposite was meant],
and another thing I like even more, congestion from visitors in our streets, increase in
our prices, discrimination between us, at the end of the day, a worry in our hearts”. This
respondent expressed anxiety about enduring life in the shadow of such circumstances.
Dominant beneficiaries were the primary category that influenced negative socio-cultural
impacts. The opinion that revenue from tourism is exploited by a small fraction of people
engendered negative feeling, as (I02) stated: “Few are benefiting from tourism in Petra,
and few in number are those who benefit completely. I would never get benefit from tour-
ism in Petra, and those who benefit most are the horse guides and al-Bidoul. Regarding
the hotels in Petra: 1) salaries are low; 2) tribalism; 3) the outsider is preferred over the
96 Chapter 3
local person [of Petra]; 4) especially – the outsider benefits more from Petra [what is
meant by ‘outsider’ is someone from another governorate]. Question: why do not others
from Wadi Musa benefit from tourism, apart from those who own horses?” It seems like
there are some people who think that Petra is their own and it is kind of forbidden for
other people from Jordan to work there.
In addition to the beneficiaries such as “horse guides and al-Bidoul”, there are other nega-
tive socio-cultural impacts associated with hotels, such as “tribalism”, in terms of the
availability of jobs according to kinship of some hotel owners. In the same context, the
tone of some respondents, such as (J01), was raised when he stated that: “The gains of
Petra are [only] for certain people. Yaʻni [that means], the one who takes 50,000 dinars
ḍaman sanawi [a year’s rent] on a restaurant of only 150 m2 isn’t worried. And the way
the shops are distributed, who knows whether it was handed down or inherited, that is, the
one who has something – it’s his destiny and that’s enough, and this is a new era. Everyone
should benefit, and this is an opportunity. If we remain silent, our rights will be lost. And
if we talk, everyone will get angry. We beg for justice in distributing the existing wealth.
Otherwise huge problems will occur which no one will realize the full consequences of”.
This response is alarming in the light of unjust distribution of tourism wealth due to the
exploitation of tourism businesses in Petra. Disputes and social disorder might ensue.
Dominant beneficiaries also featured as a leading cause of negative feeling in light of

people’s knowledge of the income generated from tourism in Petra. (D07) stated that:
“Even though tourism in Petra is low right now, it was once a pot overflowing with
gold. But its guardians squandered it and they mismanaged its distribution!! A few of
them have eaten from it, and the rest are cleaning up the leftovers […] while the govern-
ment […]is watching from a distance! And the present is the fruit of what was sown in
the past […]. In short, we are feeling very bad, but our hope in change is still there”. A
metaphor like “a pot overflowing with gold” is used in this case to express the richness
of tourism revenue, but ordinary people do not have access to it because its “guardians”,
including the government, have squandered and mismanaged it. Another metaphor –
“the present is the fruit of what was sown in the past” was used here to express the
opinion that what is built on a weak base will always be weak. (E04) acknowledged this
by saying: “[…] At the end of the day, there are people who flourish and people who live
like goats”. (E04) is saying that those who flourish are the people who harvest the crops,
but leftovers are for the goats. Dominant beneficiaries were perceived by respondents as
the raison d’être for their negative feeling. Here (I04) stated: “Tourism in Petra is very
weak and its benefit [financial output] is [only] for a small percentage of the population
of Petra, a great part of whom get no benefit and have no connection to tourism”.
The relationship between management issues and dominant beneficiaries is represented

by the improper management of the income from tourism revenues, and this results in an
unequal distribution of tourism wealth among the local population. The status of Petra as
a “tourism area” is also a burden to local citizens in the form of high living costs. While
not denying the benefits of tourism, (H01) stated that: “[…] regarding tourism, we do
not deny its benefit, but it is a benefit only for the minority and we all recognize that.
Although we have a treasure granted to us by God, we do not manage it properly; we
have reaped weeds and crumbs, and now not even that, on top of which are burdens on
the citizen from every direction in the name of the ‘tourism area’”.
Management issues, including delaying the election of a local committee to supplement

the activities of PDTRA commissioners, breed negative socio-cultural impacts. Nega-
tive feeling is also associated with the disenfranchisement of the local community from
the decision-making process concerning their own locality. (I09)’s response illustrates
this: “Petra is one of the Wonders of the World, and there is nothing to display that
fact in Petra. The Petra Commission [PDTRA Council] needs to be followed by the
establishment of a committee from the people of the Region, in order to follow up all the
projects and to accelerate their implementation […]”
That management issues breed negative feeling in many aspects was expressed by (E02):
“1. The tour in Petra is short – it does not do justice to the site. 2. The quality of the people
who deal with tourists needs to be developed. 3. The quality of service is bad, as testified
by many of those who have been in and out [of the Park]. 4. In spite of its richness, there’s
a shortcoming in presenting and promoting the heritage. 5. There is a shortage of tourist
attractions apart from the site itself […]” Shortcomings according to (E02) are evident in
short tourist stays, under-qualified people who manage the tourism process in Petra, inad-
equate services presented to visitors and a lack of attractions other than the historical site.
(E07) articulated his own opinion, suggesting reform of everything concerning the man-
agement system in Petra because of the failure to fulfil the needs of Petra and its citizens:
“[…] like other people of the Region I see that everything related to tourism is inade-
quately prepared and irresponsibly set up, and therefore the solution lies not only in fixing
one area or one site, but also in reforming and replacing most of the officials responsible
for tourism in Petra […] and all of this remains my personal opinion”. Along with (E07),
the feeling of (H09) was: “Not satisfying […]! And the reason is that those responsible
for it [management] are not qualified. Definitely they are opportunists”. Respondents
conveyed their discontent and disapproval of those supposedly responsible for managing
tourism in Petra, describing them as “opportunists” and unqualified for such a job.
The nomination of Petra as one of the N7W was expected to energize tourism and help
the region to flourish. However, people did not perceive any real difference after the
nomination from before. Negative feeling was conveyed by (E01) who stated that: “Pe-
tra is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. All of that is only ink on paper. In
reality we can’t see or touch anything of what the government talks about. Yārait [I
wish] – I hope we can rescue or refresh Petra, and take it out of the ICU. This worries
every citizen. There is no alternative to tourism. I wish there was an alternative for
citizens during periods of decline [in tourism]. Every citizen worries about the bodies
he has to care for at home”. The expression “ink on paper” most likely refers to the
fact that nothing of what the government promised has been implemented in reality. The
98 Chapter 3
divergent effect after N7W happened which made respondents thankful if shortcomings
in Petra were overcome.
The promotional N7W campaign in 2007 was robust enough to a degree that Petra won
the nomination. Some respondents think that since then, however, the promotional effort
has not achieved the purpose of attracting more people to visit Petra. There is a definite
need to review promotional strategies that take full advantage of the status of Petra as
N7W. This was suggested by (A05) who stated: “I see that for tourism in Petra [to be
more successful] there must be a lot of revision of all the plans to become more active
and better promoted, and especially to benefit from [its status as] one of the New Seven
Wonders of the World. This is a special status”.
Some people, like (B04), think that proper promotion and advertisement of Petra as a
tourist destination does not exist: “[…] unfortunately promotion and advertisement is
absent […] and for sure the support of the Iqlīm [PDTRA] is necessary both for it and
for us”. This respondent stressed the necessity of PDTRA’s support not only for promo-
tion, but also for people themselves.
Some respondents think that in Jordan we do not yet have sufficient experience to pro-
mote Petra in the right way. On the contrary, we are still counting on others to do that for
us. (C06) stated: “What tourism? What Petra? It is only a stone located not in its [prop-
er] place. Petra is one of the New Wonders of the World, but unfortunately it’s as if it
weren’t. And the reason is that we do not do well at all in the tourism industry in Jordan.
We count on Israeli tourism operators to include Petra in their tourism programmes.
We need to put more energy and skill into this issue, specifically – the subject of tourism
marketing is not as easy as some might think”. According to (C06), promotion may not
be as easy as it was thought to be. It needs skill and enormous effort to make it effective.
Identity and pride in being from Petra are affected by the negative feeling regarding the
lack of promotion, despite Petra being one of the N7W. This attitude was exemplified
by (F05) who said: “We are all so proud that we are from the city of pride and beauty
(Petra), as are all Jordanians. But this pride has failed to get Petra to where it should be
– even though it is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. I mean, more promotion
and work [are needed] to attract double the number of tourists, and also to encourage
tourists to extend their stay in Petra. There must be ways to enhance this matter through
developing the Wadi Musa area to become a suitable tourism destination that matches
the fame of Petra in the rest of the world […]”. In other words, along with promotion
there is a need to develop the region to become more of a tourist attraction. Lack of pro-
motion also breeds negative feeling by falling short in promoting the heritage of Petra
to more people in the world. This opinion was expressed by (E02): “[…] In spite of its
richness, there is a shortcoming in presenting and promoting its heritage”.
The broad-sweep survey, whether distributed to people or conducted through Facebook,

outlined some of the attitude of the people of Wadi Musa towards tourism in their re-
gion. Both surveys merged to examine people’s point of view about tourism and its
impact on their lives. Respondents articulated their opinions in accordance with their
exposure to the various effects of tourism. On average 25, it was found that 24.25 % of
respondents’ feeling was positive, 74.3 % was negative and 2.9 % was neutral.
It is crucial, however, to point out that at the time of conducting the survey tourism was
suffering the consequences of the political events in the Arab World. It appears that
responses were influenced by that situation. At the same time, people built up hope on
the selection of Petra as one of the N7W. The disappointment of those respondents who
expressed negative feeling seems to be influenced by that status quo. Not only that, but
they also seemed judgemental about the role that tourism play in terms of economic ben-
efits as they expressed that in accordance with direct benefit only. In this context, benefit
from tourism needs to be viewed as follows: “the total economic impact of tourism is the
sum of direct, indirect and induced effects within a region” (Stynes, 1997). As asserted
by (A27): “Everyone is influenced at this time by tourism. Most of the people of Petra
deny that they benefit from tourism and exactly the opposite is so.” By that it would
appear that people in Wadi Musa ignored the indirect and induced economic effects of
tourism. That was evident when some of the respondents stated that they do not benefit
from tourism revenue. In contrast, it was evident in the positive responses that respond-
ents acknowledged tourism as an important source of income for people in Wadi Musa.
How do I feel personally about tourism in Petra?
I observed that an entrance ticket for Petra is JD50. Tourists who buy the pack-
age do not feel that it’s a high price because it comes as part of their package, but
individuals do feel that it is a high price. In January 2014 a decision was made
by the Prime Minister to increase PDTRA’s share of the entrance ticket to 50 %
instead of 35 %. The rest is distributed among local tour guides, horse owners
and government. The money from the tickets, whether to PDTRA or to any other
group, is spent in the region.
I am wary of the various economic impacts of tourism in the region. The eco-
nomic impacts are reflected directly and indirectly on the people of Wadi Musa.
For example, tourist spending reflects positively on the income for horse guides,
tour guides, souvenir shops, hotel sales and payment for salaries, taxes and sup-
plies, while the indirect economic effect is evident in income for supply to the
hotels and local restaurants, for example. In terms of induced benefit of tourism
it is evident in the fact that those who earn their income from tourism spend their
money in the region on housing, domestic requirements including food, furni-
25 The average of positive, negative and neutral feelings resulted from responses in both surveys; the distrib-
uted surveys and surveys gathered through Facebook.
100 Chapter 3
ture, transportation and other costs, and on the necessities of daily, local life. In
addition, this spending helps to create new job opportunities in the supply chain
or elsewhere in the region.
I believe that not only those who do not benefit directly from tourism –as stated
in some responses above – but the whole population in the Petra Region have to
put up with traffic congestion in the only street in which all services are available,
without any parking space for their cars. Even if they park for only a short time,
they receive a traffic ticket for illegal parking. They are subject to high taxes and
expensive prices for everyday living, and have to pay inflated prices for land and
housing. I heard the people of Wadi Musa complaining about tourists being pre-
ferred over them in terms of services. I also observed that sometimes the tourist’s
word is believed over theirs in some lawsuits. Local people have no access to the
hotels and tourism services such as restaurants and swimming pools.
I agree with those who articulated some negative socio-cultural impacts of tour-
ism. I have seen that some of the youth adopt certain western habits such as
drinking alcohol and dressing in western fashions. Although they imitate tour-
ists’ lifestyles and behaviours such as using inappropriate language (swearing),
no one denies the effect of the media and satellite channels. I have seen groups of
youths waiting on the streets to attract tourist women to the camps and caves in
Petra. Some even marry western women, going with them to their countries and
returning after a time pretending that they did not achieve anything significant.
I have noticed that children leave school at an early age because of the prospect
of earning an easy and speedy income from tourism. It also happens that some
employees in hotels lose their jobs during the low tourist season.
I agree with those who articulated some negative socio-cultural impacts of tour-
ism. I have seen that some of the youth adopt certain western habits such as
drinking alcohol and dressing in western fashions. Although they imitate tour-
ists’ lifestyles and behaviours such as using inappropriate language (swearing),
no one denies the effect of the media and satellite channels. I have seen groups
of youths waiting on the streets to attract tourist women to the camps and caves
in Petra. Some even marry western women, going with them to their countries
and returning after a time pretending that they did not achieve anything sig-
nificant. I have noticed that children leave school at an early age because of
the prospect of earning an easy and speedy income from tourism. It also hap-
pens that some employees in hotels lose their jobs during the low tourist season.
I have also observed that animals are affected and can be badly treated by car-
rying weighty tourists up to the High Place of Sacrifice, for example, or the
Monastery, while the animals’ owners are pressurized into mistreating them, by
hitting them in front of tourists. Those who benefit from tourism revenue may
often look down on those who do not, becoming over-confident or arrogant in
their attitude and behaviour. Income from tourism has led to the creation of a
new social class in my community which – I think – is the cause of envy and a
degree of hatred amongst people in my community and between my community
and the other communities in the Petra Region.
Regarding environmental aspects, I have observed children cutting the coloured

rocks from the caves of Petra and selling them to tourists. Animals carrying tour-
ists while climbing the sandstone steps cause serious damage or erosion to the
fragile rocks. Horses and camels also leave a bad smell and their movements back
and forth in the site churn up dust and cause more erosion to the rocks. Water is
consumed in great quantities and is over-used by tourists in hotels and restaurants.
New buildings stand out if they are not in keeping with the local environment
and add to the visual pollution. Another disgusting behaviour from some people
who work in Petra or visitors is by those who use caves as toilets. People throw
litter everywhere, along the Siq, in front of and behind rocks and in the caves.
Although all that I have observed and lived through in my everyday life makes
me feel bad and sad at the same time, my own feeling about tourism in Petra is
not negative. I feel that, with more awareness and better education about tour-
ism, we may be able to reduce the negative impacts and achieve more positive
feelings towards tourism in Petra.
What is my position?
The truth might be something different. My approach in examining the way

the local people in Petra perceive tourism is represented in posing the ques-
tion: “What is your feeling about tourism in Petra?” In response to this question,
respondents reacted according to their own experience of tourism in their vicin-
ity. The extent of their exposure to tourism influenced their responses. Some
work in tourism businesses, while others react to the impacts of tourism on their
everyday lives in terms of how they perceive the effects on their town and on
themselves.
My interpretation of their responses is no more than an approach to feeling their

reactions to my question. My job as a researcher was to try to assess their an-
swers and not to quantify their feelings about tourism in Petra. Nevertheless, it is
a kind of illusion to interpret feelings, but phrases and themes were analyzed and
interpreted symbiotically in a way that might allow for a better understanding of
how these people perceive tourism in their community – whether these feelings
were positive, neutral or negative – it is what the research is trying to reveal. In
102 Chapter 3
other words, it is to make the results more comprehensive, concrete and not to
sound like just “another country heard from”.
Having my own statement put forth, it might be useful to make use of the chance
to derive some recommendations in anticipation of deriving a better tourism situ-
ation in the Petra Region.
• Assume the observatory and regulatory role of government through the PDTRA
in the tourism phenomena in Petra. This can be achieved by true activation and
enforcement of tourism and antiquities laws and regulations. This is essential
to protect the site itself. It also assumes control of the workers and employees.
• The need to consolidate and unify administrative decisions about all of the
issues concerning site management in Petra Region. That means that the on-
going conflict between those various entities who gave themselves the right
of custody of the archaeological site must be undermined. Bring representa-
tives of the local community at Petra to the decision-making process. This
would enable them to practice their observatory role in future decisions con-
cerning their region.
• The need to implement the recently developed Petra Strategic Master Plan
without any delay.
• Make better use of the income generated from tourism to Petra for real in-
vestments on the ground. People must know tourism is benefitting them
through new projects that create new job opportunities for the current gene-
ration and generations to come.
• Take all measures to implement a campaign aimed at preventing child labour
in Petra and return them to school immediately.
• Organize intensive workshops to raise awareness amongst the local commu-
nit at Petra about the impacts of tourism.
I know very well that there no successful work is achieved without difficulty,
but I believe that, with more persuasion and effective communication with de-
termination, sincerity and dedication, there could be a mechanism put in place
to put an end to many of the problems currently evident in Petra tourism. Only
then will we be able to present our tourism product to the world in a civilized
manner, free of defects.
IV The Ethnography of Wadi Musa: A Community in Transition
Chapter Four aims to establish that Wadi Musa is experiencing a period of increasingly
rapid transition driven both directly and indirectly by tourism growth. This transition
is observable and, in some cases, quantifiable in the social, political and economic life,
and has resulted in what we are calling “cultural ambiguity”: value disorientation and
conflict between generations and social classes within a community that was, until very
recently, tightly knit, traditional and relatively homogenous.
We begin with a brief history of the establishment of Wadi Musa and its settlement by Bani
Laith (section 4.1., below), whose clans (ḥamāyil) still constitute 99 % of the local popu-
lation (Al-ʻamarāt, 2014). An introduction to tribal affiliations, tribal, government and
religious authority, settlement patterns, land tenure and changes in the local economy up
to the 1970’s is important to understand subsequent developments in the community. The
history of Bani Laith and Wadi Musa also entails some discussion of Ṭaybeh, to the south
(section 4.2, page 105), settled by the extended families (ʻashā’ir) of the clan of al-Shrour.
Section 4.2 focuses on the development of Petra as a tourist destination. Bani Laith grew into
their current local role in Petra tourism from their early, informal function as guides for inde-
pendent European travellers. The institutionalization of Petra, first as a national park and sub-
sequently as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, had significant social, political and economic
consequences for the local population insofar as it recognised Petra as a concern owned by the
government and because of the resettlement of al-Bidoul in the housing project (iskān) called
Umm Ṣayḥoun, established on lands traditionally used by al-ʻbaidiyyeh of Bani Laith. Today
Umm Ṣayḥoun is the other community whose livelihood is inextricably tied to Petra tourism.
It was the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty of 1994, however, that began the radical transforma-
tion of Wadi Musa and nearby communities. The promise of economic prosperity from
tourism was one of the pillars supporting the monarchy’s platform for peace initiative, and
Petra overwhelmingly dominates tourism to Jordan. Following the Peace Treaty, govern-
ment-supported loans, direct and indirect funding, foreign aid and tourism flooded into
Wadi Musa, especially, transforming the natural, built and social environments irrevocably.
Section 4.5 depicts this transformation as concretely as possible in numbers. Economic

and social disparities between Wadi Musa and the rest of the Petra Region are described.
Economic change is quantified in terms of national income from Petra tourism, national
economic indicators, local income statistics, local government budgets and expendi-
tures, land and property values and changes in local consumption patterns.
With this in mind, concrete examples illustrate the contrast between Wadi Musa’s ex-
posure to other cultures, via tourism, in the mid-1980’s vs. the early 2000’s. Political
change is portrayed by following the transmogrification of local government into a na-
tionally administered special economic zone.
104 Chapter 4
4.1 Jordan in regional context
Jordan is located in the heart of the Middle East (see Map 4.1, below). It is bordered by Syr-
ia to the north, Iraq and part of Saudi Arabia to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south and Israel
and Palestine to the west. Jordan gained its importance from its strategic location on the
trade and pilgrimage routes. For some of the ancient civilizations, such as Greeks, Romans
and Nabataeans, it was a homeland, and to some others it was a crossroads or a battlefield.
During the Roman period Jordan was located on the Via Nova Traiana 26, known today
as the King’s Highway. During the Nabataean period it was the centre of all the ancient
trade routes, which were connected directly to Petra. In 1895 the Ottomans established
the al-Hejaz 27 railway line along Darb al-ḥaj, the pilgrims’ route to Makka, to facilitate
the movement of Muslim pilgrims from northern Europe and Turkey to Makka and
Madina in Arabia.
Turkey
Cyprus
Syria
Lebanon
Iraq
Israel
Palestine
Jordan Saudi Arabia

Egypt
km
0 100 250 500
Cartography: S. Henschel
Map 4.1: Jordan in regional context
4.2 Brief historical contextualization of Wadi Musa
We will begin with a brief historical contextualization of Wadi Musa, and then focus
specifically on the community in 2006‑2007.
Historically, Wadi Musa has continued to be inhabited since the Nabataean period (312
B. C.–106 A. D.). Its strategic location on the ancient trade routes, its existence close to
26 The ancient trade route built by Romans during the time of a Roman Emperor named Trajan. The road was
paved to connect Syria with the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba.
27 The old name for the Gulf States including Saudi Arabia.
The Ethnography of Wadi Musa: A Community in Transition 105
the pilgrims’ routes and the existence of a great many springs made it welcoming to peo-
ple throughout the ages (Bedal, 2004: 3). Whether Bani Laith was a coalition of several
clans, or was one huge extended family that made them the huge qabiila they are, they
all lived in one particular area. They gathered around each other for defence purposes in
the first place (see Figure 4.1, below).
Figure 4.1: Bedouin camp [Jordan]

Source: Frank Hurley, National Library of Australia, nla.obj-159855978-1
Bani Laith were originally Bedouin who became semi settlers due to the orchards in
the area (Amru, 2001; Fraiḥāt, 2011). As Bedouin, they were seeking water and grass
wherever these existed. Basically, the style of life in the Petra Region – as in many other
parts of Jordan – was based mainly on hunting, collecting wood and livestock, and graz-
ing (Shoup, 1985). Gradually, they started looking after the old gardens and cultivating
grain on the highlands on the outskirts of Wadi Musa (Burckhardt, 1822: 433; Amru,
2000; Fraiḥāt, 2011).
While there is no clear evidence about when Bani Laith started to settle down, the rea-
sons for their gradual settlement in Wadi Musa are likely to be the following:
• Existence of great number of springs

• The old orchards or gardens
• The natural fortification of all the surrounding mountains
• Using the ancient caves in the old site of Petra as a refuge in bad weather and in case
of any attack from outside
• Fertility of highlands in the region
• Existence of range land and variety of herbs and spices
• Kinship and extended family relationships.
106 Chapter 4
In the past, the Bani Laith lived in black goats’ hair tents in communities consisting of
many tents for the whole extended family (see Figures 4.1 and 4.2). It would appear that
people were fighting for land, fields and gardens in the region. Tribal arbitration must
have taken place in order to solve disputes over different issues in the everyday life of
the Bani Laith. Figure 4.2 indicates that all the families lived near each other. Originally,
it was the nuclear family. Nuclear families grew to become extended families. Grandfa-
ther, his children and all of their descendants lived together in one area. They cooperated
in every aspect of life – in ploughing fields, sowing seeds and harvesting or collecting
crops. They also cooperated and united in times of any potential threat from outside
(Amru, 2001; Fraiḥāt , 2011; Falaḥāt, 2013).
The Bani Laith came to live in the khirab (pl.) [khirbeh(s) 28] after simple restoration or
maintenance. They kept moving between tents and restored khirab and/or caves from
time to time. In winter they lived in khirab and/or caves while in summer they returned
to their tents which they used to install on the outskirts of Wadi Musa. Most of these
deserted old groups of houses still exist. People still use them for animals or store rooms.
Al-ʻalāya occupied the upper part of Wadi Musa. Although ʻain Mūsa was the main
source of water for the Bani Laith tribe, it was shared between all the members of the
tribe (Amru, 2001; Fraiḥāt, 2011; Falaḥāt, 2013). They restored the old gardens along
both sides of the upper valley. They lived at khirbet al-Nawafleh (changed to a 5-star
tourist resort called Bait Zamān in the 1990s). Al-ʻamarāt lived in their own khirbeh
and khirbet al-ʻalāya was the place where all the members of al-ʻalāya lived. Khirbet al-
Shamāsīn is close to Shamāsīn residential area now (see Figure 4.2, next).
Al-ʻbaidiyyeh lived at al-Ḥaiy and Munīfeh. It seems as if they had more influence than
the other ḥamāyel in Wadi Musa. At the same time they lived at al-Ḥaiy and Munīfeh
they occupied all of the middle and lower part of Wadi Musa. Al-Ḥasanāt, who had a
greater number of members than the other families, lived first at khirbet Elji (ḥarejah).
Al-Ṭwaisāt lived close to them. Al-Helālāt lived at Zurrābah (khirbet al-Helālāt), al-
Nasarāt lived at darajah (khirbet al-Naṣarāt) and al-Mshaʻleh had their own khirbeh
in the middle between al-Naṣarāt and al-Helālāt. Bani ʻaṭā includes four families: Al-
Falaḥāt, al-Fḍoul, al-Farajāt and al-Salāmīn. Each family group had its own khirbeh, in
which they lived (as shown in Figure 4.2, next).
28 A deserted group of old houses; the remains of houses destroyed in time.

Figure 4.2: The ḥārāt, or neighbourhoods, of the ḥamāyil, of clans, of Bani Laith
Source: Google Earth and author’s estimate
The old brick houses consisted of one single room which was the location for all the
daily family activities. Due to the large number of people in each nuclear family, these
single rooms proved to be inadequate in size to accommodate all these activities, there-
fore the people started to build concrete houses with more than one room and all the
members of the nuclear family still lived together in one residential area.
During the Ottoman period (1516–1918) the encampments coalesced around water sources
and permanent structures were built. During the British period (1921–1946) more permanent
structures were built by the local people. These villages were identified with the same family
groups (ʻashā′ir, s. ʻashīrah). Even at present these areas are still generally identified with the
same families. By the early 1980’s public services and the main congregational mosque had
become established around the police station (itself established in the Ottoman period, 1516–
1918) in the area known as Wadi Musa, which has witnessed great urban change since 1939.
108 Chapter 4
The police post and the congregational mosque remained in the same place from 1939
to 2014. The police post is still there with some interior structures. The congregational
mosque is still there, but a new and bigger congregational mosque was built just oppo-
site to it. Among many huge buildings in the town there is the new building for PDTRA
offices. The other building which remained in the same place was the congregational
mosque, as indicated in Figure 4.3.
Police Post Congregational Mosque Police Post PDTRA Congregational Mosque
Figure 4.3: Wadi Musa, past and present (1939 and 2014)
Since the 1980’s Wadi Musa has grown to be a community of over 25,000 which serves
as the administrative and commercial hub for the Petra Region, as shown in Figure 4.3,
above and Map 4.2, next. Map 4.2 also shows south Jordan, the area of detail, which
appears on the map. Maʻan is shown on this map as one of the southern governorates
of Jordan. The city of Maʻan is the central city and Wadi Musa as shown on the map
is the second city in the governorate. Wadi Musa, which is administered by Maʻan and
became an independent administrative centre for the Petra Region in 1995, is located
36 km northwest of the city of Maʻan.
Turkey
Cyprus
al-Tafila Syria
Lebanon
Shobak Israel Iraq
Desert Highway Palestine Jordan
Petra
Wadi Musa paved road
Egypt
Ma‘an Hejaz Railway Saudi Arabia
Governorate
boundary
Aqaba
km
0 25 50 Cartography: S. Henschel
Map 4.2: South Jordan, area of detail
4.3 The ethnography of Wadi Musa
Wadi Musa has experienced an exponential rate of change and an economic success
since 2007 as a direct result of its selection as one of the New Seven Wonders of the
World (N7W). Its increased value as a tourism destination has created socio-cultural
tensions and ambiguities, leading to what might be characterized as a liminal period
in the life of the community. In order to establish a baseline against which to measure
change, it is necessary first to establish a portrait of the study community, Wadi Musa in
2006–2007, just before the N7W. A combination of quantitative measures and qualita-
tive description has been used to measure the change. These measures and descriptions
were gathered through archival research, interviews and participant observation to con-
struct a Geertzian ‘thick’ description of the study community.
Wadi Musa is located in south-western Jordan (Map 4.2, above) and was originally
composed of a scattered group of tent encampments belonging to a tribe (qabīla) of
Bani Laith. As mentioned above, during the Ottoman period (1516–1918) the encamp-
ments coalesced around water sources and permanent structures were built (see Figure
4.3, page 108). Because of their semi-nomadic style of life, Bani Laith started building
small houses of bricks. Some of them rebuilt the old houses from previous periods while
others reused stones from old buildings and lived in these houses in winter time when
it is very cold, especially when the temperature drops (0 to –5° C). In spring and sum-
mer, they left these houses and installed their black goats’ hair tents on the highlands
of the Petra Region. Bani Laith intended to keep their houses secure by building them
below the Ottoman police station, which was itself reused as a police post by the British
between 1921–1946 (see Figures 4.4 and 4.5, next).
110 Chapter 4
Figure 4.4: Donkey boys that live in the village of Wady Musa below the police post [Petra,
Jordan, World War II]
Figure 4.5: At the police post ready to set out for Petra valley [figures forground including a
truck and horse ca. 1940–1946] [Petra Valley, Jordan]
As entitled by the source: (National Library of Australia) “At the police post ready to set
out for Petra valley [road leading to police post in foreground, police post behind. [1940
and 1946]”. The police post was occupied first by the Turks (1516–1918) and continued
to be used by the British (1921–1946). According to Ḥaj Aḥad al-Ṭwaisi (2014), one of
the elders of Wadi Musa, trucks used to bring tourists to Wadi Musa from Ma’an (36 km
from Wadi Musa). The Bani Laith horse guides were called to take tourists on their
horseback to see the old city of Petra. He also states that tourists used to stay for almost
a week or more, usually in tents inside the ancient city.
The tribe (qabīlah) of Bani Laith, also known as al-Layāthneh or (layāthneh), is almost
indistinguishable from the town of Wadi Musa (Figure 4.2, page 107). This coterminous
identity of lineage and land is an important cultural theme, to which we will return at sev-
eral points in this narrative 29. Thus when we speak of “the community of Wadi Musa” we
are speaking of a population 99 % of which belongs to the same tribe.
The Petra Archaeological Park covers an area of 269 km2. The population of Petra Re-
gion is spread over an area of 755 km2. Map 4.3, below indicates that the Petra Region
was formed of seven communities. Northernmost is Baiḍa, which was inhabited by a
group of Bedouin called al-ʻamārīn, who count in numbers 315 people. Umm Ṣayḥoun
is inhabited by 2,347 people called al-Bidoul. In 1985 the caves of the ancient city of
Petra were evacuated upon the announcement of the site as one of the World Cultural
Heritage Sites by UNESCO (Lubick, 2004). Wadi Musa is the main district of Petra
Region with the largest number of population (17,714) people, 99 % of whom are from
the tribe of Bani Laith. Ṭaybeh is the second community of Bani Laith with 6,484 peo-
ple and it is always identified as a separate community in government documents and
statistics. Rājif is inhabited by 2,146 people, who belong to a tribe called al-Rawājfeh,
which is one of the Bedouin tribes in the Petra Region. Dlāgha is inhabited by 2,321
people called al-Seʻīdiyyīn, who keep moving between Dlāgha and Wādi Araba 30. The
smallest community is Bīr Ḥamad, which is a group of tent encampments consisting of
approximately 200 tent dwellings (Al-ʻamarāt, 2014).
al-Tafila
Shobak
Petra
Wadi Musa Petra Archaeological
Park boundary (269 km2)
Ma‘an
Baiḍa
Umm Ṣayḥoun
Petra Wadi Musa
Region
Ṭaybeh
Aqaba
Rājif
Dlāgha
Bīr Ḥamad
km
Cartography: S. Henschel 0 5
Map 4.3: Settled communities of Petra Region
29 As we will see, the one clan (hamoulah) of Bani Laith who do not live in Wadi Musa, al-Shrour of Taybeh,
has historically competed antagonistically with the Wadi Musa clans for political power in the region.
30 Wadi Araba is a part of the Great Syrian-African Rift. In Jordan it extends from the Dead Sea to the Red
Sea outlet (Aqaba Gulf).
112 Chapter 4
4.3.1 Modern communities of Bani Laith
The modern communities of Petra are spread over two main districts: Wadi Musa and
Ṭaybeh (see Map 4.4). Bani Laith is the predominant tribe (qabīlah) in both Wadi Musa
and Ṭaybeh, and we will discuss Bani Laith in depth later. Bani Laith consists of four
subgroups called clans (ḥamāyil). These four ḥamāyil are al-ʻbaidiyyeh, Banī ʻaṭā, al-
ʻalāya and al-Shrour. The first three live in Wadi Musa and the fourth lives in Ṭaybeh,
which is only 7 km by road to the south of Wadi Musa.
Map 4.4: Modern communities of Bani Laith
4.3.2 Kinship structure and tribal identity
It is worthwhile spending a moment on kinship structure within Bani Laith, in order to

make the subsequent narrative more intelligible.
Kinship structure, genealogical affiliation and tribal relationships are significant in the
Arab World. These played and still play a pivotal role in their understanding of themselves
and relationships between each other (Lindholm, 1986). In such a structured system peo-
ple share various events in their history. In this context, Afsaruddin (2006) states that:
“[…] the Arabs evolved an intricate system of kinship and genealogical rela-

tionship. On the positive side, this system helped them distinguish between per-
sonalities and defined their relationship to one another, to remember historical
events and keep track of participants in them; in short it was their way of record-
ing history” (Afsaruddin, 2006).
Arab tribal structure, since time immemorial, has been based on patrilineal descent 31.
Even today, legal identity in all Arabic-speaking countries is defined (Atran, 1985),
for both men and women, by one’s given name, the names of father and grandfather,
and an extended-family surname, for example, “Sāra (given name) Muḥammad (fa-
ther’s name) ʻabdallah (grandfather’s name) al-Shraydah (extended family name 32)”.
Beyond the family name, it is commonplace to identify oneself by clan, tribe and the
traditional geographical base of the tribe, e. g., Sāra al-Shraydah, Ṣmādi, min ʻajloun
– Sāra [Muḥammad ʻabdallah] al-Shraydah, from the Ṣmādi [tribe] of [the area of]
ʻajloun.
Tribes (qabā’il; s. qabīlah) are typically, but not necessarily, divided into five clans
(ḥamāyil; s. ḥamoulah), which are again subdivided into extended families (ʻashā′ir; s.
ʻashīrah), and again still further into close family groups (afkhādh, s. fakhdh, often also
called ʻyāl; s. ʻāílah 33). Only finally, and rather insignificantly, are households usually
limited to nuclear families – there is not even a generic word for the nuclear family.
Indeed, very frequently several nuclear families occupy, respectively, apartments on sev-
eral floors of the same building, a vertical version of the “family compound” structure
or tent group.
Bani Laith is organized in the tribal kinship system typical of the Arab cultures of south-
west Asia (see Figure 4.6, next). Bani Laith is the name of the qabīlah. The qabīlah is
divided into subgroups or branches called ḥamāyil (s. ḥamoulah). In the case of Bani
Laith there are four ḥamāyil: Al-ʻbaidiyyeh, Banī ʻaṭā, al-ʻalāya and al-Shrour. Ḥamāyil
are further subdivided into extended family groups known as ʻashā’ir, s. ʻashīrah, who
themselves are further divided into other subgroups known as afkhādh (s. fakhdh).
31 Patrilineal is tracing descent, kinship, or title through the male line.

32 Often this is the name of the ḥamoulah, or clan, but this is not necessarily the case.
33 It is possible to “secede” from one’s ʻāílah and create a new branch of a tribe by declaring this fact at
Friday prayers in the mosque and declaring that by the mutassarrif.
114 Chapter 4
qabīlah
ḥamoulah ḥamoulah ḥamoulah ḥamoulah ḥamoulah

= “branch” = “branch” = “branch” = “branch” = “branch”
‘ashīrah ‘ashīrah ‘ashīrah ‘ashīrah ‘ashīrah

= “clan” = “clan” = “clan” = “clan” = “clan”
fakhdh
fakhdh fakhdh
fakhdh fakhdh
fakhdh fakhdh
fakhdh fakhdh
fakhdh
fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh
==„family“
fakhdh
„family“ ==„family“
fakhdh
fakhdh
fakhdh
fakhdh
„family“
=„family“
“family”
„family“ =„family“
“family”
“family”
“family”
“family”
„family“
Figure 4.6: Tribal kinship system typical of the Arab cultures of southwest Asia
In order to explain more of the kinship structure in the case of Bani Laith, it is important
to list the names of each ḥamoulah and ʻashīrah that belongs to Bani Laith as the main
qabīlah. Figure 4.7, below, clarifies Bani Laith’s kinship structure:
Bani Laith
(al-Layathneh)
al-‘baidiyyeh al-‘Alāya Bani ‘Aṭā al-Shrour

(Wadi Musa) (Wadi Musa) (Wadi Musa) (Ṭaybeh)
al-Helālāt al-Nawāfleh al-Falaḥāt al-S‘aidāt

al-Ḥasanāt al-‘Amarāt al-Fḍoul al-Rawāḍiyh
al-Ṭwaisāt al-Masa‘deh al-Farajāt al-‘Awaḍāt
al-Mashā‘leh al-Ḥamādīn al-Salāmīn al-Khlaifāt
al-Naṣarāt al-Ma‘āyfeh al-Khlāyfeh
al-Shamāsīn al-Ḥmaidāt
al-Ghnaimāt
al-Ṣbaiḥāt
Figure 4.7: Bani Laith tribal kinship structure in Wadi Musa [qabīlah, ḥamāyil and ʻasha’ir]
Combining Figures 4.6 and 4.7 makes clear that the main qabīlah is Bani Laith: Bani
Laith tribal structure [qabīlah, ḥamāyil and ʻashā’ir] 34. The smaller branches are the
34 Tribe = qabīlah – e. g., Bani Laith; branch = ḥamoulah – e. g., al-ʻbaidiyyeh; ʻashīrah = clan – e. g., al-
Helālāt; family group = fakhdh – e. g., ʻyāl Ḥamdān (children or sons of Ḥamdān).
ḥamāyil, s. ḥamoulah of al-ʻbaidiyyeh, Banī ʻaṭā, al-ʻalāya, who live in Wadi Musa and
al-Shrour, who live in Ṭaybeh. Under ḥamoulah al-ʻAbaidiyyeh are ʻashā′ir of al-Helālāt,
al-Ḥasanāt, al-Ṭwaisāt, al-Mashāʻleh and al-Naṣarāt. Under ḥamoulah al-ʻalāya are the
ʻashā′ir of al-Nawāfleh, al-ʻamarāt, al-Masaʻdeh, al-Ḥamādīn, al-Maʻāyfeh, al-Shamāsīn,
al-Ghnaimāt and al-Ṣbaiḥāt. Under ḥamoulah Banī ʻaṭā are the ʻashā′ir of al-Falaḥāt, al-
Fḍoul, al-Farajāt and al-Salāmīn. The fourth ḥamoulah, who live in Ṭaybeh, includes the
ʻashā′ir of al-Sʻaidāt, al-Rawāḍiyh, al-ʻawaḍāt, al-Khlaifāt, al-Khlāyfeh and al-Ḥmaidāt.
The fourth category shown in Figure 4.8, below, is the family (afkhādh, s. fakhdh):
within each one there are many family groups. One of the smallest afkhādh in Wadi
Musa, for example, is al-Ṭwaisāt, which is arranged as shown in Figure 4.8.
qabīlah = tribe Bani Laith
ḥamoulah = branch al-‘baidiyyeh
‘ashīrah = clan al-Ṭwaisāt
Ghannūm
family groups
afkhādh = families
Slaimān
Musa Muḥammad
‘abbās
‘ākif ‘ātif Slaimān ‘ali
‘adnān Māher Walīd Khālid Ibrahīm Muḥammad Kāyed
Muḥammad Aḥmad Muḥammad Ghāzi Aḥmad Wajdi
Muḥammad Aḥmad Slaimān ‘abdallah
‘abbās
Figure 4.8: Al-Ṭwaisāt kinship structure
It is typical in Jordanian kinship structure to say that al-Ṭwaisāt descend from al-
ʻbaidiyyeh, who descend from Bani Laith as follows:
Figure 4.8, above, starts with qabīlah = tribe of Bani Laith, ḥamoulah = branch of al-
ʻbaidiyyeh, ʻashīrah = clan of al-Ṭwaisāt, fakhdh = family Salaimān, first descendant
116 Chapter 4
Muḥammad, second descendant ʻabbās, third descendant ʻali, and fourth descendant
Kāyed. According to this arrangement we can call the last descendant (Kāyed) by his
first or surname as (Kāyed) and his family name or last name (Bani Laith). Typically
Kāyed’s name is Kāyed, son of ʻali, son of ʻabbās, son of Muḥammad, son of Salaimān
son of al-Ṭwaisāt, al-ʻbaidiyyeh, of Bani Laith. In order to shorten the long listing of
names, it could be Kāyed ʻali ʻabbās Muḥammad al-Ṭwaisāt. That is a full name as it
might be written in an identification card or an identity of a person in a land document.
Tribal history, however, is often ambiguous. Because of the “land and lineage” identity
mentioned earlier, claims to lineage constitute claims to land. Historically, in southwest
Asia, claims to land are not claims to individual parcels of land recorded in government
databases, but rather traditional territories organized around pasture, water and markets
(Fratkin, 2005; Razzaz, 1991).
Thus there is ample political and economic motive to manipulate genealogy in the fam-
ily interest. Combined with the paucity of early written records and a scholarly tradition
that does not cite sources according to western conventions, it is difficult to verify tribal
lineage securely. Many western scholars have worked on the subject, but the same chal-
lenges face them – often amplified by naiveté and the understandable ignorance of the
intricacy of both tribal and territorial claims.
The earliest known historical reference to Bani Laith comes from the 15th century
AD manuscript of Abi al-‘abbas Aḥmad al-Qalqashandi (AH 756–831 / d. AD 1427),
an Egyptian scholar of Islamic law and literature from Qalqashand, Egypt (al-Abyāri,
1980). Al-Abyāri narrates that in nihāyat al-arab fī maʻrifat ansāb al-ʻarab, al-
Qalqashandi writes that “Banu” al-Laith 35 originate from the tribe of Kinānah from the
Arabian peninsula 36:
“Banu al-Laith originate from Kinānah bin Khuzaimah from al-Qaḥtaniyyah.

They are Banu al-Laith bin Kinānah bin Ṭalḥah bin Kinānah bin Khuzaimah”
(al-Abyāri, 1980: 71).
This correlates with assertions by al-ḥāj Mūsa al-Ḥasanāt, al-ḥāj Aḥmad al-Ṭwaisāt and
al-ḥāj Mūsa al-Nawāfleh, older living members of some of the clans of Bani Laith that
the tribe came originally to the area from the Arabian Ḥijāz 37.
35 Banu or Bani are the same name: in Arabic grammar, Banu when the noun is subject and Bani when the
noun is object. Normally, when the noun comes at the beginning of a sentence it is treated as a subject; in
the case of Banu, at the beginning of the sentence.
36 Kinānah is one of the famous, early Arabian tribes mentioned often in Arabic sources. While the histories
of Kinānah and the other foundational tribes of Islam have been elaborately mythologized, it is safe to say
at least that they hail from the Arabian peninsula.
37 Arabian peninsula.
Muḥammad al-Mashhadāni’s study of ʻashīrat al-Nawāflih, one of the clans of al-ʻalāya,

cites their presence in Wadi Musa as early as AH 927 / AD 1520–21, during the famous
plague that swept the eastern Mediterranean:
“Sayyid Muʻammar bin Nawfal bin Isma’il bin Nawfal bin Ḥassan, who was
nicknamed al-Laithi bin Swais bin Muḥammad bin Ismaʻil bin Ḥassan bin
Aḥmad Abi al-Laith, a cousin of Aḥmad, God bless him […] travelled with his
brothers from Wadi Musa in the year 927 (AH) [1520–21 AD], because of the
plague in the region, but he did not continue his travel with his brothers, because
he was limping and he decided to return to his residential area, where there was
water and greenery. Death is all the same in the end [wa al-mawtu wāhidun],
and he didn’t like the thieves and the greedy Aʻrāb 38 on his land and his water,
and so they decided to kill him and take his farm and water and land. He was
stronger, God bless his soul […]” (al-Mashhadāni, 1997: 253).
This passage explicitly ties al-Nawāfleh to Bani Laith and places them in Wadi Musa
at least as early as the early 16th century AD. This is important because many sources
vaguely remark that Bani Laith is a confederacy of local tribes (Fraiḥāt, 2011), or that
they belong to a confederacy under the tribe of al-Ḥuwaiṭāt (Akrawi 2000: 100). While
it is likely that alliances and confederations formed, shifted and re-formed over many
centuries, local accounts are very consistent on the matter of the constituent clans of
Bani Laith. Al-Layāthneh are not a branch of al-Ḥuwaiṭāt, though indeed the two tribes
(among others) have been allies at times over the centuries (Mbaiḍīn 2003: 95) 39.
The next known reference to Bani Laith appears in John Burckhardt’s famous memoir
of AD 1822, and also mentions the association with al-Ḥuwaiṭāt:
“On our return I stopped a few hours at Eldjy 40. The town is surrounded with
fruit-trees of all kinds, the produce of which is of the finest quality. Great quan-
tities of the grapes are sold at Ghaza, and to the Bedouins. The Lyathene (sic)
cultivate the valley as far as the first sepulchres of the ancient city; in their town-
houses they work at the loom. They pay tribute to the Howeytat and carry provi-
sions to the Syrian pilgrims at Maan, and to the Egyptian pilgrims at Akaba 41.
They have three encampments of about eighty tents each. Like the Bedouins and
other inhabitants of Shera they have become Wahabis, but do not at present pay
any tribute to the Wahabi chief” (Burckhardt, 1822: 433).
38 Aʻrāb is a name for the nomadic Bedouins who live on the outskirts of urban areas.
39 Irby and Mangles (1823) even list as leader amongst the local chiefs at the time of their visit “Abu Zaitoun
(Father of the Olives), Shaikh of Wadi Musa, and commanding al-Ḥuwaiṭāt Arabs” (119).
40 Eldjy or al-Jiy, the original settlement of the al-ʻbaidiyyeh clan; today a section of the commercial centre
of Wadi Musa (see Figure 4.2: al-Ḥasanāt).
41 Aqaba was written as Akaba by Burckhardt
118 Chapter 4
The Bani Laith are Sunni Muslims and it was not evident in their history that they were
wahabis. The relationship between Bedouin and farmers was based on exchanging food
products such as milk products, vegetables, fruit and other materials.
In his memoir, Ḥamza al-ʻarabi, a judge who served in Maʻan under Sharif Ḥussain bin ʻAli
of the Ḥijāz in the 1920’s, before Maʻan was securely included in what would later become
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, wrote about the Maʻan, Wadi Musa and Shoubak areas,
including geography, culture and tribal relations (Abu Dayya, 2003: 101). Al-ʻarabi men-
tions al-Layāthneh and a singular form of the name, al-Laithi, and notes that al-Layāthneh
are made up of four tribes. He relates that the ʻashā’ir 42 which make up al-Layāthneh are
al-ʻAbaidiyyeh, al- ʻalāya, Bani ʻaṭā “and others” 43. He names Khalīl al-Helāli as a shaikh
of al-ʻbaidiyyeh and describes him as “a man respected and calm, of guidance and good
manners. When he talks he speaks calmly and slowly; also Muḥammad Shraiteḥ”.
Al-ʻarabi continues by identifying shaikh Muʻammar bin Bashīr of al-ʻalāya and shaikh
Ḍaifallah Abu Faraj of Banī ʻaṭā, and names most of the other tribes and clans who still
reside in the Petra / Maʻan region, for example, al-Nuʻaimāt, al-Seʻīdiyyīn, al-Marāʻyeh,
al-ʻamārīn, al-Rawājfeh and others (106-07). Once again, this reference corroborates the
oral material gathered for this study in interviews with living authorities.
Al-ʻarabi’s material is largely corroborated in what is perhaps the most famous resource
on Jordan’s tribes, Frederick Peake’s work entitled A History of Jordan and its Tribes.
Although the standard edition of this book in English was published in 1958, the research
for it was gathered during the period from 1920–1939, when Peake “Pasha” served
with the Egyptian Camel Corps and later assisted Amir ʻAbdullah in founding the Arab
Legion (al-Jaish Al-ʻarabi). Rife with mistakes in transliteration of names and terms
from Arabic to English, however, the work was translated in 1935 by Jordanian scholar
Bah’al-dīn Ṭouqān who painstakingly checked and rendered it all back into Arabic. Thus
it is to Ṭouqān’s edition of Peake, Tarīkh sharqiy al-Urdun – wa qabā’ilaha, that most
scholars of the Arab world now turn. As one of the most widely known and quoted au-
thorities on the Jordanian tribes, it is worth quoting him at length. Peake records that:
“[…] the residents of Wadi Musa are known as al-Layāthneh and the opinions
concerning their origins are contradictory. Palmer, in his book The Desert of the
Exodus Vol II (1871: 432) says that ‘they are Abna’ Laith, one of the followers
of Kaʻb, and a branch of the Jews Khaybar’. The same author narrates that Dr.
Wolf and others say that they are al-rikābiyyoun (Rechabites) who were men-
tioned in Armaiyya [Jeramiah] 35: 5-6. He also says al-Layāthneh do not retain
their Jewish features but preserve their customs and traditions, e. g., their dress
42 He means hamaayil – clans, as the groups he names can be broken down further into ʻashā’ir, or extended
family units. It is worth noting that even today only certain shyoukh and elder experts on family genealogy
accurately make these distinctions.
43 He probably omits al-Shrour, who were located in Ṭaybeh, seven kilometres south of Wadi Musa
and their hair styles. It appeared also in Masālik al-Abṣār of Ibn Faḍlulllāh al-
ʻUmari, that they are the aḥfād (the descendants) of Laith bin Bakr bin Manāt
from Kinānah and one of them was the Companion Saʻb bin Khuthāmah. It ap-
peared in Sabāìk al-Dhahab, by Suwaidi that they are the followers of Laith,
son of bin Soud bin Aslam al-Khāfiy from Quḍāʻah from Ḥimyar family lines
descending from his son” (Ṭouqān, 1935: 516).
It should be stated that there is no historical evidence to support the biblical association
mentioned by theologians Palmer and Wolf. These works are typical Victorian Christian
travelogues of the period, in which the enthusiastic travellers romantically free-associate
biblical allusions, landscape and names. It is also typical of the scholarship of the period
that any similarity between Arabs and Jews is construed as the result of Jewish influence
over Arabs, rather than the reverse (Newby, 1988, passim; Said, 1979: 38-41, et passim).
Peake relates that al-Layāthneh are divided into the clans of Bani ʻAta, al-Rawājfeh, al-
Shrour, al-ʻalāya and al-ʻbaidiyyeh (sic) (516-517). This is accurate except for the fact
that al-Rawājfeh have never been a part of either Bani Laith or al-Ḥuwaiṭāt: they are an
independent tribe or clan in the area, about whom there are many interesting theories
which, however, are not relevant to this study (Peake, 1958: 517; MacMichael, 1818).
What is significant about this is that it secures the fact that Bani Laith has been consti-
tuted as it is now since the early twentieth century.
To summarize this review of the literature, the earliest secure association of Bani Laith
with Wadi Musa is the reference to Nawāfleh and al-ʻalāya in the 16th century. Thereaf-
ter it is not counterevidence but absence of sources that leave the matter open until 1822.
Intrigued by the contradictory accounts and the scarcity of solid sources for the history of
Bani Laith, I gathered oral histories from elder members of the clans in Wadi Musa. These
genealogies add considerable nuance not only to the history of the tribe, but also to the set-
tlement of Wadi Musa and the tribe’s constitution of its own self-identity. While it is diffi-
cult, obviously, to verify all of the information historically, the 21st century identity of Bani
Laith is shaped primarily by who they believe they are, their “mythography” of the tribe.
Renowned scholar of religions Ninian Smart understands myth as a sacred narrative

which bears authority for the community which uses it. Evaluating myth as “true or false”
is specious, because myth’s validity lies in its cohesive power for a community, in its
“sharedness”, the consent of the community to allow it to define them (Smart, 1969: 18,
et passim). Once a myth is no longer shared, “believed”, it loses power and cogency. In
an important sense, then, if one’s goal is to understand Bani Laith, their own construction
of themselves is more important than a scholarly historiography they do not share.
Al-Qalqashandi, in his introduction to Nihāyat Alarab fī maʻrifat ansāb al-ʻarab,

states concisely the religious and legal importance of genealogy to the Arab cultural
tradition:
120 Chapter 4
“It is evident that knowledge of genealogy is one of the required matters to know
for what is organized based on Sharīʻah 44 code and religious knowledge: this
was considered in different places within the Sharīʻah. Knowing the kinship
of the Prophet (pbuh) 45 and that he is from Quraish of Makka and emigrated
to Madīna, is important, therefore, for correct belief, to know that. No Muslim
would be forgiven for being ignorant of that. Furthermore, familiarity amongst
people, so that no one is named after as someone other than his father, and is not
associated with anyone who does not belong to his grandfathers’ lineage. And
for that there is a ‘signal’ in the Qur’an: ‘oh people, we created you all from a
male and a female, and we made you nations and tribes, in order to know each
other’” (Qur’an, (49:13); (al-Abyāri 1980: 6).
Today inheritance law is still organized based on the local (vs. the scholarly) understand-
ing of tribal genealogies, as is the practical identification of tribal responsibilities, e. g.,
al-Diya, or “blood obligations”, which means that al-Diya is a financial or materialistic
compensation provided by the offender and his family to the family of the deceased
person. It is due whether the deceased was male or female. It must be paid whether the
action happened deliberately or intentionally. (Al-Naʻwashi, 2001; Baiyoumi, 2013), of
which more below, in Section 4.2.3. These are, however, powerful motivators to keep
the story straight, so to speak.
As noted earlier, the epithets al-Layāthneh (“those of Laith”, or “the lions”) and Bani
Laith (“children/sons of Laith”, or “sons of the lion”) are virtually interchangeable
in normal conversation 46. Tradition holds that everyone in Bani Laith once used al-
Layāthneh as a surname, but as the tribe (qabīlah) expanded this became impractical and
clans (ḥamāyil) began referring to themselves and each other by clan names, then family
(ʻashīrah) names, etc. Thus, though my legal name is Sami Aḥmad Ismaʻil al-Ḥasanāt, I
am culturally, if you will, Sami Aḥmad Isma’il al-Ḥasanāt Bani Laith, min Wadi Musa –
the clan of al-Ḥasanāt of Bani Laith, from Wadi Musa. Figure 4.8, above shows the tribal
structure of Bani Laith down to the level of extended families (ʻashā’ir).
4.3.3 Tribe, religion and state
It is impossible to grasp what is happening in the Arab world today without first attempt-
ing to understand the deeply intertwined strands of tribal, religious and state authority
present in most, if not all, Arabic-speaking countries. Tribal law is essentially traditional
(al-ʻabbādi, 1988) and embedded in the kinship networks described above. Islamic, or
44 Islamic law. Sharīʻah is also spelled Sharia.

45 Peace be upon him.
46 It is likely, based on the etymology of other tribe and clan names (e. g., the sons of Nawfal become al-
Nawāfleh, people from Rājif become al-Rawājfeh, etc.), that al-Layāthneh refers to the descendants of a
particular person named Laith, rather than an epithet such as “The Lions”.
sharīʻah, law is based in the long and intricate tradition of fiqh, the legal interpretation of
the Qur’an and Ḥadīth traditions and their application to every aspect of worldly life. In
the life of south Jordan, state authority has been a succession of colonial administrations
since the Nabataean period (312 B. C.), and it is arguable that the Hashemite state is
only the latest one (Massoud, 2011). Although a thorough treatment of this issue would
be a different dissertation, it is important to sketch it out at least, as part of the backdrop
to the current socio-political scene in the Petra Region.
One bearer of authority is the hereditary position of shaikh 47. The shaikh (pl. shoyoukh),
for our purposes, is the hereditary leader of a tribe, to whom everyone in the tribe refers
to solve any problem 48. As tribes have long since subdivided into clans and extended
families, each ḥamoulah and ʻashīrah: has a shaikh (see above, Figure 4.8). Tradition-
ally Bani Laith had a shaikh al-mashāyekh, the “shaikh amongst shoyoukh”, known as
al-ʻaqīd. The shaikh al-mashāyekh has a consulting counsel and an advisor (shewīr)
whom he appoints from amongst commonly acknowledged “respected men” in an in-
formal process. The position of shaikh al- mashāyekh still exists, but as the ʻashā’ir
have strengthened and become more populous, his influence has waned in favour of the
shoyoukh al-ʻashā’ir.
Every ʻashīrah has a shaikh: the shaikh of al-Ḥasanāt is presently Wajīd ʻabbās
Muḥammad al-Ḥasanāt. A family can reject their shaikh, but today their replacement
nominee must be approved by the Ministry of the Interior and the Office of Tribal Affairs
(sho’oun al-ʻashā’ir) at the Royal Court. In the case of al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Wajīd’s father
died and Wajīd, out of respect, deferred the position to his father’s brother, Suleiman.
When Suleiman passed away, his eldest son ʻabdallah should thus have been shaikh,
but Wajīd contested this and most of the al-Ḥasanāt supported Wajīd. Wajīd was issued
the royal decree (irādah malakiyyah), a certificate from the King by which the Office of
Tribal Affairs recognized him as the official shaikh of al-Ḥasanāt.
The existence of the Office of Tribal Affairs in the Royal Court and the whole process of
court recognition underscores the fact that a significant share of the authority once borne
by the shaikh has been transferred to the state. During the Ottoman (1516–1918) and
British (1921–1946) periods the shoyoukh were pitted in binary opposition to the often
oppressive colonial administration as the representatives of their communities (which
were constituted, overwhelmingly, of their families and clients of their families). The
47 I am particularly indebted to shaikh Wajīd al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Khalid ʻlayyān, shaikh ʻAṭallah Raja al-
Sʻaidāt, shaikh Mājid Abu Faraj, shaikh ʻAbdallah al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Maḥmoud al-Ḥasanāt, mukhtār
Hussain al-Ḥasanāt and al-ḥāj Mūsa al-Ḥasanāt for their patience with lengthy interviews on the subject
of shaikhly authority. Also for al-Ḥaqīqah International Channel and their TV programme Taʻlīleh –
Tribal Law, 24 April 2012.
48 The word “shaikh” is used in a variety of ways: any Muslim man with a beard is referred to as “shaikh”,
meaning shaikh al-dīn, or religious man, but a true shaikh is visibly a man who is recognized as pious and
good by his community and therefore carries authority. A qāḍi ʻashā’iri, tribal judge, is the shaikh who
arbitrates tribal law, his main function being to effect arbitration and reconciliation (ṣulḥ) in disputes.
122 Chapter 4
shoyoukh were the only locals with access to the Ottoman and British authorities and
their role was to elicit favours for and intercede on behalf of their communities.
With the Great Arab Revolt in 1916 this binary opposition between tribe and state was
less clear: in theory and rhetoric, at least, the Hashemites represented the local popula-
tion against the colonial presence and were supported by the local tribes. After the Great
Arab Revolt (1916) (HKJ, 2013) and the establishment of the Hashemite state, politi-
cal authority shifted towards the Amīr and state and gradually, as the authority of the
government stabilized, that of the shyouk began to diminish. The King formed critically
important alliances with the tribes and formally recognized the tribal shoyoukh with the
irādah malakiyyah and a stipend from the Royal Court. This had the dual effect of rec-
ognizing their importance and at the same time building dependence on the Royal Court.
The integration of the shoyoukh’s traditionally-based authority with the formal authority
of the state has never been seamless. Although shoyoukh were recognized by decree, of-
ten their sons had to return to the Royal Court and be approved as the successors to their
fathers. Others lost their positions, but regained them if they went back to the Court and
petitioned for the irādah malakiyyah (Royal Decree). Some never returned to the court
for “certification”, but retained their positions nevertheless. Today some have irādah
malakiyyah and stipend, some not. The irādah malakiyyah is still significant to people
in terms of honouring their shaikh’s authority, but the shaikh with practical authority in
a community is not necessarily the one recognized by the Royal Court, but the one who
makes himself shaikh by reputation: community influence, power and generosity. Even
with irādah malakiyyah and stipend, a shaikh may lack actual authority in his commu-
nity: he may be shaikh in name only.
The persisting authority of the shoyoukh is especially evident in the application of tribal
laws in cases of violent crime. Jordanian civil and criminal law is nominally secular and
state-based, but no situation is left strictly to police due to the importance of tribal law,
particularly in cases of al-Diya, or “blood law”. In most cases of violent crime the per-
petrator or his family turn him in to the police immediately and the shoyoukh of the tribe
intervene immediately to “preserve the blood”, that is, the family’s honour. The shoyoukh
provide kufalā’ and wujouh: “guarantees” and “faces” – a face in the person of the shaikh
who guarantees that the decisions of the arbitrators will be abided by (see Appendix 2).
In the 1980’s the authority of the shoyoukh started to wane. People began to suspect that
shoyoukh were working against their people on behalf of the authorities. People think
that the shoyoukh are not only working as intermediaries between them and the police
– they think that they are tools of the government itself. This is a parallel to colonialism
– that they get wāsṭa, influence, and support from the government – which the youth
cannot understand. The youth cannot see the benefits that they get from the government
for acting as intermediaries – and when the government want to implement or do any-
thing in their lives – they are the ones the government consult, and the government tells
them about their goals, and shoyoukh keep this secret.
The government would prefer to use the shoyoukh as a buffer between the government and
the people – and that actually has been approved. When any of the youth makes any trouble or
causes a problem, the shoyoukh put on their ʻabāyah and go to the police station. That media-
tion is their “influence” – that buffer. What they do, actually, is reconcile the situation before the
police write their final report. When the perpetrators do accept mediation, it actually avoids go-
ing to the court. If they do not accept the mediation, the law has to deal with the problem. This
shows how the government plays this game – in exchange they get the loyalty of the shoyoukh.
As people became more educated and more independent, they lost respect for the shoy-
oukh. Education brings a better understanding of things – realizing the law needs to be
respected more than persons, because the law is for everyone, not just particular people.
This era is not an era for backward, uneducated shoyoukh, but there are other ways of
being intelligent. People agree, though, that backward shoyoukh cannot work effectively
in the government anymore, because the government is more sophisticated and there
are more educated people in the government itself. In 1989, Parliament was re-initiated.
Nowāb (Members of Parliament) started having more authority as intermediaries.
Now, it is not clear when the shoyoukh are important, and when not. Sometimes the gov-
ernment listens to them, sometimes they do not. Government listens to them only when it
suits them. Locals do not like the idea that the government only recognizes the shoyoukh
by inviting them to official events. Even officials do not like this – but officials still avoid
clashes or disagreements with the shoyoukh because they think they have authority.
Still in the tradition the shoyoukh have a kind of respect from the people, but not author-
ity – for what they stand for, especially when they stand for their people. The shaikh
(e. g. Wajīd) stands for al-Ḥasanāt, and for al-ʻbaidiyyeh and for Wadi Musa and if he
is known for solving problems and mediating clashes, then he is more respected. Today
the shoyoukh are waning in power and are subject to civil law.
King Hussain used the word al-shabāb (the youth) and King Abdullah II has followed him
in this. They wanted to reinvigorate Jordan, and they realized that the world is moving
very fast, and the ambitions of this country are based on its wealth of youth. The youth is
also growing in tune with the modern world, thus the position of the youth will become
stronger. They are being given a different authority, an intellectual authority which the
shoyoukh do not have – ḥaki al-qarāya mā binfaʻmaʻ al-sarāya 49.
I observed that during the akshāk (kiosks) protest 50 a flyer was distributed around Wadi
Musa about shoyoukh – mentioning names of specific shoyoukh and religious leaders –
that they are the reason for damaging Wadi Musa because of their greed and that they do
49 A metaphor that means that no matter what the villagers say, it does not break ice with the palace dwell-
ers. It was actually meant by this metaphor that simple people must speak a language that the world can
understand. It also means that the poor must speak a language that the rich can understand.
50 This protest is described in detail in Chapter Five.
124 Chapter 4
not do anything to help the poor or needy, except when it benefits them. The flyers attacked
some shoyoukh by name, criticising them for taking no action to remedy the problem.
According to tribal law, responsibility for the crime is borne by the entire extended
family, numbered in terms of generations. Five generations back, the perpetrator would
traditionally be banished from the community as punishment for a blood crime (al-
ʻabbādi, 1988). Today, responsibility has been reduced to two generations (children of
one father), as families have extended into enormous communities (there are today over
6,000 al-Ḥasanāt in Wadi Musa, for example). To ease the burdens of “blood obligation”
(rābiṭat al-damm, ṭolouʻ min al-damm) the affected families may negotiate an agree-
ment with the tribe, with the assistance of the shaikh, and announce to the tribe that they
are forming a new fakhdh family group of the ʻashīrah as shown in (Appendix 1). They
then bring witnesses and guarantors to meet with the al-ḥākim al-idāri, or arbitrating
judge, and once everyone has sworn agreement, these families become a new fakhdh,
absolved of responsibility for the crime. However, an official document must be ar-
ranged and signed by the mukhtār or the shaikh of the original tribe and the witnesses.
In many cases an influential shaikh may simply intervene and bring state authorities to
effect reconciliation amongst all but the perpetrator (see Appendix 2).
The Al-Diya example illustrates the ways in which tribal law and authority – based on and
inseparable from traditional kinship networks – still function within Jordanian society. Al-
Diya is only the most dramatic example, however: family and tribal authority effectively
still determine the course of social and political life through influence on inheritance,
marriage patterns and as mediators in the relationship between localities and the central-
ized Hashemite state. In Wadi Musa, as in many other communities in Jordan, it is the
shoyoukh who actually select the official candidate(s) for elected government positions.
After 1948 the immigrant tribes had no shaikh – so they had to choose someone as an
administrator – to do the job of the shaikh. Mukhtār was that person – eventually all the
tribes had mukhtār. Mukhtār (chosen one) – tribes get together and the position rotates
amongst the ʻashā’ir.
4.3.4 Family structure
ʻAshā’r (s. ʻashirah) are extended family groups. Traditionally, extended family groups
lived in tented encampments close together in one particular area. Today, nuclear fami-
lies tend to live in single-family houses, but often in neighbourhoods made up of fam-
ilies within the same ʻashirah. These neighbourhoods often exist on land owned by
members of the same extended family. When there is not enough land for every member
they usually live in one building, often with the man’s parents. Marriages are generally
endogamous and are arranged within the nuclear family. The father’s brother’s daughter
(FBD) is the traditional ideal, but today this is less common, although it is still prefer-
able that the marriage will take place as close as possible within the tribal structure.
4.3.5 Legal structure
Jordanian society answers to three different bodies of law: Jordanian civil law, Islamic or
sharīʻah law and tribal or customary law. Civil courts have jurisdiction over all citizens in
both civil and criminal matters including cases brought against the government. Jordanian
civil law is founded on the codes Napoleon, the French legal code used in Egypt in the
early 19th century. Islamic law or sharīʻah law is practiced within a separate court system
and addresses only issues of family law; for example, marriage, divorce, inheritance, child
custody and Islamic bequests (waqf). In practice, however, much of social life is governed
by sharīʻah law practised in the context of the customary law. Tribal law is still widely
practised, particularly with regard to tribal conflict and personal law. There is a significant
overlap between tribal law and sharīʻah law as each is used to lend authority to the other.
4.3.6 Religion
In community memory Bani Laith have always been Sunni Muslims with a strong local
tradition centred around local shrine sites. The sunnah, a body of authoritative traditions
about the foundational community of Islam, al-Ummah or the Nation, provides a tem-
plate for almost every aspect of human behaviour. Apart from the Christian community
and a small area of westernized Amman, the sunnah still structures most of daily life in
Jordan. On a socio-cultural level the sunnah structures the day, week, year, social times,
celebrations, host-guest relationships, marital relations, gender relations, social hierar-
chy and much of economic life. As mentioned earlier, civil law, tribal law and sharīʻah
law based on the sunnah are still profoundly intertwined. The sunnah are often drawn
upon to give authority to customary or tribal law.
4.3.7 Economic base
Traditionally, Bani Laith’s economic base was nomadic pastoralism. They herded goats and
sheep in search of water and grass for grazing. Over centuries, agriculture became as signif-
icant as pastoralism. Today many families still have farm plots and livestock. By the 1980’s
commerce and services started to form a great proportion of the economic base. Guiding
foreigners to see the ruins of the ancient city of Petra became a source of income by the
second half of the 19th century. Guiding eventually evolved into the tourism business.
Bani Laith once guarded Petra. In the 1950’s, the Ministry of Tourism opened a rest
house in Wadi Musa. Members of the Bani Laith were employed there and later were
contracted to offer horses to transport tourists into Petra; moreover, they started to sell
post cards, tour books, and souvenirs (Magablih, 2011). Before the establishment of the
Department of Antiquities by Lancaster Harding in Jerusalem in the 1960’s, they were
used to guide tourists, usually on horseback, to Petra, Kerak, Jerusalem and other old
cities in the region (Shoup, 1985). The police station at Wadi Musa would sign over a
126 Chapter 4
tourist party to a guide from a Bani Laith family, and he would then be held responsible
for its safety and passage through the region.
Tourism grew slowly, but was not a significant presence in Wadi Musa until the 1980’s,
when Bani Laith started benefiting significantly from tourism revenue (Kooring and
Simms, 1996). The tourism market expanded significantly in 1994 after the signing of
the treaty of peace between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and
the opening of Jordan’s borders to Israel.
4.4 Political history to 1994
Bani Laith was traditionally allied with the main southern tribes 51, for example, al
Ḥuwaiṭāt, Gaza, Be’er Sheva’ 52 and Maʻan al-Shamiyeh 53, but was in conflict with oth-
ers, for example, Shauābkeh [people from Shaubak], Karakiyyeh [people from Karak]
and Maʻan al-Ḥijāziyeh 54. In the great Arab Revolt (1916) they fought alongside the
tribe of al-Ḥuwaiṭāt 55 and the Hashemites 56.
During the early efforts of Sharif Ḥussein Bin ʻAli 57 to unite the Arab World in 1911, he
was supported by Bani Laith (see Appendix 4). When the Hashemites claimed the throne
of Jordan in 1921 Bani Laith also supported them and they were among the deputations
at Maʻan who welcomed them. Under the early Hashemites Wadi Musa / Bani Laith, like
most of southern Jordan, experienced decades of relative neglect by the regime.
In the mid-1980’s civil unrest in the form of “bread riots” broke out in the south, par-
ticularly in Maʻan and Wadi Musa, which were flash points for opposition to unpopular
decisions by the Jordanian government. Within the local tribes of the Petra area there
has been longstanding conflict between the Bidoul and Bani Laith (Kooring and Simms,
51 Interview with Mr. Hani al-Falahat, Head of the Department of Antiquities in Maˋan.
52 Gaza and Bi’r Sheva’ were parts of southern Palestine. They were allied with the Petra area and they speak
the same dialect.
53 Because of Maʻan’s strategic location on the pilgrimage routes, people from many places decided to stay
there for its rich water resources and mild climate. Maˋan was once divided into Maˋan al-Shamiyeh (people
who originally came from Shām [Syria] and Maʻan al-Hijāziyeh (people who came from al-Ḥijāz [Arabia]).
54 See above footnote.
55 The biggest Bedouin tribe in the south of Jordan.
56 The Royal family in Jordan. They originally came from Arabia and are considered as the descendants of
the Prophet Muhammad who descends from Bani Hāshim, who were the nobles of Makka.
57 Sharif Ḥussein Bin ʻAli was the great grandfather of the present king of Jordan, King Abdullah II. The
document in Appendix 4 was an official charter signed and stamped by most of the shoyoukh of Maʻan
and its surroundings. It was sent to assert their unswerving loyalty and sincere support to the king of the
Arabs upon his arrival in Maʻan in 1911.
1996). Within Bani Laith itself there is historic conflict with ḥamoulat al-Shrour which
is probably rooted in early conflict over water resources.
When Petra was established as a park and world heritage site in 1985, it was initially
greeted with optimism and anticipation of significant benefit to the community. Al-Bi-
doul, however, were removed from the park in 1986 by the government and resettled
at Umm Ṣayḥoun on land belonging to one of the ʻashā′ir of Bani Laith, exacerbating
the longstanding conflict between the two tribes. With the signing of the peace treaty in
1994 the first of a rapid series of changes in local political administration began with the
transformation of the traditional Baladiyyah (Municipality) government into the Petra
Planning Council (PPC).
4.5 The establishment of the Petra Planning Council (PPC) in 1995
With the establishment of the Petra Planning Council (PPC) a series of rapid changes
took place in what is now known as Petra Region, all of them driven by the growth
in tourism. The traditional majlis al-Baladiyyah (municipal council) was composed of
ten members. The president (ra’īs) and nine councillors (aʻḍā’) were elected through
residence of Wadi Musa for a four-year term. Their responsibilities included planning
and organizing municipal affairs, environment, licensing, infrastructure and physical
maintenance. Up until 1994 one municipal council served Wadi Musa, one municipal
council for Ṭaybeh, one municipal council for shared services (majlis al-khadamāt al-
mushtarak) for Umm Ṣayḥoun and Baiḍa and one for Rājif and Dlāgha.
In 1995, following the sudden influx of tourism revenue after the peace treaty with
Israel, a governmental decree at national level created Majlis tanẓīm iqlīm al-Batra’,
the Petra Planning Council (PPC). The PPC’s Director General was appointed by the
Prime Minister and approved by the Council of Ministers at national level. The PPC
was independent of the local electorate, had a much larger budget, and considerably
more authority than the municipal council it replaced. The PPC was directly responsible
to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. With this a new entity was established: the
“Petra Region”. At this point, however, the other communities of the Region (Baiḍa,
Umm Ṣayḥoun, Rājif and Dlāgha) remained relatively independent and retained their
community councils.
4.6 The Petra Regional Authority, 2002
Once again responding to the growth in the tourism market, in 2002 the Petra Planning
Council was replaced by the Petra Regional Authority (PRA) (sulṭat iqlīm al-Batra’).
Like the PPC, PRA’s Director General was appointed by the Prime Minister and ap-
proved by the Council of Ministers at national level. Recently, however, the position was
considered a cabinet-level appointment.
128 Chapter 4
Once again the budget was increased, the number of staff was increased and the PRA was
given even more authority in the Region. Initially, Ṭaybeh was added to PRA’s mandate
and its municipal council abolished. Shortly thereafter, Baiḍa, Umm Ṣayḥoun, Rājif and
Dlāgha were also subsumed under the umbrella of PRA. The PRA was thus responsible
for, but independent of, the constituents of six communities which had previously been
managed by elected officials. None of the communities had a voice in these decisions.
By 2007 PRA had 338 employees, as compared to the 10 elected to the former municipal
council. Its budget was JD 3.7 million. Although PRA was in charge of all the planning
and management of the six communities, as a body it was accountable only to the Min-
istry of Tourism.
4.7 Wadi Musa in 2006
It is useful to create a “quantitative snapshot” of Wadi Musa in 2006, on the eve of the
selection of Petra as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World (N7W), which we will
explain in more detail presently. The numbers in the following snapshot prepare the way
for establishing a baseline against which to compare the social, economic and political
change in Wadi Musa before and after the selection of Petra as one of the N7W.
Table 4.1, next, combines statistics from international sources such as World Bank,
UNDP, IPSOS and the CIA Factbook with domestic sources such as the Ministry of
Tourism, Department of Statistics, Department of Lands & Surveys, SMP58 and PDTRA.
58 Petra Strategic Master Plan.

Table 4.1: Statistics for Wadi Musa 2006, before N7W
2006
Tourists visiting Petra (by month/year 2006) Average 29,231
Lowest (September) 15,690
Highest (April) 52,950
Total visitors for 2006: 230,772
Estimated revenue from “top 8” visitors to Petra JD 168,417,621 ($239,153,022)
Main income generators for Wadi Musa 1) Tourism sector
2) Public sector
3) Other private sector
Persons in Wadi Musa employed directly in tourism 1,406 (11.8 % of working population – estimate by
% of population age 20–60)
Average per capita income in Jordan JD 1,883 ($2,660)

Average household income in Jordan JD 2,820 ($4,004)
Average household income in Ma’an Directorate JD 2,784 ($3,953)
Household incomes for Wadi Musa households working directly in tourism:
Tour guide JD 3,200 ($4,544)
Horse guide JD 45,600 ($64,752)
Restaurant employee JD 4,200 ($5,964)
Souvenir shop employee JD 3,000 ($4,260)
Souvenir shop owner JD 20,000 ($28,400)
Travel agent / tour operator (owner) JD 60,000 ($85,200)
Land prices in Wadi Musa (per dunum / .1 ha)
Within the municipality JD 10,000-20,000 ($14,200–28,400)
Within the “the tourism area” JD 40,000-70,000 ($56,800–99,400)
Outside the municipality JD 1,000-3,000 ($1,420–4,260)
PRA budget (2007) JD 3.7 million ($$5,254,000)
Salary/-ies of top PRA/PDTRA official(s) JD 30,000 (1 x JD 2,500 x 12; PDTRA 2007)
Average salary of PRA/PDTRA employees JD 4,380 (365/mo.; PDTRA 2007)
PRA employees (2007) 338
Information on local tourism income was gathered in interviews. It is not possible to ar-
rive at a true average rise in income in the sector due to the absence of accurate data on
the numbers of persons working in each sector. The “average” cited above is the average
amongst the various occupations within the sector.
The total number of visitors to Petra for the year 2006 was 230,772. A higher number
was registered during April, which is one of the months of the high tourism season in
Petra. In September, which is also normally considered high tourism season, the num-
ber of visitors was only 15,690. Estimated revenue from “top 8” visitors (including
USA, Germany, UK, Holland, Spain, Italy, France and South Korea) to Petra was JD
168,417,621 ($239,153,022).
130 Chapter 4
Main income generators for Wadi Musa derived from working in the tourism sector, public
sector and other private sectors. The number of people from Wadi Musa employed directly
in tourism was 1,406 (11.8 % of working population) as estimated by the percentage of
population within the age category (20–60). The average per capita income in Jordan was
JD 1,883 ($2,660). The average household income in Jordan was JD 2,820 ($4,004) com-
pared to the average household income in Maʻan governorate of JD 2,784 ($3,953).
Incomes for Wadi Musa households working directly in tourism was mainly comprised
of tour guides with an income of JD 3,200 ($4,544), horse guides JD 45,600 ($64,752),
restaurant employees JD 4,200 ($5,964), souvenir shop employees JD 3,000 ($4,260),
souvenir shop owners JD 20,000 ($28,400) and travel agents / tour operators (owners)
JD 60,000 ($85,200).
Land prices in Wadi Musa (per dunum / .1 ha.) within the municipality were JD 10,000–
20,000 ($14,200–28,400). The land price within the “tourism area”, around the Petra Visi-
tors’ Centre and the hotel area was JD 40,000–70,000 ($56,800–99,400). The land price out-
side the municipality on the outskirts of Wadi Musa was JD 1,000–3,000 ($ 1,420–4,260).
The PRA budget 2007 was JD 3.7 million ($5,254,000); salary/-ies of top PRA/PDTRA
official(s) was JD 30,000 ($42850) – average salary of PRA/PDTRA employees was JD
4,380 ($6,250). The total number of PRA employees in 2007 was 338.
These figures in the quantitative “snapshot” support certain local public perceptions of
the political and economic situation in their community in 2007. The year is significant
in the transition of the political and economic situation in Wadi Musa.
4.8 Socio-political change in Wadi Musa, 2007 – 2010
Having established a profile of Wadi Musa in 2006, let us now look at socio-political
change at the local level. First, we will discuss the “New Seven Wonders” (N7W) pro-
motion which had been underway since 2005. The promotion culminated in 2007 with
the selection of Petra as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World”, and had a
profound impact on the economic and political life of the community. We will then ex-
amine the changes in local government administration occasioned by the huge influx of
tourism revenue after N7W. Finally, we will examine briefly the history of community
and regional planning exercises, which climaxed in a near-riot in the winter of 2011, in
community meetings regarding the Strategic Master Plan for Petra Region.
4.8.1 New Seven Wonders of the World (N7W)
The World of New Seven Wonders Foundation was established in 2001 by Canadian Ber-
nard Weber. According to the Foundation’s official website, its goal was to “contribute to the
protection of the world’s human-built and natural heritage and to foster respect for our plan-
et’s diversity” (WN7W, 2013). The promotional campaign accepted nominations until the
end of 2005, when a panel of experts selected 21 of the 77 most-nominated sites, announced
in January 2006. Votes for any of these sites could be cast by anyone with access to the ap-
propriate media: internet, text messages or telephone. The Foundation claims that over one
hundred million votes were cast, culminating in the selection of seven sites on 7 July 2007.
UNESCO explicitly distanced itself from New Seven Wonders on 9 July 2007 on the
official website of the UNESCO World Heritage Community. Quoting UNESCO:
“UNESCO’s objective and mandate is to assist countries in identifying, protect-

ing and preserving World Heritage […] The relevant authorities must also dem-
onstrate commitment to these frameworks as well as to permanently monitoring
the state of conservation of sites […] This initiative cannot in any significant
and sustainable manner contribute to the preservation of sites selected by the
public” (UNESCO, 2007) 59.
Conservation of the site was at the core of UNESCO’s opposition to the New Seven
Wonders campaign. Petra has been one of the World Heritage Sites since 1985, there-
fore, it was important to protect and monitor the state of the site.
In contrast, World of New Seven Wonders claims, however, that the promotion is a
powerful tool for conservation:
“[…] New Seven Wonders has so far generated more than US$ 5 billion worth
of economic, tourism and national promotional value for locations participating
in its campaigns. N7W is a major, global-scale proof of a business concept based
on mass virtual online dynamics creating concrete economic positive outcomes
in the real world” (WN7W, 2013) 60.
One might want to challenge these claims and ask for proof to be provided by way of
creditable statistics, for example, that there have been real benefits for the countries
where the sites are located, and particularly in the case of Jordan.
4.8.1.1 Jordanian government support and promotion of N7W
The N7W promotion was eagerly endorsed and supported by the Jordanian government.
The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology installed a huge shel-
59 UNESCO confirms that it is not involved in the “New 7 Wonders of the World” campaign: http://whc.
unesco.org/en/news/352%20do%20a%20proper%20citation
60 World of New 7 Wonders: Project History. http://world.new7wonders.com/about-n7w/the-new7wonders-
foundation-campaign/
132 Chapter 4
ter with internet facilities in front of the visitors’ centre in Petra so that visitors could
cast votes for Petra. The cell phone companies Fastlink and Mobilcom released a special
offer on using sms services to cast votes. The Jordanian Telecommunications Corpora-
tion released another offer to use the calling centres to vote for Petra. The Ministry
of Tourism and all of the ministries and government departments publicly encouraged
their employees to campaign for Petra. Government foundations, NGOs, universities
and private foundations offered complementary tours to visit Petra to vote for it locally
and internationally. The PRA facilitated the visits of voters, arranging for buses, lodging
and entertainment for the visitors in “voting tours”. The local university set up internet
voting stations for students to cast votes. All of these efforts were made by all the Jor-
danian entities to boost the chances of Petra becoming one of the N7W. Supporting this
campaign was such a national duty in anticipation of gaining future economic benefits
for the country.
4.8.1.2 Local celebration of Petra’s N7W selection
Celebration of N7W was represented by organizing iḥtifālāt, (s. ihtifāl) celebrations

which took place all over the kingdom. In Petra, PRA installed ṣawāwīn (s. ṣīwān),
enormous multi-coloured tents usually used for weddings, at the main entrance to the
park where people could gather to celebrate Petra’s victory. Singers were invited by
PRA to celebrate the occasion in the ṣawāwīn. The Ministry of Tourism and Jordan TV
hosted a huge festival inside Petra featuring local bands and singers. The local people
of Wadi Musa formed masīrāt, (s. masīrah), parades of cars bedecked in bright colours,
banners with slogans and decorations. The streets were filled – often blocked – until
well after midnight with people singing, ululating celebratory zaghārīt calls, shooting
off fireworks and guns and dancing dabkah. It was proclaimed a day of “ʻurs waṭani”,
a “national wedding”. The wedding day in Jordanian culture represents the time when
relatives and friends meet together to participate in the wedding arrangement. People get
together to celebrate the occasion with joy.
4.8.1.3 Immediate impact of N7W on Petra tourism
Let us now take a “quantitative snapshot” of Wadi Musa in 2007–2008 after the selec-
tion of Petra as one of the “N7W” and examine how profound the impact was on the
economic and political life of the community.
By autumn of 2007 Petra hotel rooms were fully booked through until 2010. The Octo-
ber following N7W was a record high for the number of visitors in one month: 99,616
(March–May is normally the high tourism season in Jordan). There was 350 % increase
in tourist numbers to Petra for 2008 (from 230,772 in 2006 to 813,264 in 2008). This
increase was accompanied by a parallel increase in income from international visitors:
from JD 168,417,621 ($239,153,022) in 2006 to JD 593,523,011 (US$ 840,802,676 in
2008). These statistics would seem to support the New Seven Wonders Foundation’s
claim to create “concrete economic positive outcomes in the real world”.
The sudden influx of visitors, however, from a monthly average of 29,631 to 67,772,
imposed a critical strain on the local resources. Along with increased revenues came in-
creased pressure on Wadi Musa’s infrastructure, congested traffic, increased security, and
demand on public and private sector services such as banks and public transportation, as
well as an increased demand for water. Increased revenues in tourism largely benefited
those families directly employed in tourism, while the pressures affected the whole com-
munity. The value of land in the municipality and surrounding Wadi Musa soared, par-
ticularly in the manṭiqa siyaḥiyyah, the tourism area – and with it, property taxes.
Meanwhile, within the Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) itself there arose grave con-
cerns about the impact on the cultural heritage, an increase in child labour and changes
in the local community’s attitudes towards tourists. It was clear that PRA and PAP were
unprepared for managing the scale of these changes. While it is true that the N7W did
bring economic benefits to Jordan, it did not necessarily benefit the local population
significantly, and the political and physical infrastructure was insufficiently prepared to
handle the other impacts.
N7W, however, is a Western, capitalist venture which “benefits” Petra only in the short-
term economic sense. There was no thought given to the impacts of N7W on localities.
Culturally and economically Wadi Musa (indeed, Jordan) is not really “capitalist” in the
Western sense, which assumes a culture of individualism, meritocracy and competition.
At the same time “capitalism” in Jordan is crude, exploitative – un-nuanced by Corpo-
rate Social Responsibility (CSR).
4.8.1.4 Wadi Musa before and after N7W
Let us now assess some quantitative changes between 2006–2008/09 based on the
“quantitative snapshot” regarding the immediate impact of N7W on Petra tourism.
134 Chapter 4
Table 4.2: Statistics for Wadi Musa 2006–2009, before and after N7W
2006 2008–09
Tourists visiting Petra (by month/ Average 29,231 Average 67,772
year) Lowest (September) 15,690 Lowest (July) 45,416
Highest (April) 52,950 Highest (October) 99,616
Total visitors for 2006: 230,772 Total visitors for 2008: 813,264
Estimated revenue from “top 8” JD 168,417,621 ($239,153,022) JD 593,523,011 ($840,802,676)
visitors to Petra
Main income generators for Wadi 1) Tourism sector 1) Tourism sector

Musa 2) Public sector 2) Public sector
3) Other private sector 3) Other private sector
Persons in Wadi Musa employed 1,406 (11.8 % of working population 1,525 (12 % of working population)
directly in tourism – estimate by % of population age
20-60)
Average per capita income in Jordan JD 1,883 ($2,660) JD 1,957 ($2,765)
Average household income in Jordan JD 2,820 ($4,004) JD 3,529 ($5,011)
Average household income in Ma’an JD 2,784 ($3,953) JD 3,383 ($4,803)

Directorate
Household incomes for Wadi Musa households working directly in tourism:

Tour guide JD 3,200 ($4,544) JD 4,100 ($5,822)
Horse guide JD 45,600 ($64,752) JD 63,000 ($89,460)
Restaurant employee JD 4,200 ($5,964) JD 6,000 ($8,520)
Souvenir shop employee JD 3,000 ($4,260) JD 3,600 ($5,112)
Souvenir shop owner JD 20,000 ($28,400) JD 30,000 ($42,600)
Travel agent / tour operator (owner) JD 60,000 ($85,200) JD 142,000 ($)
Land prices in Wadi Musa (per dunum / .1 ha)
within the municipality: outside JD 10,000–20,000 ($14,200-28,400) JD 40,000 ($56,800)
the “the tourism area” (al-manṭaqa
al-siyaḥiyyah)
within the municipality: within “the JD 40,000–70,000 ($56,800-99,400) JD 250,000-300,000 ($355,000–
tourism area” (al-manṭaqa al- 426,000)
siyaḥiyyah)
outside the municipality JD 1,000–3,000 ($1,420-4,260) JD 1,000-10,000 ($1,420–4,200)
PRA budget (2007) JD 3.7 million ($$5,254,000) (PDTRA 2009) JD 22.6 million
($32,092,000)
Salary/-ies of top PRA/PDTRA JD 30,000 (1 x JD 2,500 x 12; PDTRA JD 210,000 (5 x JD 3,500 x 12;
official(s) 2007) PDTRA 2009)
Average salary of PRA/PDTRA JD 4,380 (365/mo.; PDTRA 2007) JD 5,820 (PDTRA 2009)
employees
PRA employees (2007) 338 700
Table 4.2, page 134, combines statistics from international sources such as World Bank,
UNDP, IPSOS and the CIA Factbook with domestic sources such as the Ministry of
Tourism, Department of Statistics, Department of Lands & Surveys, SMP and PDTRA.
Information on local tourism income was gathered in interviews. It is not possible to ar-
rive at a true average rise in income in the sector due to the absence of accurate data on
the numbers of persons working in each sector. The “average” cited above is the average
amongst the various occupations within the sector.
Let us now summarise changes (rounded to nearest whole number) before and after
N7W in an attempt to examine the social and political changes in Wadi Musa after 2007
as follows:
Rise in visitor numbers: 350 %

Rise in top 8 revenue: 350 %
Rise in per capita income, Jordan: 4 %
Rise in household income, Jordan: 20 %
Rise in household income, Maʻan Governorate: 18 %
Rise in household income, tourism families in Wadi Musa: 32 %
Rise in percentage of Wadi Musa population directly employed in tourism: 0.2 %
Rise in land prices within tourist area, Wadi Musa: 428–625 %
Rise in land prices in Wadi Musa municipality, outside tourist area: 200–400 %
Rise in land prices in Wadi Musa, outside municipality: average 166 %
Growth of PRA/PDTRA budget: 610 %
Growth in PDTRA staff: 58 %
Growth in PDTRA administration: 500 %
Growth in salary budget for top PDTRA officials: 700 %
These figures, placed in context, support certain local public perceptions of the politi-
cal and economic situation in their community: the rise in tourism revenue (350 %) is
not reflected in a comparable rise in the incomes of most local households (4–20 %).
Tourism families are benefiting significantly more than other households (32 %), but the
percentage of the population working in tourism has not risen significantly (0.2 %). The
rise in land values / property taxes (166–625 %) is not reflected in a comparable rise in
the incomes of local families. The rise in the PDTRA budget (610 %) and administrative
salary line (700 %) are not reflected in a comparable rise in incomes of local families.
The salary of the average employee at PDTRA is 13.8 % of that of one of the top of-
ficials. Since 1995 none of the top officials has been from Petra Region. All officials are
appointees, not elected. The successive governing bodies (PPC, PRA and PDTRA) were
each founded in response to a significant development in tourism: tourism is literally
governing the life of the Region.
136 Chapter 4
4.9 Petra’s economic significance to Jordan
As happened in many other countries, tourism to Jordan suffered from the economic
crisis of 2008 ‑ 2009. However, tourism figures were still up significantly – 68.4 percent
– from pre-N7W counts. Based on figures for 2009, Petra’s economic significance for
Jordan can be estimated as follows:
• Visitors to Petra 2009: 728,108–728,839

• Income from entrance fees to Petra: JD 13,620,016
• International arrivals in Jordan from the top 8 countries: 306,780
• Top 8 expenditure in Jordan as a whole: JD 350,735,793
• Average expenditure per visitor: JD 1,143
An IPSOS study in 2008 revealed that:
• 73.9 percent of international visitors are here for leisure purposes = 226,710, of
whom 86.4 percent visit Petra = 195,877.
Using the 2008 IPSOS figures and applying them to the 2009 information, we conclude
that a very conservative assessment of Petra’s economic value can be made by multiply-
ing the number of “top 8” visitors x JD 1,143 expenditure per visitor = JD 223,888,328 =
US$ 317,921,426. Jordan GDP 2009 = US$ 21.92 billion, indicating that tourism to Petra
from only 8 countries yields approximately 1.4 percent of Jordan’s GDP (PDTRA, 2010).
4.10 Vulnerability of the tourism market in Jordan
Even as Petra gains economic significance for Jordan, local incomes from tourism are
unstable. As noted above, although visitor numbers for 2009 were still up significantly –
68.4 percent – from pre-N7W counts, they dropped considerably from the 2008 figures
(to 728,839, down from 813,264).
Since 1994 the tourism market has crashed twice:
• 2000–2001, following the second Intifāḍah in Palestine and September 11;

• 2005–2006, following terrorist incidents in Amman.
At the present time (2014), Petra is still relatively empty due to international apprehension
about events associated with the “Arab Spring”, particularly the violence in neighbouring
Syria and Egypt. Tourist numbers to Petra in 2013 were 161,990, while in 2014 they are
144,025, with a relative change of –11.01 % between 2013/2014. The numbers stated here
are significant in the decrease in Petra hotel occupancy. Moreover, the number of employees
in the tourism sector in Petra in 2014 is 1,808 (MoTA, 2014). At times when tourist numbers
are not in decline, tourism is also starkly seasonal: during April there are insufficient resourc-
es to satisfy demand; not enough stock animals (camels and horses), not enough guides, not
enough rental cars. In July and August tourism families often have no income at all.
Thus, even as there was growing resentment of the wealth obtained from tourism by a
relatively low proportion (about 12 percent) of the local population, it is recognized that
tourism work is vulnerable to outside events beyond local control. Work in tourism is
therefore perceived as insecure and unstable and thus those involved in it are perhaps
not to be envied their position.
4.11 The establishment of (PDTRA) in 2009
In September 2009, in direct response to the flood of tourists after N7W, the govern-
mental body for the Region was once again transformed and PRA became PDTRA: The
Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority.
The Director General was replaced by a High Commissioner with yet more authority –
and four highly paid Commissioner positions. The new entity was granted a significantly
higher budget (JD22.6 million) – including 35 % of the PAP’s receipts as well as the fees
from licensing, tourism initiatives and significantly higher property taxes.
PDTRA is no longer directly responsible to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, but
to the Prime Minister himself.
An excerpt from text published by PDTRA itself underscores the increased awareness of
Petra’s economic significance to Jordan:
“In September 2009, Law Number 15 for the year 2009 was enacted to define
the Petra Development and Tourism Region and the inauguration of Petra De-
velopment and Tourism Region Authority that would take responsibility for the
development of the Petra Region, economically capitalizing on its potentials in
tourism, among other areas such as local community development.
In part, this new law is also enacted to achieve positive economic and social gain
for the entire Petra Region, and for Jordan as a whole. With the creation of the
PDTRA, the national significance of this region to Jordan was explicitly declared”.
(PDTRA, 2009; SMPD, 2010)
Economic benefit and social gain for Petra and Jordan are the reasons behind the es-
tablishment of PDTRA. If the economic interest focused on developing the local com-
munity at Petra, as stated by the law, had been properly managed, the benefits would
have come to the local community. The significance of Petra Region to Jordan should
mean commitment to enhance the local community in the Region first, and then to move
forward towards enhancing the national economy.
138 Chapter 4
4.11.1 Planning for Tourism Management in Petra Region
In the first month after PDTRA’s establishment it published a Request for Proposals
(RFP) for a 20-year “Strategic Master Plan for Petra Region”. This was to be a nine-
month intensive diagnostic and planning exercise and top planning firms in the world
were invited to bid for the contract.
The Strategic Master Plan (SMP) was the eighth such planning exercise targeting Pe-
tra, beginning with UNESCO’s management plan drafted upon Petra’s nomination as a
World Heritage Site:
• 1994: Petra Archaeological Park Management Plan (UNESCO);

• 1996: Petra Priority Action Plan (Dar al-Handasah / USAID);
• 1996: Management Analysis and Recommendations for the Petra World Heritage
Site (US/ICOMOS);
• 1998: Petra Region Land Use Code (Sigma/USAID);
• 2000: Analytical Studies, Detailed Land Use Plan and Special Regulations for the
Protection of the Area along the Ṭaybeh-Wadi Musa Scenic Way (Sigma/USAID);
• 2000: Petra Archaeological Park Operating Plan (U. S. Park Service / USAID);
• 2004: Jordan’s National Tourism Strategy (MoTA/JTB/USAID);
• 2010–11: Strategic Master Plan for Petra (ATC w / JCP & Design Work-
shop / PDTRA / USAID).
There were several other management plans developed for PAP, but those listed above
included significant regional planning elements which affected communities. SMP is
relevant to our discussion because it was highly publicized and the first time the process
was to have been entirely transparent. The local population, however, had already been
through eight planning exercises in seventeen years, and was openly cynical about the
usefulness of SMP and the likelihood that it would be implemented. More about SMP
will be discussed in the Chapter Five.
4.12 The role of the 2010 elections
2010 was also an election year for the Jordanian Parliament, and resentment about
PDTRA and the master planning process was voiced clearly in election meetings. SMP
public presentations and meetings with local stakeholder groups also became forums for
voicing public concerns beyond the scope of the SMP. The overriding frustration con-
cerned rapid change of local governing bodies, which resulted in many secret decisions
in which the local community had no role in terms of the decision-making process. Dur-
ing the discussions, a nostalgia for the elected, 10 member Municipal Council (majlis
al-Baladiyyah) was a recurring theme. This nostalgia grew out of some of the most vex-
ing issues regarding the unelected administrations governing Petra Region since 1995:
increasingly high taxation and fees on licensing and permits; new restrictions on land
use; lack of notable progress and development on the ground; increased bureaucracy
and delays in conducting business, compared to the simpler process of the Baladiyyah;
the fact that the majlis al-Baladiyyah was elected, but the new administrations were
appointed by the Prime Minister, and the associated perception that the new governing
bodies were insufficiently familiar with the Region.
Another important group demanding to be addressed were the youth population. Jordan
Department of Statistics reports that in 2010 over 27 % of Jordan’s population were
between the ages of 20–34, i. e., working or seeking to enter the workforce. A stagger-
ing 48.3 % is under 20; they will be seeking employment within the upcoming 20 years
(DoS, 2010). SMP’s Diagnostic Report projects 3 % population growth in Wadi Musa
over the next 20 years, which means that the population will nearly double. By 2030 the
“youth” demographic group will constitute over 75 % of the population of the Region
(PDTRA, 2010). Planning for this 20-year period was the mandate of SMP, largely per-
ceived to be uninformed, as shown in Figure 4.9, below.
60 000
50 000
40 000
30 000
20 000
10 000
0
20 9
10
20 1
12
20 3
14
20 5
20 6
17
20 8
19
20 0
20 1
22
20 3
24
20 5
26
20 7
28
20 9
30
1
2
0
1
1
2
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Figure 4.9: Population projection in Petra Region at annual growth rate of 3 %
Source: (SMPD, 2010: 4)
The youth’s concerns were somewhat different from that of the elder group who made
up most of the electoral caucus. Recurring themes expressed in pre-election meetings
included:
• desire for a relatively young MP who “speaks their language” and responds to their
needs
• a “space” in public discourse to express themselves differently from the mechanisms
imposed on them by the elder generation
• the need for better public services, especially educational opportunities and better
health care
• the urgent need for more job opportunities
• access to decision-making processes concerning their Region.
140 Chapter 4
In pre-election meetings and debates, members of the local electoral caucus – about which
more will be said later – determined that they would work toward selecting a candidate for
Parliament who was educated and a tourism professional. By selecting such a person, they
hoped to elect someone who could wield the authority to investigate and control decisions
and actions concerning their region. They hoped he might be able to find new invest-
ments and projects to benefit them, find or create jobs, create better access to education
and scholarships and develop a strategy for equal distribution of the wealth from tourism.
Certain themes emerged from meetings with both generations:
• resentment over lack of control over Regional development, planning and decision-
making
• resentment about the establishment of PDTRA, which was perceived as expensive,
bureaucratic and uninterested in the local community
• perception that foreign investment is being courted while local investment, develop-
ment and job creation are ignored
• resentment of tourism: tourists are perceived as taking priority over locals; locals
suffer the strains of hugely increased tourism without reaping the benefits
• envy of families in the tourism business: a perception that tourism income is une-
qually distributed.
In the light of the data presented above, it can be concluded that Wadi Musa has expe-
rienced an exponential rate of change and an economic success since 2007 as a direct
result of its selection as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” (N7W). The data
presented above demonstrates that:
• Wadi Musa has experienced an economic success represented by the increase in

tourism revenue (350 %)
• the local economy and planning for development is driven by increasing tourism
• the local government is driven by increasing tourism
• planning for the next generation is driven by increasing tourism.
These realities are combined with the sense that the local communities themselves are
disenfranchised from all of these processes. It also seems that they are uninformed about
the direct, indirect and induced benefits of tourism revenue and its contribution to their
region. It is also evident that the benefits of tourism are insecure due to the influence of
regional events beyond the control of the local market. In the public meetings associ-
ated with SMP, and the elections, locals expressed disaffection ranging from cynicism
to desperation. They feel “like strangers in their own town”, and consider that tourists
take priority over residents. There was a sense that tourism is responsible for every
problem: uncertain income, political injustice, pollution, congestion, water scarcity and
social inequalities within the community. Whither or not Wadi Musa is a “community in
crisis” or, in other words, “socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities”, that still needs to be
examined in the upcoming Chapter Five.
V Wadi Musa as a “community in crisis” or socio-cultural ten-
sion and ambiguities
The data presented in Chapters Three and Four support the first contention of my the-
sis, which stated that Wadi Musa has experienced an exponential rate of change and an
economic success since 2007 as a direct result of its selection as one of the “New Seven
Wonders of the World” (N7W). The data demonstrate that the local community is aware
of its existence in Petra for many generations. People are attached to their homeland as
they are concerned about the exponential rate of change that tourism brought about to
their region. The data further demonstrated that the local economy, planning for future
development, local government and the rapid transformation in the form of the local
government are driven by increasing tourism. These realities are combined with the
sense that the local communities themselves are disenfranchised from all of these pro-
cesses. Even the benefits of tourism are insecure due to the influence of regional events
beyond the control of the local market. In the public meetings associated with the Petra
Strategic Master Plan (SMP), the elections and the broad-sweep interviews, locals ex-
pressed disagreement with the status quo, ranging from distrust to anxiety. The latter is
fed by the ambiguity permeating all the development process. They feel that they are
not included in any of the decisions concerning their future in their town. They consider
that the needs of tourists take priority over theirs. There was a sense also that tourism is
responsible for every problem: uncertain income, political injustice, pollution, conges-
tion, water scarcity and social inequalities within the community.
We now turn to examine whether or not Wadi Musa can be considered “a community in
crisis” or socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities.
5.1 Wadi Musa as a community with socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities
The second contention of my thesis states that Wadi Musa’s increased value as a tourism
destination has created socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities, leading to what might
be characterized as a liminal period in the life of the community. From the factors men-
tioned above, I hope that by this point I have built a convincing portrait of a tourist com-
munity under social, political and economic strain due to a rapid increase in tourism.
What we can see clearly from the material presented in Chapters Three and Four is that
Wadi Musa has experienced a disruption of daily life and institutional forms as a result
of N7W. The definitions of crisis in the literature of the social sciences and with spe-
cific regard to tourism were synthesized in Chapter Two (Methodology and theoretical
framework). Nonetheless, a crisis is a disruption that endangers or destroys a system as a
whole and threatens its basic assumptions, its subjective sense of self, and its existential
core. A crisis (as opposed to a disaster) is the result of gradual changes, accumulated
142 Chapter 5
misunderstandings, failures to act and/or inappropriate responses to change. A crisis is

thus to some extent self-inflicted at personal, social and/or institutional level.
While Wadi Musa as a community has not been destroyed, its basic assumptions about
its identity – its subjective sense of self, its existential core – are certainly threatened.
It can be argued that this perceived “threat” lies primarily in the locals’ sense that they
have no access to control over their own lives. These threatening “disruptions” cross-cut
every aspect of society, including the institutional, socio-cultural and personal aspects.
5.1.1 The institutional aspect
This exists in the form of profound changes in the structure and accountability of local
government; also in the international presence in and regulation of the Park (UNESCO,
USAID, tourists), which has in turn shaped the legal and economic management of the
land in Petra Region.
In the broad-sweep survey respondents expressed their feelings regarding the institu-
tional aspect. The category of (management issues) included all phrases related to the
shortcomings concerning management of the tourism industry in Petra by the various
official entities or governmental bodies. Such entities are embedded within the govern-
ment as represented by the Ministry of Tourism and Department of Antiquities (MoTA),
Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA) and Jordan Tourism
Board (JTB), UNESCO, USAID and tourists themselves. Management issues were
criticized by 286 respondents in the broad-sweep surveys. Government is blamed for
most of the shortcomings concerning management issues, such as the lack of marketing
and promotional activities for Petra, negative environmental impact on the historical
site, negative socio-cultural impacts, deployment of benefits to only a small group of
beneficiaries, which results in fewer benefits for the majority of people, and the unfair
distribution of wealth from tourism revenue.
(B78) stated: “I wish I benefited from tourism, but the opposite is true. The majority of the
residents of Petra are not benefiting. And this results from many reasons: the absence of
cooperation amongst those responsible [MoTA, JTB, UNESCO, USAID] and Iqlīm al-Ba-
tra’ [PDTRA] in working to create efficient projects for the people of Petra to benefit from
the city whose name has reached the whole world”. Here the respondent points toward
conflict of interest amongst the various entities on the management of tourism in Petra.
Ironically, (B14) thinks that the government is wise to a degree, but that they do not pay
attention to issues that affect tourism in a negative way. They do not even acknowledge
the need of some of the people in Wadi Musa to benefit from tourism revenue. “We hope
that the government in its wisdom will enhance tourism business in the city of Petra, es-
pecially in Wadi Musa. Some people benefit from tourism but the overwhelming majority
do not – la nās ʻan nās [only for some people and not for all]. Some people benefit – like
Wadi Musa as a “community in crisis” or socio-cultural tension and ambiguities 143
those with horses, souvenir shops, and others – and some do not” (B14). The verdict
was that government should pay attention to the needs of all those who do not currently
benefit from tourism revenue.
(E01) stated that: “In reality we can’t see or touch anything of what the government talks
about”. Other respondents indicated the promises of the government concerning tour-
ism development in the region. (A05) said: “[…] shortcomings in fulfilling the obliga-
tions toward Petra in all government departments, and top among them, sulṭat Iqlīm al
Batra’ [Petra Regional Authority], maḥmiyyat al-Batra’ [Petra Archaeological Park],
Jamʻiyyat al-Fanādiq [Hotels Association]”.
Another respondent (A07) said: “Extremely negative feeling. Tourism has disappeared
from the Wadi Musa region in particular and from the Kingdom in general. This is re-
flecting negatively on our lives and on ourselves”. The current decline in the number of
tourists to Petra can be attributed, at least in part, to the so-called “Arab Spring” and also
to shortcomings on the government side. This severely affects the local community’s
standard of living and increases financial commitments in contrast to what people could
cope more effectively with during times of greater tourist numbers.
Respondents considered tourism business in Petra to be dominated either by govern-

ment or a particular number of beneficiaries. Regarding exploitation of tourism by gov-
ernment, (A04) articulated his negative feeling as follows: “My feeling is that tourism
benefits all those who are controlling it, such as Iqlīm [PDTRA] or the Ministry. That
Ministry itself is the one that does not want to benefit from tourism – on the contrary it
wants to destroy it. Therefore the numbers of tourists entering [Petra] has been mini-
mized”. As a result of the shortcomings of management, (A04) thinks that tourism will
decline further and that the Ministry of Tourism is the reason for that decline.
5.1.2 The socio-cultural aspect
We will return to this point in more detail presently, but such phenomena as the estab-
lishment of Umm Ṣayḥoun, the pervasive presence of foreign tourists with profoundly
different behaviour patterns, the alternative reality presented by hotel culture, sex tour-
ism and child labour are only the most visible changes in cultural life. Underlying all
of these changes is the perception – supported by quantitative, qualitative (broad-sweep
surveys) and historical evidence – that the local community no longer has control over
its own economy, land, political life or future.
(B87) stated: “[…] But unfortunately residents of Wadi Musa are affected by tourism in
a negative way, like increasing prices and increased value or price of land, so if some-
one wants to buy a piece of land to build [a house], he can’t, and the other behaviours
by which the youth are influenced. My feeling towards tourism is negative”. In the same
context (E28) said: “Tourism is important in this country, but its beneficiaries are but
144 Chapter 5
a small group of people, yaʻni [that means], the big are eating it and we desperately
hope to increase the number of tourists to Petra so we can benefit from it in the future.
(I do not think so)”. What this respondent means is that in the context of exploitation of
tourism business by those who are dominant, it is unlikely that the “small people” will
be able to increase their share of benefits from tourism in the future.
5.1.3 The personal aspect
This lack of social, economic and political autonomy is expressed by older generations
in terms of nostalgia for older, simpler institutions, municipality (Baladiyyah) and in
resentment of tourism and “outsiders”. It is expressed amongst the younger generations
in the form of value disorientation and hopelessness about the future. For example, E87
observed that the youth of Petra have started drinking alcohol and believed that tourism
is destroying their moral consciousness.
The assessment of a community’s or individual’s “subjective sense of self, its existential

core” is difficult to illustrate in quantitative terms, although some of these – e. g., the
vast disparity between economic benefit to government entities vs. households – are
suggestive. As mentioned in Chapter Four above (4.7.1.4.), the rise in tourism revenue
(350 %) was not reflected in a comparable rise in the incomes of most local households
(4–20 %). Tourism families are benefiting significantly more than other households
(32 %), but the percentage of the population working in tourism has not risen signifi-
cantly (0.2 %). The rise in land values / property taxes (166–625 %) is not reflected in a
comparable rise in incomes of local families. The rises in the PDTRA budget (610 %)
and administrative salary level (700 %) are not reflected in a comparable rise in incomes
of local families. The salary of the average employee at PDTRA is 13.8 % of that of one
of the top officials.
The traditions and customs – culture, in short – are built on a shared system of values
and ethics which in Wadi Musa are perceived to have been disrupted in contrast with
outsiders’ behaviours. For example, (E50) stated: “[…] But the negative is the appear-
ance of some bad behaviours and the spread of some negative phenomena in the local
community”. (A11) said: “[…] some customs and traditions that are alien to the local
population” and (F65) stated: “[…] people of the region come under the influence of
strange customs and traditions from the west which are alien to village society”. There
are other people, such as (G02), who expressed a view of tourism as follows: “Not great
at all, because it is empty and separate from all bonuses” and here (G01 and G09) stated
that: “There is no tourism at all”.
These are the layers of experience that are revealed through anthropological methods
such as interviews, broad-sweep surveys and participant observations.
Clifford Geertz, in his famous essay entitled “Thick Description”, writes:

“Behaviour must be attended to, and with some exactness, because it is through
the flow of behaviour – or, more precisely, social action – that cultural forms
find articulation. They find it as well of course, in various sorts of artifacts, and
various states of consciousness; but these draw their meaning from the role they
play […] in an ongoing pattern of life, not from any intrinsic relationships they
bear to one another […] If anthropological interpretation is constructing a read-
ing of what happens, then to divorce it from what happens – from what, in this
time or that place, specific people say, what they do, what is done to them, from
the whole vast business of the world – is to divorce it from its applications and
render it vacant. A good interpretation of anything – a poem, a person, a history,
a ritual, an institution, a society – takes us into the heart of that of which it is the
interpretation” (10-11).
Geertz’s understanding of culture and what is entailed in interpreting culture is further

illuminated by Peter Strawson’s work on moral philosophy (see note 60 below).
The master planning and elections processes gave voice to the community’s sense of
cultural disaffection and its perception that tourism is its cause. Extensive interviews of
individuals, as well as over one hundred meetings with stakeholder and focus groups,
elucidated to this research the community’s self-perception as disrupted, and threatened
at its “existential core”.
5.2 Recurring motifs and themes from the interviews and groups
5.2.1 Value disorientation associated with tourists and hotels
The pervasive visibility of foreigners (tourists), whose behaviour is governed by “partici-

pant reactive attitudes and their associated practices” 61 (Strawson, 1960: 4ff.) evidently
different from those which govern local culture, present an alternative reality to the one
governed by Arab tribal and Muslim codes of ethics and behaviour. The behaviour of
tourists themselves is played out against a backdrop of hotel life, the highest profile of
61 From the 1960’s on, Oxford philosopher Peter Strawson worked toward establishing the existence of a
commonly shared spatio-temporal framework by which humans comprehend the world and relationships
with others. In a famous essay called “Freedom and Resentment” (1960) Strawson tried to resolve the
dispute between compatibilists and incompatibilists by establishing that both were wrong. He argued that
moral responsibility is not a theoretical frame through which people behave. It is rather a combination
of various attitudes springing out of our interaction with each other. These attitudes were designated by
Strawson as participant reactive attitudes. Because they are a) normal attitudinal reflection to the others’
good will, ill will or disregard, and b) articulated by someone who is involved in a proactive participa-
tory relationship, this relationship proceeds in a reciprocal way. The “participants” in situations of moral
agency are bound by interpersonal relationships and share certain attitudes and assumptions about good
will, ill will and indifference to each other. He calls the whole construct of moral actions, responsibility,
praise and blame “participant reactive attitudes and their associated practices” (Strawson 1960: 4ff.).
146 Chapter 5
which are the five-star hotels, with their caricature of elite European lifestyles. Here we
quote (B12): “[…] It is also negative for the people of Petra in many ways, such as in-
creased prices, congestion, the mixture of cultures, and the negative impacts result from
the differences in culture and tradition between tourists and the people of the district”.
(E85) also said that: “The tourists affect those who work in tourism, who adopt their be-
liefs and culture, and who contract physical disease (through those who are not God-fear-
ing)”. (E86) also stated that: “The negatives include adopting their [tourists’] cultures as
if they are ours and doing this is one of the biggest mistakes those influenced by tourism
can make. ‘Foreign’ women marry some of them and they forget their customs and tradi-
tions”. In the same vein (B58) said that: “As for its negatives [tourism], attention was
diverted from the people of the area toward the foreign visitors […] and it led, most of
the time, to impact customs and traditions of the society in an obviously negative way”.
People perceived cultural interaction between host and guest as a threat to their local
culture. At the same time, the hotel life has created an artificial standard of living, which
most of the local people can never attain. That is an additional reason for envy between
those who work in tourism industry and those who do not.
5.2.2 The obsessive concern over decisions regarding land use
Systematic codes and laws for land use have been in existence for almost two decades.
Upon the establishment of PAP as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, a theoreti-
cal “buffer zone” was established around PAP, in which development was to be strictly
controlled in the interests of protecting the site. The precise boundaries of the buffer
zone and the precise rules for development are to this day ambiguous. They were largely
unenforced until 1994, when the PPC was established. Since then, most decisions have
been in the hands of officials at the PPC/PRA/PDTRA, in the absence of transparent
guidelines for those decisions.
On a practical political and economic level, resentment exists because land is one of the
few commodities which most local people possess and the value of which has increased,
but the ability to sell or develop it has been severely inhibited by problems at the insti-
tutional (government) level.
At the level of cultural semiotics, it is important to keep in mind the profound identifica-
tion between the physical geography of the Wadi Musa area and the ḥamāyil of Bani
Laith, which mirrors a typical identification between tribe and land throughout Arab
cultures. For the development and value of land to be thus controlled and the rules of
control unclear to landowners is akin to having your tribal heritage confiscated and
the means to regain it unclear. The fact that it has been confiscated in order to protect
a cultural heritage site identified by a foreign institution and protected for the sake (it
would appear to local eyes) of millions of foreigners only exacerbates their sense of be-
ing alienated from their own world. The best example concerning land use is al-Dārah
land, which is owned by a group from al-‘baidiyyeh in Wadi Musa. According to (Mr.
M.S.H.): “Once I was at the Minister’s office in Amman. Two foreigners arrived and
they spoke with the Minister in the English language. They told him that the World Bank
has agreed to pay JD100,000 for each dunum of land at al-Dārah. People (land owners)
could keep the land registered by their names, but they have to sign an official contract
to guarantee that the land must remain green without any development […] after a few
months, I was taken by surprise when I knew that the land was sold completely with
JD35,000 only to the PRA and the owners had to transfer the land’s property rights to
them […] that was shocking”.
This case was pursued by people from Wadi Musa to discover that no one ever has the
right to claim this land back. PRA signed a contract with a contractor from Saudi Ara-
bia to develop the land and to build a tourist village and a handicrafts centre on it. The
contract period reached an end without any development on the ground. The contractor
has once visited the area in a helicopter and they showed him the land from the air and
still nothing has been done.
Um Ṣayḥoun was also land taken from a group of people from Wadi Musa and the
government built housing for al-Bidoul on it. The former owners of the land have never
been compensated for losing their land, which they used to cultivate and plant trees on,
just before the land was taken in 1986.
In addition, the use of land at Baiḍa and the scenic road between Wadi Musa and Ṭaybeh
is still unclear. Land owners cannot use it for any purpose. When they go to the PDTRA,
they say la, mamnouʻ (no, it is not allowed).
5.2.3 Perception that tourism has made people greedy
This is the perception that tourism has made people greedy and materialistic, coupled
with envy of the goods and opportunities of the minority who benefit materially from
tourism: Tourism has always been an occupation of ambivalent status in Wadi Musa, if
not in Jordan as a whole. People working in the tourism industry have long been thought
of locally as workers running after tourists for handouts. Tourism has traditionally been
regarded as a “lowly” profession for the less educated, and the idea persists that tour-
ism spoils people, that there is a dissonance between religious observance and tourism,
which encourages immoral behaviour.
As the numbers tentatively suggest, however, the people working in tourism are faring
better economically than their fellow citizens and the local economic balance is skewed
by tourism. The aesthetic of the hotels, as mentioned above, offers a lifestyle unattain-
able by virtually everyone in Wadi Musa, yet influences local tastes and aspirations.
Thus there is an uncomfortable combination of resentment, social superiority and envy
directed from non-tourism families towards those working in tourism.
148 Chapter 5
In this context (F78) stated: “Awful – bad. The income from tourism is in the pockets of
the big [people], and we, the small [people], are scarcely on the margin, which has been
cut, finally. What a pity”. Those who dominate tourism – “the big” – are reducing the
chances of “the small” to benefit”.
(A02) also stated: “I see tourism in Petra as tourism from which [only] a limited num-
ber of individuals benefit […]” (B41) stated: “The question remains, why do not all
residents of the area benefit from tourism? Hence some started building their houses
and bought cars out of money from tourism and some do not even earn a single dinar
from tourism […] Isn’t that inequality?”. (B03) said: “Any real benefit [from tourism] is
limited and in the hands of a known and restricted group in the city”.
It has been illustrated that the wealth from tourism revenue is not shared equally amongst
the people of Wadi Musa. That has created a feeling of envy between those who benefit
and those who suffer the negative impacts of tourism without reaping any of its benefits.
This statement is arguable in the sense that there are direct, indirect and induced eco-
nomic effects of tourism on the local community at Petra.
5.2.4 Internal conflict amongst tourism providers
Tourism providers themselves experience internal conflict parallel to the conflicted

opinions described above. Arab-Muslim culture is governed by a strong code of honour
and shame entwined with intricate guest-host codes and traditional low estimations of
“service” work. Much of this outlook is undergirded by the sunnah.
Tourism offers opportunities – e. g., travelling alone with women and consuming al-
cohol or other recreational substances – which the relatively unsophisticated local
majority assumes no one is strong enough to resist. Accepting money for hospitality,
“serving” foreigners in your own land, engaging in behaviour which is inconsistent
with the sunnah – all “go against the grain” of local moral assumptions. Tourism pro-
viders must constantly fortify themselves against explicit and tacit condemnation by
their fellow citizens, often eroding self-esteem or resulting, at least, in a conflicted
sense of self.
5.2.5 Perception that tourists are given legal priority over residents
Another recurring motif was the perception that tourists are given legal priority over
local residents and prevail in competition for resources and planning for the future. In
legal disputes tourists’ claims and interests inevitably prevail over locals’, even when
no evidence can be produced for a tourist’s claim. In normal town life – in traffic, medi-
cal care and commercial transactions – tourists are given priority. When locals frequent
tourist facilities they are regarded with suspicion.
Tourists are preferred in the competition for resources. For example, the average tourist
“costs” the Region 300 m3 water per day before recreation, whereas the average wa-
ter supply per capita in Maʻan Directorate, including industrial use, is 214 m3 (UNEP,
2011: 418). Tourists are provided with swimming pools, lawns, gardens, high-water-use
bathroom facilities and daily laundry, while there are no public pools, playing fields or
public green spaces for residents.
In SMP’s first public presentation of the Master Plan, the opening slide, entitled “Vision
for the Petra Region”, read:
“To become a world-class tourism destination based on Petra’s unique, well-pre-

served and authentic cultural and natural heritage, providing outstanding service
quality and environmental standards to visitors and locals alike” (PDTRA, 2010).
In a two hour presentation, however, one slide was devoted to “Investment Promotion”
and every point under both “Small-scale investment opportunities” and “National and
foreign direct investments” concerned tourism. No other investment or development
opportunities were put forth.
5.2.6 The final element in defining crisis incorporates its causes
It is clear at this point that the institutional response at the national level to change in the
Petra Region has been inappropriate, at least vis-à-vis the local population (clearly the
goals at the national level are different from those of the local population).
The changes – which are indeed the direct results of massively increased tourism – did
not begin, however, with N7W. Society is changing constantly; but the rate of change
began to accelerate in 1994, when the peace treaty with Israel encouraged a sudden
increase in tourism (Hazbun, 2002: 334ff.). Tourism in turn increased the economic im-
portance of Petra to Jordan, resulting in the transfer of institutional power and economic
benefit out of local hands into the realm of government at national level. The rapidity
and scale of change in the wake of N7W, however, brought the situation to a crisis point.
In the same vein, that is what the 2010 elections process also illuminated: the dialogue
within the community about its own responses to change.
Let us take a brief look at change in tourist destination sites from the perspective of two
classic models, and fall back on what has been summarized in Chapter Two (sections:
2.2.3.5 and 2.2.3.6): George Doxey’s well-known “Irridex” (“irritation index”) model
and R. W. Butler’s famous “TALC” (Tourism Area Life Cycle).
George Doxey’s “Irridex” (“irritation index”) model of community attitudes toward

tourism offers a useful starting point for understanding the relationship between the host
community – the tourist destination – and the visitors themselves.
150 Chapter 5
It is evident from the foregoing discussion that Wadi Musa has reached Stage 3 on
the Irridex model: Irritation, characterized by a significant increase in visitor numbers,
external commercial interests, and competition for resources between tourists and resi-
dents – and certainly residents are concerned about tourism. In fact, the “irritation” level
is verging on antagonism. In addition, hatred towards tourists started to appear as well as
a kind of hostility. It is an alarming issue that hospitality from locals might change into
open hostility towards tourism. An example from the broad-sweep surveys expressed
that hostility. (A15) stated: “I do not get any benefit from tourism. I pray to Allah to cut
it off and never bring it back”. With a similar hostile feeling (A51) said: “I wish from
Allah the Highest and Mightiest, to break it down forever”.
It seems that the stagnation stage in Butler’s TALC model has been reached. One might
also say that Petra is approaching saturation level – at which appropriate planning and re-
sponse to the “irritation level” might rejuvenate the site. Failure to accommodate the stress-
es which followed in the wake of N7W, however, may lead to the decline of the destination.
As already mentioned in Chapter Two, John Ap (1993) applied social exchange theory
to the models of Doxey, asserting that “residents evaluate tourism in terms of social ex-
change, that is, evaluate it in terms of expected benefits or costs obtained in return for the
services they supply” (670). Tourism is viewed positively by the host community when the
exchange of resources is relatively high for the host community. However, this still needs
to be further investigated as the discussion in this chapter is developed.
The complicated involvement of government and international agencies in Petra Region

suggests that even the tourism providers who are benefiting from the social exchange in
simple terms of per capita income may, still, not perceive the impact of tourism as, on
balance, positive.
What is clear from our analysis so far is that (1) there is asymmetry in the “exchange”
between visitors and the host community; and (2) that Wadi Musa has reached a critical
threshold on both the Irridex and TALC models.
5.3 Crisis as a liminal period in “social drama”
Renowned anthropologist Victor Turner spent much of his later career writing about how
communities navigate, or negotiate, social and political crisis. Of his own work he writes:
“[…] Crisis, during which there is a tendency for the breach to widen. Each
public crisis has what I now call liminal characteristics, since it is a threshold
(limen) […]” (Turner, 1987: 4-5).
Public crisis is characterized by that liminal period which takes place in the middle of the
rites of passage in the life of the community. It marks the social change in the life of the
community. This change, with its ambiguous characteristics – uncertainty, anxiety and
threats – might push the community from a relatively harmonic state to a disharmonic
situation. This period evolves thorough investigation of both the past and the status quo
and makes an attempt towards readjustment to the situation. “The intervening liminal
period or phase is thus betwixt and between the categories of ordinary social life” (53).
Crisis takes place when the breach period widens. In the case of Wadi Musa the breach
period was a result of accumulative events from 1994–2007. These events facilitated
widening of the breach to characterize Wadi Musa as a community in crisis 2007–2010.
5.3.1 1994 – 2007 as a “breach” period in Wadi Musa
A “breach” in community occurs when a person or group deliberately and publicly fails
to fulfil a normative obligation within the social relations of the community. This failure
of obligation is a symbolic catalyst for confrontation between groups, effecting a con-
flict or crisis. Typically the group or individual believe themselves to be acting in good
faith for the benefit of the community; they are “altruistic” (1974a: 37).
The social drama which was unfolding in Wadi Musa 1994–2007 might be character-
ized as a “breach” period, in which “norm-governed” processes and relationships in
the community were gradually dislocated. The relationship between local people and
government was disrupted. Not only that, but there was also a feeling of envy between
tourism and non-tourism families that was dominant in relationships between people.
There was a steady increase in tourism and hotel construction and the concomitant expo-
sure to other “participant reactive attitudes and associated practices” (Strawson, 1983). In
this context (A25) thought that interaction with tourists in Wadi Musa resulted in value
disorientation: “[…] The alliance of some of the youth (Wadi Musa or Petra) with for-
eign thought is drifting far from religion and Islam and this is the danger to our Arab
and Islamic (local) society”. In an alarming voice regarding the danger resulting from
working in the tourism field, (A26) was foreshadowing that: “Tourism forms a cultural
connection between societies and in Petra poses a danger to many of the youth working
in the tourism sector, […]” To illustrate more of this impact, we heard (A27) saying: “A
lot of [the] youth have learned western habits and ways and customs and they have been
influenced in everything by these. Instead of having scientific, cultural exchange it has be-
come sexual exchange ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ [transliterated in Arabic]. The concept
of tourism has changed from thought and science into the cheapest things.” In supporting
(A27)’s statement, (A51) said: “Tourism in the town spoiled our religion and our youth.”
It was also stated by (B12) that: “[…] the negative impacts resulting from the differences
in culture and tradition between tourists and the people of the district.” Tourist behaviour
is covered by his own cultural set, which differs from the local culture in Wadi Musa.
There seems also a gradual disenfranchisement of the local population from the deci-
sion-making processes in the Region. Here we hear (G04) being critical in saying: “I
152 Chapter 5
think that there is a gap between the decision-makers and the local community. It is not
enough that the local community be involved in tourism, but they should be consulted on
every plan and decision. Petra has a lot of experts from a long time in tourism and it is
most important to take their experience into account”. Excluding representatives of the
local community from decision-making processes concerning their community feeds the
feeling of disenfranchisement amongst the people of Wadi Musa. This was also found
in (C28’s) statement, amongst others: “[…] Disenfranchisement of the people of Petra
from decision-making.” One example of this disenfranchisement is in what was stated
by (A52) about the PDTRA’s decision concerning the back road from the site of Petra:
“As for what we hear about the alternative back road, that is the greatest trouble and
this is an irresponsible and unstudied decision.”
Bureaucratic processes – as discussed in Chapter Four – were becoming gradually more com-
plicated, starting with conversion of the municipality into PPC, PRA and PDTRA, with huge
financial burdens due to such a rapid transformation in the political body in the Petra Region.
The complications also included difficulty with land use permits. People have lost hope in
claiming their land back or even have the possibility of developing it. The sophisticated regu-
lations regarding land came from the issue of the buffer zone for the archaeological park as
well as a result of the ambiguous regulations for land use. All of the aspects mentioned above
were foreshadowing pre-election meetings, interviews and SMP group meetings.
A steady increase in the population of Wadi Musa, with a significant population growth
of three percent, means that within the coming 20 years, the population of Wadi Musa
will be doubled. The steady increase in population includes the youth demographic
group which constitutes almost 75 percent of the population of the Region. This is sig-
nificant when taking into consideration that in 2010 over 27 percent of Jordan’s popula-
tion was between the ages of 20–34 years.
The increase in population also includes the pressure of population growth on Umm
Ṣayḥoun and its threat to Wadi Musa families. Those people have the right to expand
geographically, but there is no space for this expansion.
There is also a steady increase in unemployment which already exists. Adding to that are
the youth who are seeking to enter the workforce. A staggering 48.3 percent is under 20:
they will be seeking employment within the upcoming 20 years.
5.3.2 2007–2010 as a breach/crisis period in Wadi Musa
With N7W, however, the rate and scale of change steepened exponentially, as we have
demonstrated in Chapter Four, bringing the community to the point of social crisis. This
was evident in:
• a massive influx of visitors
• asymmetrical balance in competition for resources in favour of tourists
• a sudden, exponential growth in PDTRA – accompanied by widely publicized

changes in governmental style
• massive and widely publicized growth in tourism income
• sudden, more acute awareness of tourism’s failure to benefit most locals
• critical increase in unemployment as the “youth bulge” increases
• public opposition to SMP
• critical increase in complication and expense of bureaucratic processes
• elections/SMP bringing land use issue and Umm Ṣayḥoun question into the public
forum.
5.3.3 Significance of the 2010 elections to the breach/crisis
The role of the 2010 elections to the Jordanian Parliament was significant in the breach/
crisis in Wadi Musa in highlighting resentments about PDTRA and the master-planning
process. Resentment was voiced clearly in pre-election meetings and speeches in the
electoral campaign. The SMP public presentations and meetings with local stakeholder
groups also became forums for voicing public concerns beyond the scope of the SMP.
The overriding frustration concerned rapid change of local governing bodies, which re-
sulted in many secret decisions in which the local community had no role in terms of the
decision-making process. During the discussions a nostalgia for the elected, 10 member
majlis al-Baladiyyah was a recurring theme. This nostalgia grew out of some of the most
vexing issues regarding the unelected administrations governing Petra Region since 1995:
• increasingly high taxation and fees on licensing and permitting;

• new restrictions on land use;
• lack of notable progress and development on the ground;
• increased bureaucracy and delays in conducting business, compared to the simpler
process of the Baladiyyah: the fact that the Baladiyyah was elected, but the new
administrations were appointed by the Prime Minister, and the associated perception
that the new governing bodies were insufficiently familiar with the Region.
The youth’s concerns were somewhat different from that of the elder group who made
up most of the electoral caucus.
5.3.3.1 Recurring themes expressed in pre-election meetings
5.3.3.1.1 The desire for a relatively young MP
The desire of the local people, especially the youth, in Wadi Musa was for a relatively
young MP who “speaks their language” and responds to their needs; a “space” in public
discourse to express themselves differently from the mechanisms imposed on them by
the elder generation.
154 Chapter 5
Audiences illustrated their perceptions about the qualifications of their representative in

Parliament. This was stated by many people, such as (S. M. M.), who said: “We want one
of the youth – someone enthusiastic, someone who understands, someone who comes
from a life closest to that of the people of Wadi Musa”. (M. M. T.) also confirmed this
by saying: “[…] and the need is an urgent need for a person who is capable of making
the voice and the demands of the society reach government, especially in Wadi Musa”.
(I. A.) said: “The one who I trust will be capable of achieving the hopes, not only those
of my own, but also those of the people […] and that he was educated in the first place”.
In the same vein (H. E. I. A.) said: “However, through their experience and their coex-
istence [people of Petra] with this person [the candidate] they felt that he would be
the representative who is capable of representing them and making their voice heard
and of developing the tourism situation in the region because of the previous experi-
ence he has”. Another interviewee (O. M. H.) said: “[…] and I was supporting him [the
candidate] for many reasons, among them being he is an educated person, aware and
conscious of the concerns of the people”. (H. A.) also stressed qualifications includ-
ing education, honesty and strength to critique decision makers: “The MP we want to
choose must be cultured and educated […] I would describe him thus, that he is a cul-
tured person and a person who could possibly achieve anything honestly, and the best
thing about him is that he is honest and sincere […] I believe that the elected person
must be from the town, and knows the needs of people, and understands the problems
of people, and knows the shortcomings of rulers who rule the country”. [She actually
meant by ‘rulers’, the government].
It was obvious from (S. T.’s) statement that: “[…] of course nā’ib ijmāʻ 62 with convic-
tion and not only ijmāʻ, because he is the nā’ib who deserves nomination from all. And
not because it is only tribalism and the tribes of the region have given consent for him
as they did for the previous nā’ib, but he was the nā’ib with conviction from people
more than being only nā’ib ijmāʻ”. At the same time, (S. N. H.) stressed the fact that the
candidate must feel the pains of the people and know their needs: “[…] very close to
the worries of the people, he very much feels [for] them, being one of them and living
among them and he knows more than anyone else what these people need and what they
do not need”.
5.3.3.1.2 The need for better public services
There was an urgent need for better public services for the people in the Region. The
top priorities of all these needs were educational opportunities and better health care.
In describing the candidate, the aspiration was evident about electing a candidate who
felt people’s sufferings, as (S. N. H.) stated: “Wadi Musa has huge problems still needing
62 Consensus is the word for coalition. The Arabic word is ijmāʻ, which means that people decide to coalesce
on one person as one unified candidate to represent them in Parliament.
to be resolved, whether that is education or health […] He was touching [on]people’s

problems and he saw the hardship [in which] they are living and he felt [for]them […] it
is necessary to consider such concerns and more”. (I. A.) said: “[…] This needs to reach
the Minister of Health, so he can support the hospital with very good medical staff, not
trainees; not to bring trainees to the hospital, because this is a big, huge hospital. It
needs a very advanced medical staff, and they must be willing to give care for people,
because it is a tourism centre”. The need for better tourism services arose as stated
by (A08): “The current situation with regard to tourism services, i. e., promotion and
public services, is very poor. They need greater care on the part of decision makers and
the PDTRA.” In the same context, (A13) stated that: “[…] and the services presented
by the Iqlim are terrible, with very high cost (for nothing). I wish there existed projects
which would make tourists stay longer than one day.” As for other services she stated:
“[…] Also the government departments sector. Yaʻni [that means] they need support for
them here in Wadi Musa. We need a directorate for civil defence and a directorate of
general security. It also needs support. It is not only that we need a directorate, it also
needs real concern. And agriculture, the agricultural sector here needs support because
there is little agricultural structure […]” While some people acknowledged the existing
services, some others highlighted the desire for better services in all aspects of life in
the Petra Region.
5.3.3.1.3 The urgent need for more job opportunities
This critical need for job opportunities was voiced in most of the meetings and interviews.
Here we have (S.N.H.) who said: “[…] the most important point is that he [the antici-
pated MP] solves the youth unemployment. I am saying that the female youth may stay at
home and there might be no problem, but the male youth are the most important because
men are supposed to establish houses. If they do not find a job here they are obliged to
leave either to Amman or other cities or outside Jordan. That means dismissing the youth
from Wadi Musa”. Not only male youths need jobs, but also females. It was observed that
recently the female youths who have jobs have better chances of getting married.
Another observation by a lady (H. S. A), who was watching the maqar [election pro-
cess, literally elections tent], noticed that: “The maqar was in the midst of people – we
were listening to the youths’ speeches, who were calling for elevating the country and
calling for the statutory rights of the youth and women’s rights, who are, in my point of
view, buried at home. They have no work or anything. Wallāh [I swear by the name of
Allāh], I hoped that, yaʻni, [that means] I would hear that opportunities would open up
for them, but until now I haven’t heard, I haven’t seen, I do not know […] The speech
of Mr. Sami focused on youth and on, mmmm, the elevation of Petra and the people of
Petra[…]” (A32) also said: “More job opportunities for the sons of Petra in tourism
and others so the sons of Petra can live in it”. It was asserted that having a job in Petra
would encourage Petra residents to stay there without being obliged to leave in search
of job opportunities elsewhere.
156 Chapter 5
5.3.3.1.4 Access to decision-making processes concerning their region
In pre-election meetings and debates, members of the local electoral caucus – about
which more will be said later – determined that they would work toward selecting a
candidate for Parliament who was educated and a tourism professional, through whom
they hoped to be supported by someone who could wield the authority to investigate
and control decisions and actions concerning their region; to find new investments and
projects to benefit them, find or create jobs, create better access to education and schol-
arships and develop a strategy for equal distribution of the wealth from tourism.
(I. A) stated: “[…] especially the tourism sector, it needs support. And he [the candi-
date] knows […] therefore, he knows the tourism sector and he knows what that sector
needs. And he knows the need of the town for this sector […] because this sector is the
main financial source of the economy of the people of the town. Yaʻni [that means] most
of them are working in tourism, but they do not get their rights in a greater form from
this tourism. Yaʻni they were hit with a big stone 63, because the main source for the
people of Wadi Musa comes from tourism, although the overwhelming majority do not
work in tourism or anything. Not all of them work in tourism”.
5.3.3.1.5 Resentment over lack of control over regional aspects
Certain themes emerged from meetings with both generations, including resentment
over lack of control over Regional aspects, i. e. development, planning and decision-
making. One view that was expressed was: “It has become evident that the officials are
very careless in their attitude toward making Petra one of the New Seven Wonders of
the World. For real benefits to come to the local community it must be made truly that.
It is the job of the Ministry of Tourism to lift Petra and make it excel by means of large-
scale projects. I find that the Ministry of Tourism is to be blamed for not giving Petra
its right”. (A58) stated: “Failure to invest in development projects in Petra […] It is
necessary that all officials in the Iqlīm al-Batra’ [PDTRA] and JTB promote the site, not
only by writing brochures and making offers or reducing the price of the tickets, but also
by developing the site in a modern way”.
(A67) said: “I, as a citizen of Petra, say, we do not benefit from tourism from Petra in
general, because it was established on a false base, and it does not initiate projects to
raise its economic level, because tourism means that we should establish projects so that
the area can prosper as a whole […] The essential development in this city will never
happen. Petra lacks general services, parks to attract tourists and to supply a better
income for the city”.
63 When people refer to such a metaphor “they were hit with a big stone”, they actually mean that people
other than those who work in the tourism industry have obtained great wealth, but the truth might be
something different from what they think.
In terms of planning, (A90) stated: “Tourism in Petra needs successful and effective
planning because this area needs a lot of supporting services, especially entertain-
ment”. At the same time (F73) said: “[…] there is no development at the current time
and there are a lot of lies”. [He actually meant ‘lies’ in terms of projects and develop-
ment in Petra]. In a more frustrated tone (A59) advocated: “[…] there do not exist quali-
fied people to do correct planning. We need geniuses, from engineers, organizers, and
builders of walls and painters of sides of streets; we probably need an act of God with a
destructive earthquake, for example, God forbid, to bring it back to its natural face and
to rebuild it again, because of our inability to appreciate this valuable treasure which
God gave us.” In this view there is a need to start from ashes to plan the whole region
again in a better way. (B98) added yet another layer to the desire for better planning in
terms of improving infrastructure and more promotion in order to reach a certain level
of sustainable tourism: “It [Petra] doesn’t get the real concern for sustainable planning
sufficient for the continuity of its attractiveness. There is a weakness of promotion and
the bad infrastructure of the region of Wadi Musa, which is supposed to be at a very
high level, compared to the other tourist sites in Jordan, because it is recognized as the
icon of Jordan.” The need for planning was at the heart of that resentment over lack of
control over regional planning and development.
5.3.3.1.6 Resentment about the establishment of PDTRA
The establishment of PDTRA in 2009 was perceived as expensive, bureaucratic and of

no interest to the local community, which culminated in resentment toward the admin-
istrative entity in Petra Region. This was evident in what (A05) stated: “[…] Shortcom-
ings in fulfilling the obligations toward Petra in all government departments, and top
among them, Sulṭat Iqlīm al-Batra’ [Petra Regional Authority], Maḥmiyyat al-Batra’
[Petra Archaeological Park] […]” PDTRA was often referred to as the government
because it represents the government responsibility in Petra. (A35) expressed a view
as follows: “[…] it makes you sad when you see all the shortcomings from the govern-
ment’s side toward this treasure on which the lives of the people of the town dwellers
depend”.
(A41) explained more about the issues for which the PDTRA was blamed: “[…] and
there are points that government should focus on: 1) giving the site and the city the
greatest care when Petra is considered the first in bringing money to the government
in Jordan; 2) bad services in the city; 3) squandering the funds of the city without any
reason; 4) working on extremely expensive projects when we know that the cost of such
projects is low; 5) the rising prices in the city without services being mentioned, such
as hotels; 6) the government not paying essential attention to the worries of the local
people; 7) absence of interest in the local situation of the city of Petra; 8) failure by the
government to attract investors to the city; 9) failure to create recreational amenities,
especially when the tourist spends a very hard day in the city”. In summary, what was
being expressed here, essentially, represents:
158 Chapter 5
• the perception that foreign investment is being courted while local investment, de-
velopment and job creation are ignored;
• resentment of tourism: tourists are perceived as taking priority over locals who suf-
fer the pressures of hugely increased tourism without reaping the benefits;
• envy of families in the tourism business: a perception that tourism income is un-
equally deployed.
It can be revealed that the ongoing discussion supports what was suggested by the Ir-
ridex model. It can be stated that Wadi Musa was “betwixt and between” the stages of
irritation and antagonism. In Butler’s model the community was at the juncture – the
threshold – of either rejuvenation or decline.
Within the community the youth were challenging the authorities – shoyoukh and
makhātīr 64 – of the older generation to share power and to change the bleak outlook for
their future. The older generation threatened to retreat into traditional tribal forms of
government. Both generations, however, were alienated by the bureaucratic authorities,
i. e., the PDTRA and the national government, and demanded that they turn their interest
to the local community rather than continuing to treat tourism as a privileged activity.
By the time the official elections period began, the traditional tribal persona of Wadi
Musa, was, in fact, to use Turner’s language, “daring the representatives of order to
grapple with it” (Turner, 1987: 2).
5.4 The liminal character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa
Turner’s concept of liminality is founded in his earliest work on Ndembu ritual, but
pervades his thought throughout a lifetime of scholarship.
The term limen is Latin for “threshold”, a tangible or intangible margin between one sta-
tus and another. Turner originally used it to characterize the ambiguous period in a rite
of passage, during which the subject is “betwixt and between” his former status and his
new status in the community. “Betwixt and between” refers to the fact that he possesses
elements of both the old and new, but he is at neither point.
Liminal states are by definition “dangerous” or “threatening” because of their very am-
biguity and uncertainty, just as persons whose role and status in a community are un-
known are suspect or threatening. In “The Anthropology of Performance” Turner writes:
“Each public crisis has what I now call liminal characteristics, since it is a
threshold (limen) between more or less stable phases of the social process, but it
64 (Shoyoukh, s. Shaikh), (makhātīr, s. mukhtār).

is not usually a sacred limen, hedged around by taboos and thrust away from the
centres of public life. On the contrary it takes up its menacing stance in the forum
itself, and, as it were, dares the representatives of order to grapple with it” (4).
It can be argued that Wadi Musa, by the end of 2010, was a community in breach/crisis,
occupying such a “menacing stance”, a difficult liminal period during which, as we will
see, many were concerned that violence might break out. Actions against the local and
national government might take place. Real reactions might occur as an embodiment of
the liminal character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa, as we will demonstrate presently.
5.4.1 Embodiment character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa
To continue with a “thick description” of Wadi Musa, it was important to trace these dramatic
moments in the life of my community which brought the needs and feelings of people to the
forefront. “Crisis takes up its menacing stance in the forum itself, and, as it were, dares the
representatives of order to grapple with it” (Turner, 1987: 2). These consequent events were
real actions and natural responses of the people of Wadi Musa that took several forms, such as:
• Shutting down of the main road to Wadi Musa and the PDTRA offices by some peo-
ple of Wadi Musa, 3 August 2011.
• The akshāk (kiosks) problem, 25 November 2011.
• Closure of the main entrance to Wadi Musa by unemployed shabāb (youth) and a
demand for jobs, 14 June 2012.
• Banning of the anniversary celebration of the rediscovery of Petra, 21 August 2012.
• Resentment of the Strategic Master Plan, 6 November 2012.
• Claims to change the Board of Commissioners of Petra, 6 November 2012.
• Disapproval of returning JD 6 million to the Treasury, 30 December 2012.
• Horse and camel owners’ quarrel, 3 April 2013.
• The Petra By Night protest, 18 December 2013.
In what follows, let us turn to describe these actions as “thick” as possible in an attempt
to understand those various events that brought the area to the brink of crisis or even
further to the heart of crisis by 2011, 2012, 2013.
5.4.1.1 Shutting down of the PDTRA
An article published by al-Ra’i News’s 65 correspondent, Ziyād al-Ṭwaisi on 4 August

2011 entitled “Shutting down of the main road to Wadi Musa and the PDTRA offices by
some people of Wadi Musa” reported the following:
65 http://www.alrai.com/article/478235.html
160 Chapter 5
“Citizens in Petra Region yesterday closed the main roads leading to the town
of Wadi Musa, in protest at what they described as negligence of the government
in Petra.
The protesters who closed the Petra Commission building and prevented employees
from entering it during official working hours demanded that the government should
reverse its recent decision to appoint a commissioner of PDTRA. They considered
that this appointment is contrary to the law of PDTRA, because the vacant position
of Commissioner must be filled by an engineer who is a specialist in the field of in-
frastructure. The protesters, who have built a tent in front of the northern entrance
to the city and have prevented vehicles from entering the territory, demanded the
dissolution of the Board of Commissioners of Petra, and a new council to be formed
that can serve in the best interests and development of Petra. They pointed out that
the present Board is faltering in its management of the affairs of the region […].
The Member of Parliament for the Petra Region – Sami al-Hasanat – said that
the PDTRA building was closed yesterday and its employees were prevented from
entering it, as well as all the main roads being closed in protest against the negli-
gence of the government of Petra. The recent decision of the authority – to appoint
a commissioner to an inappropriate position in the authority of the region – was
also contested by al-Hasanat who was demanding that the appointment of the
Commissioner by the Council of Ministers should be reconsidered, and that the
staff of the Authority of Petra should be treated fairly. Al-Hasanat stated that the
current situation experienced by the city of Petra represented a lack of growth and
development and was a clear indication of the government’s neglect. He called
for an annulment of the Board of Commissioners of the PDTRA which had not
achieved the ambition of the region to gain its global tourism position […]. He
pointed out that the government had worked for many years on marginalization of
the local community in Petra, and the injustice to its graduates of obtaining senior
governmental positions […] Al-Hasanat demanded that the living standards of the
people, the majority of whom pay tourism tax, should be raised, and that the sala-
ries of the Commissioners of the PDTRA should be reduced, with open recruitment
of the people of the region, in addition to taking into account fairness and efficien-
cy in the appointment to the PDTRA […] Al-Hasanat gave an assurance that these
protests would continue until the demands were implemented, and that the mis-
taken decisions by the government regarding the city would be reversed […]” 66
My narration of this event somehow complements the published article. My interpreta-

tion of this event is based on my participation as a former MP of Petra Region (9 No-
vember 2010–4 November 2012) as well as a witness of that episode.
66 Translated into English by Ahmad al-Amarat.

People of Wadi Musa heard about the appointment of an unqualified person from Maʻan
to serve as a commissioner of financial and administrative affairs at PDTRA.
People expressed their resentment about this decision. Many meetings at the dīwāns of
tribes took place. Shoyoukh and dignitaries of Petra declared that the appointment of that
commissioner was wrong for three reasons. Firstly, PDTRA needed an engineer, not a
financial commissioner; secondly, the new commissioner was not qualified to take the
vacant position in PDTRA; thirdly, the law according to which PDTRA was established
does not provide for PDTRA to appoint a financial and administrative commissioner,
only for the appointment of the infrastructure and urban planning commissioner who al-
ready exists. They demonstrated that in Petra there is more need to employ many of their
children with the same salary that the government would pay for one commissioner.
They conveyed this message clearly and expressed their resentment about that decision.
I personally conveyed the message to both the Prime Minister and the Minister of the
Interior. I talked to the PM on at least six separate occasions about this issue. Each time
I was promised that the appointment would be stopped.
After all the local objection to the appointment of the new commissioner, on 2 August
2011, a Royal decree was issued to appoint the same – unwanted – person as a commis-
sioner of financial and administrative affairs at PDTRA.
On Thursday, 3 August 2011 a large number of angry people from Wadi Musa protested
in front of the PDTRA building and made moves to close it completely. None of the
employees, including the four commissioners, were allowed to enter their offices for
the following three days. The protesters took the keys of the PDTRA building, they
handed them to me as their representative, and moved towards the main entrance to the
city of Wadi Musa. Thousands of people gathered and within a short time the two main
carriageways in and out of Wadi Musa were blocked by huge tents. Banners against the
government and its irresponsible decisions were hung up in prominent places and also
included wording regarding anti-corruption and bad governmental decisions.
The PM tried to put an end to the situation but he was threatened by the people of Petra
who announced that if any extra police or gendarmerie were sent into the area, they
would be perceived as a real challenge. Mediation by senior figures from Wadi Musa who
still have contact with government was refused by the people of Petra. After three days of
protest and closure of the PDTRA building and all the government departments in Petra,
a delegation from the people of Petra went to talk with the PM at his office in Amman.
The PM and Minister of the Interior were cowed and threatened during that meeting.
The PM begged the delegation to calm down and to end their protest. They assured him
that they had been sent to represent the people of Petra and that they would return to
them with definitive answers and not the false promises as had happened on six previ-
ous occasions. The PM begged them for their help with the situation and that the com-
missioner might go to his office at PDTRA for one or two weeks and then they would
162 Chapter 5
send him elsewhere in the government. The delegation swore that the commissioner
would never enter PDTRA, even for one hour. They also talked to the PM about opening
PDTRA for new employees since there was a need in Petra for them.
The most they threatened the PM with was retreating to the old form of Baladiyyah in-
stead of the Iqlīm. They told him openly that the Iqlīm is only a hindrance in the face of de-
velopment and is perceived as an extra and, indeed, unwanted burden on their shoulders.
Where and what was my position in the middle of this episode?
I was the Member of Parliament of the Petra Region (9 November 2010–4

November 2012) at the time of shutting down the PDTRA building and I was
the one who conveyed the clear message of the local people to the PM himself
through face-to-face communication. I warned him many times about the conse-
quences of the appointment decision. I told him that people were not at all happy
with the government’s policy in Petra and that they felt that the government had
neglected their needs. I drew his attention to the importance of Petra and its sig-
nificance to the Jordanian economy. I also told him in numbers how the people of
Petra do not benefit from tourism revenue generated from their city.
I realized that he was just giving me false promises to shut me up until the Royal
decree was issued. I only realized that when the decree was issued on 2 August
2011. I drove to the PDTRA building and found that the news was absolutely true
and the decree had arrived at the office of the Head of Commissioners at PDTRA.
Calmly, I closed the main entrance of PDTRA and announced to the peo-
ple who gathered in front of the main entrance that PDTRA had been closed
on behalf of the local community at Petra. I called the President of the Royal
Court, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Tourism and the General
Director of Public Security, the King’s consultant on economy and invest-
ments and the speaker of the Parliament. I put them all in the true picture of
what had happened in Petra in the past and about what was going on pres-
ently. I justified the decision of the people of Petra to close PDTRA, includ-
ing that there were no jobs for the youth, income is dominated by particular
people and the government itself. I also announced that the appointment of
the unwanted commissioner was the “straw that breaks the camel’s back”.
I led the protesters towards ‘Ain Musa, the main entrance of the city. They built
a huge tent blocking both the entrance and the exit to the city. I talked to people
openly about the lies that the PM told me. I also listened to them and understood
their position and what the consequences were that led to the closure of PDTRA
and Wadi Musa for both tourists and any other government agents.
I led the local delegation which went to the PM’s office in Amman. I was the last
to talk after all the members of the delegation said all that they had to say. I told
the PM that I was the one who had told him about how bad the situation was and
still is in Petra, but he had never listened to anything l had said. I told everyone
at the meeting that it was possible by this point to judge who was telling the truth
and who had lied. I told him that I would never listen to him in the future and that
I would go to talk to His Majesty about the situation in Petra and about the terrible
treatment and mistakes of the government in Petra.
I did speak to the King about all of this during a lengthy meeting, but nothing
has changed since that time up to the present. Neither government nor the King
has responded to any of the demands of the local community. The commissioner
took up his job and corruption continues as that commissioner had been ap-
pointed to a job that he didn’t do, but was transferred to become a consultant at
the Prime Minister’s office. Petra and its people are still ignored.
5.4.1.2 The akshāk (kiosks) problem
An article published by Zād al-Urdon News 67 on 25 November 2011 reported the following:
“Protesters continue to install the akshāk, [Kiosks] beside the Petra visitor cen-
tre: Unemployed protesters in Wadi Musa continued to place unlicensed stalls
and gifts and antiques tables, beside Petra visitor centre […] The road that con-
nects the visitor centre with the tourist bus station was transformed into a shop-
ping mall as a result of the spread of a large number of stalls and tables during
the past two days […].
A number of protesters and their families who do not derive any benefit from
tourism have taken this action because of the inability of the relevant authorities
to find a solution to the problem of unemployment, and to demand distribution
of the profits of tourism and the granting of sales licences to be done fairly. The
protesters said that they would not remove the stalls until they were assured of
job opportunities, or the removal of the parties responsible for removing all the
stalls and places that infringed on sales in the archaeological area, which was
affecting the reputation of tourism.
One of the protestors, Abdul Rahman Nasrat, said that this step was being taken
as a result of increased unemployment, especially among graduates, and be-
67 http://www.jordanzad.com/index.php?page=article&id=63177
164 Chapter 5
cause the officials of the Petra Commission had not responded, despite the avail-
ability of vacant jobs in the Petra Commission.
Nasrat stated that workable solutions were required to address the serious prob-
lem of unemployment in the district, and to achieve fairness in the granting of
sales licences, in order to prevent aggravation of the protest, which could seri-
ously affect tourism in the city.
Ahmad Alhilalat, the president of the Association of owners of stores that sell
antiques, declared that the officials had been warned more than once, and that
the injustice of granting licences would be met with large protests by the citizens
of Petra. Engineer Mohammad Abu Alghanam, the head of the Board of Com-
missioners of the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority, gave as-
surances that there would be a meeting with the elders of Wadi Musa in the Petra
Region, and that they would try to reach an agreement regarding a deadline for
the authority to study the requests for permits for the shops and stalls, and to find
an appropriate solution accordingly.
Abu Alghanam emphasised that the Petra Authority was working hard to achieve
justice in the distribution of the profits of development, and mentioned the plans
and programmes that would be implemented in the future, with the aim of main-
streaming the benefits of tourism to the local community.” 68
On Tuesday evening, 22 November 2011, the second significant dramatic moment in the
life of the community took place. I will describe the events of that evening in my own
words as a witness to and participant in what occurred.
On that evening, I received a phone call from Dr. Hani al-Nawāfleh, the former MP
for the seat of Petra in the Jordanian Parliament. He told me that three of the shoyoukh
al-ʻbaidiyyeh had set up their kiosks to sell souvenirs and that the youths did the same
thing in response to the shoyoukh action. I told him that I was in Amman dealing with
the government speech of confidence. I assured him that I would be in Wadi Musa on
Wednesday evening and that I would deal with the problem then.
On the same evening, I received many other phone calls from many people in Wadi
Musa. The most significant was from Osama al-Helālāt who told me that the youths had
their tables and kiosks open along the road from the parking lot of the tourist buses at
the main gate of Petra. I tried to persuade him to convince his colleagues to evacuate
the place. He tried to talk to them, but they refused to leave. I repeated that I would be
coming to Wadi Musa on Wednesday.

After I listened to the speech for confidence in the government, I drove to Wadi Musa,
arriving at 5 pm. I walked the whole road where the youths had installed containers and
tables with souvenirs on them. Everyone came and shook hands with me. I told them
with a big smile on my face that all this seemed manageable, but needed to be better
organized. At the end of the walk I chose an open area at the entrance of Petra, expecting
that everyone would gather there. More than 200 young men gathered and started yell-
ing. I told them that I had come from Amman especially in order to listen to them and to
try to solve their problem. They all sat down and brought a chair for me so that I could
sit and listen to them. I refused to sit on the chair and instead sat down on the floor and
said: “All right, what is going on?”.
They pointed towards Jihad al-Helālāt so that he could tell me what had happened. He
thanked me for coming to listen to them and said that he had been nominated by his col-
leagues to join the committee they had established to negotiate with the PDTRA. He told
me that they had been there for two nights. “We decided to come here and install our
kiosks in order to earn our living. We want to benefit from tourism. We feel that it’s time
to share the income of Petra. There are some people who are getting richer and richer.
We only pay taxes and suffer the impacts of tourism on our community, but we get noth-
ing in return. We are living in one of the most expensive places in Jordan. Some of us
are unemployed. And some have very low salaries. We can’t afford to live in the region
anymore. Prices are awfully expensive and enough is enough. We have been trying to
tolerate the situation, but we can’t any more”. He went on and on and on. I was listening
carefully to him and to all those who spoke after him.
I thanked them for all that they had mentioned and said: “Well, do you think that what
you’ve done is the solution?” They replied: “If it wasn’t the solution then at least it will
raise the matter’s profile. We just need someone who can find a solution for our problem.
We hoped that you, Sami, might help us and find a solution for our problems”. I said:
You have chosen me to represent you. I have been doing my job all the last year. I tried
to find solutions for your problem, but all the work I have been doing needed time. One
year is not enough to complete the projects I have been working on. During the last year
three governments with at least five changes of ministers have taken place. Each time
the government changes, I have to start all over again.
I also told them: “I have been working day and night on projects to provide you with
sustainable jobs. I was building up a strategy that would make you all benefit from the
income of tourism to Petra. I just want you to be a little more patient so that I can have
something done to help you and your families. I do not have a magic wand and nothing
can be done overnight. Please help me to help you. I want you to trust me and to give
me enough time to finish what I have started for you. If you want to benefit from Petra
properly, then what you are doing now is not proper. It would never take you anywhere. I
want you to think big for yourselves and for the future of your children. Do you not have
any other vision rather than having a horse number or a small kiosk? Do you not want to
have a better future for your children? Do you not want a better income?”
166 Chapter 5
They all replied “yes”.
I told them further: “I can understand your frustration. I understand that you’ve been
waiting for things to become better. I know all this because I am one of you. As you all
know, I have lived all my life with you. This is the reason why I understand what you
feel and feel with you”.
They asked me what was wanted of them now. I replied that I wanted them to move the
tables and kiosks and to give me enough time to do something.
While we were talking together, some of the youths were yelling that they would not move
and that no one could persuade them to move. I noticed that there were more active youths
whom I thought I could persuade. The meeting finished without any further progress.
I left them at 8 pm after spending almost 3 hours with them. I then went to the gover-
nor’s office where I found the Director of General Security for the Petra Region and the
director of the tourist police. We started talking about the problem. They assured me that
none of the youths had behaved in a negative or bad way. They were all very polite and
assured me that they empathized with them. After almost half an hour the head of the
commissioners arrived. We all told him that these people were right in what they were
doing, but that we didn’t want them to be an excuse for other people from Wadi Musa
to do the same. I finally told those officials that we must go all together and listen to the
youths in order to solve their problem. We all went there, but only found two or three
of the youths sitting by the fire. I stayed with them and continued talking until 1:30 am.
On Thursday, I returned to talk to them again. Again no one was responding. They made me
angry when I told them that I was there to help them. I asked them to obey me since I knew
what might happen to them if they did not move their kiosks. I told them that if they did
not listen to what I was telling them then it would not be easy for me to talk on their behalf.
By late afternoon, with the help of the former MP, they moved their kiosks and tables.
That move was conditional on having both MPs accompany their committee in their
negotiations with the PDTRA. We sat down and wrote down the most urgent demands
and I handed them personally to the Chairman of PDTRA.
In the evening a very lengthy meeting took place at the PDTRA in the presence of the
Governor of Maʻan, the Governor of Petra, the Head of Public Security and some people
from Wadi Musa. By the end of the meeting we agreed on setting the date of 24 January
to meet again and have the response of the PDTRA to our demands.
On 24 January 2012 we met again in the same place. Again after another lengthy meet-
ing we signed a memorandum of understanding between me as the representative of the
local committee and the PDTRA. The MOU was signed by the governor of Petra and the
head of the General Security Directorate at Petra.
One of the most important items in the MOU included the akshāk issue; a direct decision
had been issued by the Board of Commissioners allowing the building of 20 new kiosks
and renting them with a reasonable rent to the local community.
The new kiosks were built and delivered to the newly established society (Jamʻiyyat
ʻāṣimat al-Anbāṭ). The society decided on a rental of the new kiosks through a system
of tenders. Unfortunately the rental did not meet the needs of the local community. They
complained that they could not afford the rent since tourism to Petra is badly affected by
the ongoing events in the Region, due to the numbers of tourist decreasing significantly.
5.4.1.3 Closure of the main entrance and a demand for jobs
On 14 June 2012 Rima Jordan News 69 released a story entitled “Closure of the main en-
trance to wadi Musa by the unemployed shabāb (youth) and a demand for jobs” as follows:
“Young graduates closed the road leading to the entrance of the city of Petra
with burning wood and prevented cars from getting in, as a protest against the
lack of job opportunities. The protesters stated that the PDTRA and the govern-
ment had previously promised them job opportunities, but this had not happened
and this was what had primarily caused them to protest. They stressed the urgent
need for the provision of stable job opportunities which would enable them to
live in dignity and security, especially as they suffered from bad living condi-
tions. They asked the government to stop the PDTRA from preventing appoint-
ments and to change to a policy of open recruitment.
Ibrahim Assaf, the head of the Petra Department, supported the demands to the
government regarding the unemployed and the search for radical solutions to
the problem of unemployment, asking, at the same time, for patience and for the
graduates not to resort to the negative manifestation of protest.
He pointed out during his meeting with the protesters, in the presence of the local
Member of Parliament, Sami al-Hasanat, and a number of shoyoukh and digni-
taries of the city to whom correspondence had been previously sent, that there
would be efforts made to open up job opportunities in the regional authority.” 70
Again, with my words I am narrating this story as a witness and a participant. On Thurs-
day, 14 June 2012 more than one hundred graduates gathered at the main entrance of
Wadi Musa. They started talking to each other in loud voices. They were holding ban-
ners prepared from white fabric. They started hanging them on the electricity pylons
69 http://rimajor.com/index.php
168 Chapter 5
and on the poplar trees on the right side of the main entrance to the city. On the first one
was written: “We want to live with dignity in our homeland”. On the second they had
written: “There must be an equal distribution of the wealth from tourism revenue, so we
can have jobs”, and on the third: “Having a job is the right of every Jordanian […] we
are starving while we live in one of the richest areas of Jordan”.
They started cheering and shouting: “We want jobs […] we need food […] we need a
very simple life […] we are starving in the richest place in Jordan […] the government
is telling us lies and they never fulfil their promises to us […]”
After less than half an hour they started burning old car tyres in the street. They blocked
the main entrance to Wadi Musa with pieces of wood and rubbish containers. After al-
most one hour, other youths and more people joined them in their protest.
I received many phone calls to go to the main entrance of Wadi Musa to see what was
going on. When I arrived, I found the General Director of General Security at Petra, the
mutaṣarrif, and some of the shoyoukh of Wadi Musa. The mutaṣarrif asked us to join
him in his office and for the youths to send their representatives to the same meeting.
It was almost 4 pm by the time we all assembled. The mutaṣarrif started talking and
blaming the youths for expressing themselves in that way. He also told them that they
should have come to his office and talked to him openly about their needs and problems.
He said that he was always there to solve their problems.
One of the youths interrupted his speech and said in a loud voice: “Your Excellency,
we’ve been here in your office many times. We’ve met with you and the General Director
of the police. We had several meetings with the Commissioner in your presence. We had
many promises from all of you to solve our problems and to find us jobs, but we heard
nothing at all from you”. The mutaṣarrif said: “Yes, but I have done all I can to solve
this problem. I have sent an official request to the government and I have heard nothing
from them. I have kept on talking with the Commissioner, but still he keeps promising
me as he does to you”.
Shaikh Hāroun al-Helāli talked to them, saying: “You have the right to get a job and
you have the right to enjoy this life, but we are totally against expressing yourselves in
such a way”. Engineer Shāher al-Salāmīn was enraged and he talked to the governor at
the meeting in a loud voice, saying: “I am very supportive of the youths. I understand
their point of view and they have the right to express themselves any way they like”.
Shaikh Muḥammad al-Falaḥāt said: “We feel your misery and we know that you need
a job, but the situation in Jordan now is terrible. We must keep calm until we have a
better situation for the country. Our city must remain as peaceful as it is. We live in a
city to which visitors come from the whole world […] we must keep our city as safe as
possible”.
Talḥa al-Shamāsīn was one of the youths who spoke quite sharply, saying that they
had only been told lies and that no efforts had been made to solve the problem. All the
money had been squandered by government agents who do nothing but steal money
and make false promises. Another youth stood up and started talking more quietly,
saying: “We have been awarded our B. A.s from universities. We applied to the dīwān
al-Khidmah al-Madaniyyah [the Civil Service Department] and now some of us have
been waiting for almost 10 years without hearing anything from them. We are taking
our pocket money from our families who are poor already. We expressed ourselves
more than once. We begged the iqlīm for jobs, i. e. any type of work will do, but we
heard nothing except one promise after another. We see that the iqlīm dominates all the
income from Petra. We know that iqlīm can create job opportunities for all of us, but I
do not know why they do not want to do that or when we will have the chance to get a
job in our country”.
All the youth representatives who attended the meeting were by now very angry and
started to threaten the governor and the other government agents to continue their pro-
test until they had jobs.
I was able to calm them down and told them: “I am here to support you and to talk on
behalf of you”. I told the mutaṣarrif and the Commissioner and all the other government
agents that these youths have been waiting for a job for a long time. I was with them
when they received promises from the iqlīm and the governor more than once. Now
they have no work. They have no future security. They have lost every hope of getting
a job or any income. The youths are not able to live in their own city any more. I initi-
ated some projects which were rejected by the government and I do not see any future
opportunity for these youths.
In response to what all the youth representatives said and to my words, the governor and
the Commissioner issued another promise. They decided to write an official letter to the
Prime Minister asking him to exclude the PDTRA from the sanctions of employment
due to the sensitive situation in Petra Region.
On my part, I sent another letter from my office at the Parliament and attached it to the
letter the PDTRA and the mutaṣarrif issued and sent it to the Prime Minister. I didn’t
receive a reply from the Prime Minister. I printed the same letters again and handed them
to him at the Parliament during one of the sessions, but nothing has happened since that
day until the present time.
It is very well known by every Jordanian that there are no jobs available in the govern-
ment. An official decision issued by the Prime Minister’s office and circulated to all
government departments was copied to every MP in order to stop everyone asking for
jobs. I wonder what kind of future is waiting our youths and on which path our govern-
ment is leading the future of the country.
170 Chapter 5
5.4.1.4 Banning of the anniversary of the rediscovery of Petra
A story was released on Tuesday, 21 August 2012 by Alarab Alyawm News 71 entitled
“The PDTRA cancelled the activities on the first day” as follows:
“The protesting citizens of Wadi Musa caused the cancellation of the celebration
of the first day of the programme that PDTRA had planned to take place on the
occasion of the 200th anniversary of the rediscovery of Petra.
A parade of cars started from the al-Balāṭah area of the town and went through
the main streets as far as the area in front of the main gate of Petra, where the
protesters were gathered.
The protesters held signs with slogans, some reading ‘Yes to the dissolution of
PDTRA’, while others were critical of the festival taking place at the same time
as people in Syria were under attack at the hands of a brutal dictatorial regime.
The protesters censured the Authority for not taking into consideration the feel-
ings of Jordanian and Syrian people about the killings, oppression, intimida-
tion and targeting of defenceless people, and insisting on going ahead with the
celebrations.
The protestors asked for a better use of the fund appropriated for the celebra-
tion. They asserted that it must be used to facilitate development and to initiate
projects that would bring benefit to the region. That would be better than wasting
the money on something they perceived as frivolous.
In the presence of the Commissioner for investment and social development at

PDTRA, who tried to talk to the protesters who had gathered at the site, they
refused to listen or to talk to him. He was ejected by some of the protestors”. 72
On Monday, 20 August 2012 I received two phone calls; one from Maḥmoud al-Shamāsīn
and the second was from ʻāṭif al-Nawāfleh. They told me that PDTRA is organizing an
event to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the rediscovery of Petra. I told them that that
sounded great. They replied: “Yes, but they appropriated JD36,000 to be paid to sing-
ers from Amman, while our children have no jobs. There are also families who have no
money to pay for their children’s education and for their cost of living”. They urged me
to talk to the head of PDTRA and ask him to stop that event. Of course, I called him to
hear no positive response. He also told me that contracts had been signed with national
71 http://alarabalyawm.net/?p=95003
singers from Amman, therefore, it was too late to cancel. I assured him that the local
people were not happy with the situation and that they threatened to ban this event.
The next morning the same people called once again. I told them all that the Commis-
sioner had said and that it would not be possible to stop the event. They threatened to
stop it themselves. On the evening of the same day, they gathered at the main gate of the
venue and stopped everyone getting in. The mutaṣarrif called me to intervene and make
it possible for the event to take place. I told him that I had done my job and that I had
talked to the Commissioner who had not listened. In hesitant, shy words he asked me:
“Would you mind then if we take them all to the jail?” I replied in an angry tone: “Of
course I mind. You have no right to send people to jail just for expressing their opinions
and asking for their children’s rights”. The call was finished and right away I went to
see the crowds of the angry youths shouting and demanding the closure of PDTRA and
releasing its commissioners. I said nothing at all, but I remained in the area watching
from a close distance. Police arrived, but they didn’t talk or touch any of the protestors.
The Commissioner of local community and development at PDTRA arrived. He tried

to talk to the crowd, but they didn’t allow him to say a single word. They told him: “We
don’t want to hear lies anymore […] go way […]”.
The event was banned by the mutaṣarrif when he arrived at the venue and he asked
the police to leave. Protestors calmed down and after that the protestors left the venue,
threatening that if the event were to continue in the coming days, they would certainly
stop it themselves.
5.4.1.5 Resentment of the SMP
An article published by Alarab Alyawm News 73 on 6 November 2012 stated:
“‘PDTRA: we will not accept the abuse of the local people of Petra and remain-
ing true to our traditions is a top priority.’ So said Dr Mohamed Alfarajat, Com-
missioner of the Environment and Local Development Authority in Petra, after
the citizens of Petra had been roused to anger because of the proposed master
plan for the area. The Authority only started this month to inform the citizens of
the region about the master plan and of the intention of consulting them about
the details of the plan.
This statement came after a wave of protests that took place in Petra rejecting
the outcome of the Strategic Master Plan, which has been prepared by the Petra
Development and Tourism Regional Authority. According to Dr Alfarajat, the
172 Chapter 5
Authority has postponed the period of 60 days during which objections could be
submitted until further notice to give the local community more time to under-
stand the implications of the master plan. It is within the remit of the work of the
Authority to arrange the agendas within an action plan that reflect the ambitions
of the people in economic and social development through tourism and exerting
their legitimate rights to use their land outside the boundaries of the organiza-
tion. This is especially relevant since the scheme is aimed at supplying them with
infrastructure and regulatory provisions to ensure the future of the population
and also to ensure the right of the community to invest in their land.
What particularly enflamed the situation was the reference in excerpts from the
translated version of the master plan to taking care of tourists who are seeking
‘fun’. Dr Alfarajat said that this could be explained in the context of the entire
master plan and clearly the meaning of that phrase was about enjoying the geol-
ogy of the region and the nature of the landscapes, biodiversity and vegetation.
He added that the master plan also contained references to tourism being about
enjoying riding camels and horses within proposed touristic trails, as well as
cycling, local culture, historical sites and finding out about the Islamic religion.
In addition, some tourists might want to know how to make traditional food or
observe the making of ancient handcrafts, such as goats’ hair rugs.
Dr Alfarajat emphasized that the Authority would not accept under any circum-
stances that the master plan would ever disrespect the people of the region who
are famous for their strong adherence to their customs and traditions originating
from the true Islamic religion.
Dr. Alfarajat invited the citizens to see all the details of the Master Plan because
it would ensure the right of present and future generations to fairness of distribu-
tion of the profits of development and tourism as well as their right to services
and infrastructure.” 74
The SMP process was conducted from July 2010 to April 2011, headed by a team of
Australian, Italian and American consultants. When the plan was finally unveiled on 6
November 2012, the local citizens were shocked and outraged, because a local repre-
sentative was not on the team and neither was there any opportunity for the local citizens
of Petra to have any input into the plan. Consequently, they felt that this was an “out-
sider” plan, just like the eight plans presented in the past 17 years, it did not have their
best interests in mind and had only a superficial understanding of the core issues at hand
as well as the economic affairs of the region. Furthermore, PDTRA’s request to keep
the process confidential, so that the SMP team would not be distracted by “unwanted

interference”, became a direct contradiction of what they initially assured to the com-
munity – transparency.
As a result, three public “consultative stakeholder meetings” were held and hosted
by PDTRA Commissioners (who were not from the region). The local citizens went
into these meetings with feelings of cynicism and betrayal, in addition to the idea that
the SMP process was not truly an independent study but one that was controlled by
PDTRA.
The first two meetings were attended by the elder men of the region and were a disaster.
The presentation was not well structured and the delivery was not conducive to the local
Arabic dialect. Although Jordanian interpreters were brought in to translate the oral and
written (slides) presentations into Arabic, unfortunately these interpreters were also not
from the Petra region. As a result, the already complex information was difficult for the
audience to understand easily due to the difference in the Arabic language dialects. In addi-
tion, the slide presentation contained numerous grammatical and spelling errors. Moreover,
one of the most important issues was not addressed and that issue was how the SMP would
be able to help create employment opportunities for the locals as well as opportunities for
investment. (It should be noted that year-round employment in Petra is very limited. Local
citizens rely heavily on tourism as their sole source of income; however, the tourism sector
is seasonal so economic development is gravely needed to ensure year-round employ-
ment.) Needless to say, the audience became embittered and at times aggressive.
For the women, a third meeting was held. They anticipated the SMP plan would include
projects relating to the empowerment of women in the region. To their great disappoint-
ment, nothing on this subject was mentioned, and, just as previous plans, they felt like
development in this area was being ignored.
5.4.1.6 Claims to change the Board of Commissioners of PDTRA
On Tuesday, 6 November 2012 another story entitled “Claims to change the Board of
Commissioners of Petra” was released by Alarab Alyawm News 75 and was reposted as
follows:
“Representatives of the tourism sector in Petra issued a proclamation in which

they stressed the necessity of changing the Board of Commissioners of Petra
Regional Development and Tourism Authority. They believed that, due to the
absence of harmony among the commissioners, the tourism sector had declined,
and this had led to a lack of investment in the region, as well as growing mal-
practices in the tourism product and their inability to prevent such behaviours.
174 Chapter 5
The statement was issued after an urgent meeting held in Candles Hotel in Wadi
Musa. In the statement, of which ‘Al Arab Al Yawm’ received a copy, there was
expressed the lack of a clear vision for the development of the Region, as well as
the marginalization of those who had a major part to play in terms of the tourism
management process.
The statement noted the lack of activity by the Commission as regards laws and
regulations. The pretext for the absence of such regulation was laid at the door
of the Legislation Bureau, which had failed to take the right decisions regarding
tourism, as well as the cancellation of decentralization.
The statement also drew attention to the repeated absence of the Chairman of the
Board of Commissioners on Sundays and Thursdays of each week without adequate
reason, the avoidance of decision-making, and the Board’s inability to communicate
with the Prime Minister, despite the PDTRA being accountable directly to him.” 76
Tourism professionals in the private sector in Petra had a series of meetings with the PDTRA
Commissioners. In these meetings they discussed issues such as licensing. They must all
obtain three different licences to practice their job: one licence from the Ministry of Tour-
ism in Amman, another from the association they are registered with in Amman, and the
third licence from PDTRA. Of course they have to pay different fees each year when they
renew their licences. Of course no agreement was reached between them and the PDTRA.
They also discussed various investment opportunities, including proposals for new pro-
jects aimed at creating job opportunities for the local community. They found a closed
door in terms of decisions regarding investment in the Petra Region. The same repetitive
answer was that: “we have no law yet for investments in the region […] the law is still on
the table of the PM”. This was the same statement by PDTRA for any person from Petra
Region or any potential national or international investor. For the last five years, there has
not yet been any law as there is no governance or transparency in the work of PDTRA.
The proclamation of the tourism professionals explained the resentment about the per-
formance of the PDTRA Commissioners. They described the situation of the Board of
Commissioners as being “disharmonized”.
5.4.1.7 Disapproval of returning JD6 million to the treasury
In a lengthy story released by Alarab Alyawm News 77 on Sunday, 30 December 2012, it

was stated:

“In the light of the demands for improving the infrastructure and establishing
development projects. Abu Al Ghanam: The refunded amount is for the benefit
of the State Treasury.
The citizens of Petra have criticized Petra Region Development and Tourism
Authority for refunding the amount of 6 Million Dinars to the budget of the State
Treasury as it prevents the region from taking advantage of the services and
development projects that might be implemented.
Trade unionist, Nedal Al Masha’leh, said: ‘This is clear evidence of the weak-
ness of the planning policies for the development, services and investment pro-
jects that the region needs, which could contribute to the development of the
region and put it in the same league as the large modern cities that enjoy the
gains and benefits of development.’
Social activist, Salah Khliefat, explained that the budget of the Authority, part of
which is collected from the citizens who pay taxes; so the priority for this amount
should be spending it for the sake of local people and finding new investment
projects to support the budget of the Authority and to reduce the poverty and
unemployment problems, instead of refunding it back to the State Treasury, so
that others will take advantage of it and deprive the local people of the region.
Tourist guide, Ma’moun Al Farajat, expressed his astonishment at the non-imple-

mentation of projects centred around the superstructure and infrastructure of the dif-
ferent inhabited areas of the region by Petra Authority which had not lived up to the
aspirations of the citizens in accordance with the sustainable development strategy.
However, political activist, Ali Raja al-Nasrat, believes that the administration
of the Board of Commissioners of the current Authority is able to carry out their
duties, and to provide regulatory and administrative services for the advance-
ment of the region for the better.
Al-Nasarat added: ‘A visitor to the area, after a long absence, will not find any
obvious change showing the efforts of the council in enhancing both superstruc-
ture and infrastructure. The main streets of Wadi Musa are full of holes and
bumps, as well as the Authority not providing the inhabited areas with parks and
creating green spaces for the entertainment of the locals.’
Al-Nasarat explained that the area was indeed in need of the money that the
Authority had refunded to the State Treasury, as the Authority could acquire
pieces of lands inside the inhabited region to build small playgrounds so that the
youth could practice their hobbies. He also explained that bad management in
implementing the projects had wasted a lot of money which could have been used
in projects that would result in benefits to the whole area.
176 Chapter 5
Al-Nasarat requested the consulting council to be more active, considering it a

justified right of the locals to be aware of how the capital budget was spent by
the Authority.
Conversely, the Chairman of the Authority Council, Engineer Mohammed Abu Al-
Ghanam, said that 5 Million and 800 Thousands Dinars was the amount being re-
turned to the State Treasury from Petra entrance fees for the current year and that
this was based on the law regulating the Authority which shows that the Treasury’s
share from entrance fees is 65 %, while the Authority’s share is 35 %.” 78
I certainly agree with everything mentioned in the article above, although I personally
feel bad about my strenuous efforts being wasted. During my term of office in Parlia-
ment 2010–2012, I worked on increasing the PDTRA budget from JD16 Million to JD
22 Million. I knew that there was an urgent need for serious development in the Petra
Region, therefore all the money was needed. Unfortunately, PDTRA fell short in terms
of spending their budget wisely.
The ex-chairman of PDTRA justified the transfer of the JD 6 Million to the Treasury
as the government’s share from entrance tickets to Petra. In a meeting with the present
chairman, he stated that the news about the return of the money to the Treasury was
still a matter of great hindrance in the way the government received funding for all the
projects that were pending. Government agents, including the Minister of Finance, halt
every possible increase in the annual budget of Petra. Each time an increase is requested,
the official answer is: “you’ve returned money to the Treasury as surplus out of your
budget. Why do you need more?”
5.4.1.8 Horse and camel owners’ quarrel
Al-Rra’i News 79 released an article on 3 April 2013 entitled “Protest against the camels
riding over sidetracks assigned for horses” which stated that:
“The 353 working horse owners in Petra city went on strike on Wednesday
morning, protesting against the camels and donkeys riding over the sidetracks
which are customized for horses.
The strike has led to tourism activity being disrupted for some time because of
the absence of the people in charge who are responsible for the strike location.
This is of special importance, as it is the site of the main tourism track.

79 http://www.alrai.com/article/577595.htmlp
The head of the horse owners association, Maḥmoud al-Ḥasanāt, said: ‘The
strike happened as a result of continuing taking over by the owners of the camels
and the donkeys of the tracks, which are customized for their work’.
Al-Hasanat added: ‘We advised the authorities concerned four days ago of what
was taking place and they didn’t take any decision, whereupon the owners of the
camels and the donkeys continued using the sidetracks. They also attacked me as
the head of the horse owners association.’
Al-Hasanat emphasised that the main goal of the strike was to attract the at-
tention of the decision makers to the necessity of applying the laws above all,
especially since many of the owners of the camels and the donkeys have officially
registered horse numbers.
Al-Hasanat pointed out that this taking over by the animals was in breach of
the agreements signed in advance between the owners of the camels and the
donkeys and the owners of the horse. He explained that the camels were in Petra
for photography purposes only and that they carry tourists illegally, whereas
the donkeys that are supposed to be in the Monastery area only are continually
taking over the sidetracks.
The Chairman of Petra Regional Commissioning Council, Engineer Mohammad

Abo Al- Ghanam, and his deputy, Doctor Hejazeen, and other relevant authori-
ties met with some of the horse owners and agreed to establish closure points to
stop any of the animals taking over their tracks.
During the meeting that was held in the Petra office, they agreed to take legal
action against the violators and to prevent the hawkers staying in the archaeo-
logical site, as well as intensifying the security supervisory role in the Petra
protected reserve in order to prevent any taking over of the tracks, thus affecting
tourism activity.” 80
On Wednesday, 3 April 2013, the camel drivers of the Petra Archaeological Park – all of
them from al-Bidoul tribe of Umm Ṣayḥoun – broke the rules of the Park and rode their
camels up the Siq 81 to the visitors’ entrance gate, trespassing on the routes allotted to
the horse guides – all of whom are Bani Laith, from Wadi Musa. The camel drivers were
protesting the fact that they do not receive a percentage of the entrance fees to Petra, as
do the horse guides. The horse guides gathered in force and galloped down the Siq, driv-
ing the camel guides back to their allotted territory. The leader of the jamʻiyyeh – more

81 As previously mentioned, the Siq is a natural canyon in Petra. It was the main entrance and the only exit
to the ancient city of Petra.
178 Chapter 5
or less a union – of horse guides vowed that if the camel drivers persisted, they would
be “ground to the earth beneath the hooves of our horses”.
This hoshah is one of the most dramatic moments in the life of the Petra community,
in that the horse-and-camel hoshah was symbolic of much deeper issues, both in the
administration of the Park and in the relationship between al-Bidoul and Bani Laith
communities, Umm Ṣayḥoun and Wadi Musa, respectively and for relevant decision-
makers (horse owners, camel owners, the Park Commissioner, the mutaṣarrif, admin-
istrators at PDTRA 82). Al-Bidoul have a (legal) monopoly on concessions within the
Park and they feel that camels are not – as horses are – a feature of the traditional
cultural heritage of the Petra Region. Al-Bidoul were evicted from Petra by the govern-
ment when Petra was announced as one of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage Sites.
They were then settled on land “appropriated” from the al-Ḥasanāt and al-Nawāfleh,
clans of Bani Laith in Wadi Musa (who are now predominant among the horse guides)
(see Appendix 3).
The Commissioner of the Archaeological Park, the mutaṣarrif, the head of the police
directorate at Petra and members from both tribes intervened to put an end to the quarrel.
They reached an agreement to calm the situation by promising the camel guides would
be given a share of the price of the entry ticket to Petra. The promise was never fulfilled
by any of the mediators. Finally, the camel owners decided on a lawsuit against PDTRA
for the unequal treatment and for not being given their promised share.
5.4.1.9 The Petra By Night protest
Al-Bāsel al-Ikhbāri 83 released an article on 18 December 2013 entitled “Protests broke

out in Petra” in which they reported as follows:
“This evening, protesters shut down the street in the city centre in the tourist
city of Petra with stones and burning tyres in protest against the policy of mo-
nopoly of tourism projects by companies and tourist offices with the support of
the PDTRA. This protest comes as an extension of the protests witnessed by the
demands of Petra citizens yesterday evening, which resulted in clashes and con-
frontation with the gendarmerie which lasted until late last night. Clashes result-
ed in injuries. PDTRA council and local government leaders and representatives
of the local community in the Petra Region held a lengthy meeting this evening
to discuss the ongoing protest, which had continued until today, and was taking
a stand on finding solutions to ensure justice and equality in the distribution of
82 Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (Ar. Mufawwaḍiyyah: Sulṭat Iqlīm al-Batra’ al-Tan-
mawi al-Siyāḥi), the entity in charge of the government of Petra Region. It replaced the municipality of
Wadi Musa.
83 http://albasel-news.com/index.php/localjordan/7249-8082.html
gains and projects amongst the people of the region. The gendarmeries are still
surrounding the protesters in Petra in case of any fallout from the protest. Due
to the prevailing situation, tourism to Petra has come to a halt.” 84
On the evening of Wednesday, 18 December 2013 my nephew Muḥammad al-ʻamarāt

called me at 10 pm and asked: “Do you know what’s happening in the town?” I replied
“No”. He told me then that a group of youths were protesting against the “Petra by
Night” programme and that both the police and gendarmerie had attacked them. He also
stated that the situation in the town was becoming dangerous and out of control. All the
youths were on their way to launch an attack on the police station.
I rushed out to see what was going on. There was a large crowd of people on the cross
roads which lead to the tourism area and also on the other side leading to the police sta-
tion. I caught sight of my brother in law, ʻAbdelʻzīz, my brothers, ʻArif and Adīb, a friend,
Suliemān al-Hindāwi, and so many other people that I can’t remember now who they all
were. I was informed that the road to the police station was closed and that the youths
had already reached the police station. My friends insisted that I was not to go there, but I
persisted in my need to find out what was going on and drove towards the police station.
As soon as I got closer to the police station I could hear sounds of shooting and the youths
shouting. I continued driving to the police station to find shaikh Mājed Abu Faraj, shaikh
ʻabdallah al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Maḥmoud al-Ḥasanāt and many others. Shaikh Mājed was
talking with his brother ʻadnān Abu Faraj (the current MP of the Petra Region) over the
phone. I asked him to pass the phone to me and I told ʻadnān what I could see. He said:
“Do not worry, I will call all those responsible and ask them to contain the situation”.
I then went into the office of the police commander. The general director of the Petra po-
lice, Brigadier Yousof al-ʻomari, was there as well as Ḥaydar al-masāʻdeh, shaikh Mājed,
Khaled al-ʻamarāt, and many others. Shaikh Mājed and Ḥaydar were talking in very loud
voices, telling the Brigadier that his decision to attack the youths had been a very bad deci-
sion. They blamed him for what they described as a terrible mistake. Ḥaydar said: “You are
spoiling the whole city. You are the cause of what has happened. You are trying to trample
on the people of Petra”. Shaikh Mājed said: “You have no respect for the people of Petra.
You should not be allowed to do what you have just done, no matter what the situation is”.
I heard them talking about detainees (prisoners) that they had arrested and put in jail.
I told the Brigadier: “Why do you not have any respect for the dignified people of Pe-
tra? How dare you give orders to your policemen to attack our sons and fire teargas on
them!” He shouted at me and said that I could not talk to him in that way. I then stepped
closer to him and, pointing my finger close to his face, said: “Of course I can. I am the
former MP for Petra and I know that what you have done is absolutely against human

180 Chapter 5
rights and totally wrong in terms of mis-management of the situation in a very sensi-
tive area at the gate of Petra”. I also told him that he would be held accountable for all
the subsequent consequences and that he would have to release the prisoners. He then
started to make a call on his mobile and went outside to talk to someone I didn’t know.
I followed him, held his hand, told him that the situation was getting worse, and that
he would have to do something positive to calm the situation. I then rushed to see the
confrontation between the youths and the gendarmerie.
The youths were throwing stones at the gendarmerie who were in their very well protect-
ed vehicles firing at the youths and the surrounding houses with teargas. I asked them to
stop using the teargas, but they refused to stop until the youths stopped throwing stones
at them. I drove my car with the alarm lights blinking. Thankfully, they recognized my
car and stopped throwing stones. I stopped and they gathered around me but hardly
waited to listen to what I wanted to say to them. I told them: “Please try to calm down
a little. I am here to help you protect your rights. I am here to listen to you. I know that
you’ve been badly insulted by the police attack. Let me remind you of that day when
we closed the Iqlīm (PDTRA building) and I was the one who led your strike towards
ʻain Mūsa [Moses’ spring, the main entrance to Wadi Musa]. Since that time and even
before then I have felt your hurt and I know what your needs are. Please give me the
chance to solve this problem, but you need to calm down”. They told me: “We will stop
if the gendarmerie withdraw. We will stop, if the police release prisoners”. I promised to
return to ask the gendarmerie to withdraw and I would go to the police station to try to
effect the release of the prisoners.
I returned to the gendarmerie officer and asked him to withdraw as far as possible to
allow the youths to calm down. Thankfully they did. They withdrew to the circle area
about 300 metres from their initial gathering place. The minute the gendarmerie arrived
at the circle area the youths resumed throwing stones at them and the gendarmerie retali-
ated by running at them with their vehicles and again used teargas.
I returned to the police station to find that the director had escaped and run away to his
directorate, which is about 10 km away from the Wadi Musa police station. None of the
officers was there. I walked outside to find some of the shoyoukh [s. shaikh] and some
people of Wadi Musa who were in the office before. I informed them that the director
had run away.
While we were standing outside, a lieutenant came and told us that the director, the
Commissioner of the Iqlīm and the governors of Petra and Maʻan were waiting for us at
the general directorate and that they wanted us to come and talk with them. The shoy-
oukh refused to go there and asked why they wouldn’t come to see for themselves what
was happening and to talk to us. I said: “They certainly do not have the courage to come
to this area. They are afraid”. I then suggested that we go and see what they were “up
to”, and managed to persuade them to come with me.
We arrived at the general directorate to find the same brigadier alone in his office, but
nobody else. When we asked where the others were, he called the governor on his mo-
bile and said that he would be here in half an hour. While we were waiting, Aḥmad Abu
Jdail arrived and verbally attacked the brigadier, blaming him for firing teargas at the
souvenir shops to frighten the tourists. He also said that we had nothing to do with the
protest, in which case why had we, our customers and our families been targeted with
the teargas? The brigadier had no answer. He called the governor again to tell him that
the situation was becoming increasingly worse, but the governor said it would be a long
time before he could come. We all started shouting at the brigadier and all the staff, then
left the police station to go and assess the current state of the protest.
A group of shoyoukh wanted to make the youths stop, but they didn’t listen. They con-
tinued throwing stones at the gendarmerie. I talked to the officer again and told him that
some children had been admitted to the hospital because of the teargas and that women
and other innocent people in their homes had been badly affected by the teargas. He
kindly promised me not to fire the teargas again and they eventually stopped.
I went back to the police station to find that all the people who had been with me in the
first place had already gone home. Only shaikh ʻabdallah al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Maḥmoud
al-Ḥasanāt, Muḥammad al-Mashāʻleh and a few men were still there. Also the prisoners
had been transferred to Maʻan. I and the men who were there were very angry about this.
By now it was almost 2:30 am. The youths were still shouting and throwing stones and
the gendarmerie were still in place. I realised then that the “game” was over. The youths
would still be victims. The shoyoukh had deserted them and left them alone. I was wor-
ried about the youths. I knew that they would not be able to withstand any longer with
their little stones against the gendarmerie and their weapons. I asked the officer to give
me the microphone in one of his vehicles so that I could talk to the youths who might
just listen to me and go home. I talked to them through the microphone and said: “I am
Sami al-Ḥasanāt Bani Laith. I know that you can all hear me. I know that you remem-
ber the day you elected me to help you achieve your dreams. I am still there for you. I
won’t leave you alone. I am asking you to stop your protest. I am asking you to stop on
behalf of all the innocent people who are sick because of the teargas. I promise you that
I will remain on your side. I am your MP Sami Bani Laith. I can see what you can’t see.
I know more than you know. Please save Petra and its people. Please do not ignite the
spark that would start terrible events like those in Egypt and Syria. Jordan needs you
all to stand up for it. Please go home and let us work together to solve your problems in
better circumstances”.
They didn’t stop immediately and burned more old car tyres on the streets. I returned to
the police station to find even fewer people standing there. The only one who was still
there was shaikh ʻabdallah al-Ḥasanāt. A few minutes later, the youths did stop their
actions and all went home. I took three French tourists to their hotel. They had been
waiting at the police station until things calmed down so that they could go to their
182 Chapter 5
hotel. However, the road was still blocked by big stones and small cars could not drive
through. I then told the gendarmerie that everybody had gone home.
On my way back to my house I saw a group of men from al-Falaḥāt standing in front of
their dīwān [gathering place for members of the tribe]. They were burning some tyres.
When I passed by they asked me what the current situation was. I told them that the
“game” was over. The prisoners had been transferred to Maʻan, the youths had gone
home and I suggested to them that they too must go home. I left them there and drove
back home. By this time it was almost 4 am.
On the second day, I knew that the five youths were still being held in the central jail in
the Swāqa area on the desert highway about 200km to the north of Wadi Musa.
On the third day, they were sent to the primary court in Maʻan and were charged with civ-
il disorder, causing chaos and leading riots against the government. This led to a charge
of civil disobedience, which led to their appearance in the High Court for State Security.
What did I find out?
I discovered that the legal case that these youths had to be faced with was meant
to be a lesson for everyone in Petra. I also found out that there are some big people
– as described by local people – who wanted such an awful punishment. After this
protest it was clear to me that the domination of tourism revenue exceeded the gov-
ernment and people who work in the tourism industry in Petra to some of the peo-
ple from Wadi Musa who have influence in Amman. They supported such an awful
treatment for their own people in order to keep their benefit from tourism in Petra.
People have discovered that there was a betrayal by some influential peo-
ple from Wadi Musa, who facilitated sending the gendarmerie against their
own people. This was made clear to people at the time when the present MP
brought the five prisoners back to Wadi Musa from Amman. He delivered
a speech telling how he decided to bring those youths himself to the dīwān
of their ‘ashīrah. He stated that he was proud of them and that he had inter-
vened in this case because it was an honourable case. While he was talking, a
young man stood up and stopped him by saying: “That is enough telling lies”.
The MP and everyone at the dīwān were shocked. Some people started shouting
at the young man and they asked him to leave the dīwān. Others supported him
and asked him to continue. Only then, he said: “I was at the MP’s house in Am-
man when he received a mobile phone call. I realized that the call was about the
Petra By Night activity, which I knew about. The MP said literally that he knew
that these youths were bad and that they needed to be disciplined. He also said to
send the gendarmerie to teach them a lesson”. The MP could not defend himself
and he left the dīwān right away.
After a few weeks, the Minister of the Interior was invited to Petra. Unfortu-
nately, the shoyokh welcomed him to Baiḍa, which is on the other side of Wadi
Musa. They all apologized for what had happened.
Maḥmoud al-Shamāsīn and Hāni al-Masāʻdeh contradicted the shoyokh and nei-
ther the Minister nor the attendants liked what they said.
I said openly to the Minister that the gendarmerie were not allowed to come to
Petra under any circumstances. None of the youths that were put injail was such
a bad person to deserve such iniquity. I pressed the fact that Jordanians are al-
lowed to express themselves in legal ways without the use of force. Jordanians
have freedom of speech by way of the Jordanian Constitution. Nobody com-
mented, the session finished and they invited the Minister for dinner.
I simply found out that “truth hurts sometimes”.
In summary, these dramatic moments in the life of the Wadi Musa community played a
pivotal role in bringing the Region to a socio-cultural crisis situation. By the occurrence
of such dramatic events consequently in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, it became clear
that such dramatic moments in the life of my community brought the needs and feel-
ings of people to the forefront. To use Victor Turner’s words again: “Crisis takes up its
menacing stance in the forum itself, and, as it were, dares the representatives of order
to grapple with it” (Turner, 1987: 2). Representatives of Wadi Musa started to grapple
with such a crisis in an open way. They struggled with it in their family meetings, dur-
ing the official meetings with decision-makers and during the time leading up to the
elections.
Up to the crisis point, factions within the community plotted amongst themselves in pri-
vate. “The event which triggers the crisis is public and flagrant, and by implication em-
phasizes the normative, everyday structure of the community by interrupting the norm”
(1974a:38-39). As narrated so far, crisis widened the breach and created a liminoid space
and time between more or less stable phases in the social drama. The liminoid space and
time between more or less stable phases in the social drama which unfolded in Wadi
Musa became apparent. It cannot be denied since the events that triggered the crisis
were public and obvious and, by implication, norms were interrupted and the everyday
structure became disordered. Redress becomes crucial after crisis which becomes obvi-
ous. Chapter Six is devoted to examining the redressive stage of the social drama which
unfolded in Wadi Musa.
VI Redress and reintegration: a community’s attempt to recon-
stitute itself
By this point we have come to realize that grappling with crisis takes the form of re-
dressive action. Such action may include informal advice between representative mem-
bers of the community, traditional forms of mediation and arbitration, legal action and/
or symbolic public ritual as well as other mechanisms recognized by the community
(Turner, 1974a: 39; Turner, 1987: 3). The liminal quality exists in both crisis and redress,
because recognized order, authority and structure are scrambled and perhaps inverted.
In crisis a group or a representative individual publicly questions authority and the nor-
mative order. The process of redress demands that authority speaks to the situation, to
subalterns (1987: 3; 1974a: 41). In the case of Wadi Musa, It may be suggested that
grappling with the crisis had already started and took place in a more public forum. The
forum in this case was not a particular place where performances and actions are played
out, but rather a more open area; in every street, in every home, and on every public oc-
casion. The open forum or forums culminated in a more physical forum or a real theatre
which enabled the people of Wadi Musa to express their grapple with such a crisis.
Chapter Six examines the phase of redress, the “public meta-social rite” that attempts to
repair the breach in the community. Victor Turner’s theories of social drama provide a
method for analyzing this liminal period and to propose a means of constructive redress
and reintegration of the community.
Here we come to the third contention of my thesis. Using Victor Turner’s theories of
social drama, I will argue that the parliamentary campaign period in 2010 represented an
effort to redress a breach in the community structure by erasing clan 85 distinctions and
crossing hierarchical boundaries to reintegrate politically under the rubric of Bani Laith.
6.1 From breach/crisis to redress
In the social drama a community in crisis moves into a period of redress, a period during
which those who represent “order” are publicly and more or less formally challenged
either to reintegrate the community in a new way, or to formalize the breach and create
a new order from its conflicted parts. In this vein, Turner writes:
“The basic human plot is the same: someone begins to move to a new place in
the social order; this move is accomplished through ritual, or blocked: in either
85 As seen throughout the ongoing discussion I used the English word “clan” to translate the Arabic ḥamoulah
(pl. ḥamayil), “tribe” for Ar. qabīlah (pl. qabā’il) and “family” for ʻashīrah (pl. ʻashāˊir). For further re-
marks on kinship systems see Chapter 2 (Figure 4.7). For Arabic transliteration rules see Table 0.1.
186 Chapter 6
case a crisis arises because any change in status involves a readjustment of the
entire scheme; this readjustment is effected ceremonially, that is, by means of
Theatre” (28).
6.2 Constructive redress of social crisis and potential for reintegration of the
community
Using Victor Turner’s theories of social drama, I will argue that the parliamentary cam-
paign period in 2010 represented an effort to redress a breach in the community structure
by erasing clan distinctions and crossing hierarchical boundaries to reintegrate political-
ly under the rubric of Bani Laith. In “The Anthropology of Performance” Turner writes:
“Let me make the simple point again that I regard the ‘social drama’ as the
empirical unit of social process from which has been derived, and is constantly
being derived, the various genres of cultural performance. One phase of the
social drama in particular deserves attention as a generative source of cultural
performances. This is the redressive phase, which, as we have seen, inevitably
involves a scanning of and reflection upon the previous events leading up to the
crisis that has now to be dealt with” (28).
We have seen how various events that took place in Wadi Musa from 1994–2010 gener-
ated the feeling of resentment and a matrix of complicated perceptions which culmi-
nated in a socio-cultural crisis. With this in mind, in what follows in Chapter Six, let us
summarize – scan and reflect upon – the events leading up to the crisis in Wadi Musa
in the light of the four stages of social drama: breach, crisis, redress and reintegration.
Onward, we will move towards describing past efforts to redress social breach: efforts
by local and national government, tribal mediation / arbitration and cross-tribal coali-
tion-building in 2007–2008.
2010 elections, intikhābāt will be thickly described in the light of the social drama that
was unfolding in Wadi Musa in 2010. This description will also investigate the follow-
ing aspects of the election day itself as social drama: Coalition specifies a candidate who
is a tourism professional, economic issues at the centre of the campaign, women and
youth as emerging forces in the vote and “Sacra” which emerged from the community
discourses during the campaign.
Communitas as achieved in the election day and tahāni 86 period in a shape of “carnival”
will be examined in anticipation of understanding the following: manipulation of the sa-
86 Congratulations or greetings. Tahāni period here will be used to indicate the night of announcing the
final election results and the winning of the candidate to become officially a Member of Parliament on 9
November 2010 and the few days after that evening.
Redress and reintegration: a community’s attempt to reconstitute itself 187
cra within the election carnival, levelling of hierarchy and overturning of normal order,
altered states of consciousness and feasting, spontaneous celebration.
Following on from the interpretation of the community in terms of social drama, it is

anticipated to pose potential strategies for the reintegration of the community in the face
of its changed circumstances.
6.2.1 The four stages of the social drama
Breach of regular norm-governed social relations (Turner, 1987: 4-5). The social drama
that was unfolding in Wadi Musa from 1994 to 2010, as illustrated in Chapter Five, was
characterized as a “breach” period, in which “norm-governed” processes and relation-
ships in the Wadi Musa community were gradually dislocated in many ways:
• Steady increase in tourism and construction of hotels and the concomitant exposure
to other “participant reactive attitudes and associated practices”;
• Gradual disenfranchisement of the local population from the decision-making pro-
cesses in the Region;
• Gradual widening of the income gap between families working in tourism and others
in the community;
• Gradual complication of bureaucratic processes, including difficulty with land use
permits;
• Steady increase in population, including the pressure of population growth on Umm
Ṣayḥoun and its threat to Wadi Musa families;
• Steady increase in unemployment.
Crisis, during which there is a tendency for the breach to widen. Each public crisis has
what I now call liminal characteristics, since it is a threshold (limen). (Turner, 1987: 4-5).
Breach/crisis period unfolds in Wadi Musa 2007–2010. With N7W, however, the rate
and scale of change steepened exponentially, as demonstrated in Chapters Four and Five,
bringing the community to the point of socio-cultural crisis, which took several forms:
• Massive influx of visitors, asymmetrical balance in competition for resources in fa-

vour of tourists.
• Sudden, exponential growth in PDTRA – accompanied by widely publicized
changes in governmental style.
• Massive and widely publicized growth in tourism income.
• Sudden, more acute awareness of tourism’s failure to benefit most locals.
• Critical increase in unemployment as the “youth bulge” increases.
• Open, public opposition to SMP.
• Critical increase in complication and expense of bureaucratic processes.
• Elections/SMP bring land use issue and local people’s disenfranchisement from
decision-making process concerning their city into public forum.
188 Chapter 6
The various actions and events which took place in the public forums were also contrib-
utories to the stream of crisis. These events came in response to the rapid scale of social
change in Wadi Musa. Nine most important events narrated in Chapter Five triggered
the heart of crisis in the region. These events included:
• Shutting down of the main road to Wadi Musa and the PDTRA offices by some peo-
ple of Wadi Musa, 4 August 2011.
• The akshāk (kiosks) problem, 25 November 2011.
• The unemployed shabāb (youth) closing of the main entrance of Wadi Musa and
asking for jobs, 14 June 2012.
• Resentment of the SMP, 6 November 2012.
• Banning of the anniversary celebration of the rediscovery of Petra, 21 August 2012.
• Claims to change in the Board of Commissioners of Petra, 6 November 2012.
• Disapproval of returning JD 6 million to the Treasury, 30 December 2012.
• Horse and camel owners’ quarrel, 3 April 2013.
• The Petra By Night protest, 18 December 2013.
Such events are suggestive in terms of expressing a natural response to the accumulative
consequences that brought Wadi Musa to the brink of crisis, 2007–2010. These events
were an eruption of the various reactions engorged in the region for so long without a
solution. They certainly started to explode consequently in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Redressive action, ranging from personal advice and informal mediation or arbitration
to formal juridical and legal machinery, and, to resolve certain kinds of crisis or legiti-
mate other modes of resolution, to the performance of public ritual […] (Turner, 1987:
4-5). In the social drama, Wadi Musa as a community in crisis moved into a period of
redress, during which those who represent “order” were publicly and more or less for-
mally challenged either to reintegrate the community in a new way, or to formalize the
breach and create a new order from its conflicted parts. In Wadi Musa the “theatre” in
which the representatives of order were confronted was the maqar – the elections tent.
As the redressive efforts took place and time as a form for grappling with the crisis itself,
confrontation occurred between members of Wadi Musa community in a form of redress
for the situation. Redress evolved in several attempts to overcome not only the issues
concerning tourism in their community with the rapid social change that it caused, but
also to bridge the gap between the old generation and the young generation on the one
hand, and citizens and government and all representatives of order on the other. It was
also evident in the gradual confrontation between members of society and authority at
local and national levels. The redressive stage in Wadi Musa involved all those attempts
to put forward a sort of mechanism to deal with such a crisis. All of these reactions will
be investigated in the present ongoing discussion.
Reintegration: “The final phase consists either of the reintegration of the disturbed
social group, or of the social recognition and legitimation of irreparable schism between
the contesting parties” (Turner, 1987: 4-5). The tribes and clans of Petra Region will
either muddle through how to work together and to cooperate instead of competing – ar-
ticulate themselves over the long term as a unified entity – or collapse back into tribal in-
fighting and competition amongst the shoyoukh. Such a reversion will surely alienate the
shabāb, either occasioning the legitimation and formalization of the schism, or circling
back into crisis again. We still have to see what the ongoing discussion may bring about.
6.2.2 Past efforts to redress social breach in Wadi Musa
6.2.2.1 Efforts by local and national government
Efforts were made by local and national government to redress the social breach in Wadi
Musa in many forms. In the first place there were many attempts to bridge the gulf in the
establishing law of PDTRA, which stated that there must be a local advisory board. This
board – as stated in PDTRA’s internal system – must accompany the Board of Com-
missioners in all of the decision-making processes concerning the Petra Region. These
attempts have been ongoing since 2012 in response to the events which started to take
place in the region. It is worth mentioning that during the era of PRA, before 2009, this
local advisory council existed, but with the new transformation from PRA to PDTRA in
2009 this council was suspended completely.
Another attempt by the government to redress the breach was appointing one of the
commissioners from Wadi Musa. This commissioner was born in Aqaba and lived all of
his life there. Before his appointment, he was a university professor in Amman.
In addition, efforts were made to keep the PAP under the direct responsibility of PDTRA
and not under the custody of MoTA. There was a conflict of authority over the archaeo-
logical park between PDTRA, which is directly accountable to the Prime Minister, and
MoTA, which is responsible for antiquities in Jordan.
On the matter of job creation and reducing unemployment on a national level, there was
a proposal for “homeland workers”, i. e. to encourage Jordanians to work as cleaners.
The proposal was activated, but unfortunately it was only a way of circumventing the
Prime Minister’s decision, which was declared in 2011 about suspending appointments
to the government. Many of the youths in Petra Region were able to secure temporary
jobs, but only a few were able to secure their jobs on a permanent basis.
Efforts were made to improve the aesthetics of the Region. Streets were repaved, the
banks of the main street in Wadi Musa were maintained and trees were planted on both
sides of the main street. Walls were built to prevent soil erosion and to protect houses
and other buildings. At the same time, PDTRA, in cooperation with UNDP, established a
new project aimed at launching an early warning system to protect both Wadi Musa and
the old site of Petra from the danger of sudden flash floods. In addition, many planning
exercises were proposed, but were never actually implemented.
190 Chapter 6
The SMP also proposed a plan with the aim of balancing the social infrastructure, bal-
ancing the lack of social services and their uneven distribution across the Region:
“Strengthening cooperation between PDTRA and regional utility providers to

establish a clear Utility Extension Policy;
Shaping the institutional and stakeholder environment in a way that would fa-
cilitate clear communication between the PDTRA and the ministries by avoiding
an overlapping of activities;
Facilitating better information flow and more communication between PDTRA

and local residents;
Providing a state-of-the-art local transportation system to minimize the negative

ecological impact of diesel buses and increasingly congested traffic (particularly
in Wadi Musa)” (SMP, 2010: 9).
Although all this sounds encouraging, the plan has yet to be implemented. It is worth
mentioning that the plan is still the concern of PDTRA management. The process is un-
der further investigation and thorough revision of professionals at PDTRA. Thankfully,
this is unlike the previous planning practices which were stored in drawers or languish-
ing on the shelves of PDTRA offices. Social services are still lacking and/or are still
unevenly distributed. Cooperation between PDTRA and regional utility providers does
not exist. Overlapping of responsibilities and conflicts of interest between ministries
and PDTRA are still unclear and distorted by a lack of communication. As for transpar-
ency and flow of information, there is no way that residents can obtain clear information
about land use or even any other relatively simple issues because of the unqualified em-
ployees of PDTRA. Congestion still occurs and is becoming even worse. In summary,
this plan has not yet seen the light of day – hopefully, unlike the other previous planning
exercises for Petra and its residents, it will become reality at some point.
Failure to redress the social breach in the past was a result of disparities, including failure
to implement any of the previous plans on the ground and no correspondence at govern-
ment level before 2012 concerning arbitration with the representatives of the local com-
munity. There was also the matter of the self-inflicted dispute between those who benefit
from tourism and those who do not. This dispute or conflict is multifaceted in the sense that
it has effects at both a community-community level and a community-governmental level.
6.2.2.2 Tribal mediation / arbitration
Tribal mediation took the form of several attempts to redress social breach in the Petra Re-
gion, including repetitive and urgent requests of the tribes to include local representatives
within the PDTRA body so that they could be part of the decision-making process, and
make continuous requests for equal distribution of tourism revenue and services over the
six communities in the Petra Region. Shoyoukh and dignitaries of the Region paid several
official visits to central government in Amman, accompanied by the former MP of Petra
(20 November 2007–20 November 2009) in an attempt to mediate in resolving issues
such as employing commissioners from the local community. In addition, several arbitra-
tion meetings were held by the highly educated youths of the Region to discuss the situ-
ation in Petra. As a result of these meetings, recommendations were made in anticipation
of resolving some of the more difficult issues in their Region. In the same vein, the tribal
electoral coalition itself, which started in 2007, was another form of tribal mediation.
6.2.2.3 Cross-tribal electoral coalition-building in 2007/08–2010
The Bani Laith’s internecine quarrelling during previous elections has always made
them lose the parliamentary seat, with either Maʻan or Ṭaybeh taking the seat. Bani
Laith ḥamāyel have never agreed on one candidate since before 2007. At the heart of
tribal mediation or arbitration there was cross-tribal electoral coalition-building in the
Petra Region in 2007. The necessity of such a coalition emerged from the failure of sev-
eral attempts at tribal mediation or arbitration. The main goal of the coalition was to en-
able people of Wadi Musa to gain their seat in the Jordanian Parliament, which had been
occupied either by Maʻan or Ṭaybeh for many years in the past, as stated by (S.A.S.H):
“[…] And there were people with and people against and so on, and we saw, let’s say,
the people of Bani Laith, that we sit down together in one group for the whole liwā’ 87,
or for the people of Wadi Musa, let’s say, in order to come out with a mechanism that not
every time it [parliamentary seat] is taken by the people of Ṭaybeh”.
By 2007/08, there was a definite desire for a relatively young MP who “speaks the local
community’s language” and responds to their needs; a “space” in public discourse to
express themselves differently from the mechanisms imposed on them by government.
There was a need for better public services, especially educational opportunities and
better health care. There was also an urgent need for more job opportunities and access
to decision-making processes concerning their Region.
In an attempt to unify the community, a cross-tribal electoral coalition started to build in

2007/08. The “coalition” was relevant to building local influence at the national level – unify-
ing the ʻashā’ir/ḥamāyil of Wadi Musa in order to capture the parliamentary seat in the future.
Shoyoukh and dignitaries of Wadi Musa started meeting in the tribes’ dīwān. Members
of the local electoral caucus were incorporated in the form of a formal committee con-
sisting of eight members, chosen from both shoyoukh and dignitaries of Wadi Musa.
87 Jordan is administrively divided into regions based on Law number 46 of 2000 (the Administrative Divi-
sions in the Kingdom). The Kingdom was divided into three regions (north, middle and south), included
12 counties (muḥāfaḍah), 51 districts (liwā’) and 38 sub-districts (qaḍā’) (Sarāya, 2009).
192 Chapter 6
The committee members were (shaikh Mājed Abu Faraj, shaikh Muḥammad al-Falaḥāt,
shaikh Maḥmoud al-Ḥasanāt, shaikh Maḥmoud al-Salāmīn, Mr. Khaled al-‘amarāt, Mr.
Ṣāleh al-Ṭwaisi, Engineer Ibrāhīm al-Nawāfleh and Mr. Aḥmad al-Hilāli).
As a result of frequent meetings of the committee, an honourable document was issued

as a tribal charter to which every member in the tribe must commit. The tribal charter
was signed and all the tribes in Wadi Musa had committed to the application of the
provisions of the charter as they had agreed to maintain it. The charter was about estab-
lishing the caucus elections, intikhābāt tamthīliyyah. The caucus mechanism declared
that there are four branches, ḥamāyel, of the tribe of Bani Laith (al-Shrour, al-‘alāya,
al-‘baidyyeh and Bani ‘aṭā) (see Figures 4.6 and 4.7): Bani Laith Kinship Structure).
Since there are several clans in every branch, ḥamoulah, each clan, ʻashīrah, has the
right to nominate one or more of its members to compete with the other members from
the same ḥamoulah to be nominated as a unity candidate to run for the final elections for
the parliamentary seat.
One clan would nominate one or more candidates and each one of the other three
branches, ḥamoulah, would send 20 representatives to vote for one candidate only. The
selected candidate would become the official unity candidate of Bani Laith. On the final
election day all of the people of Wadi Musa would vote for one candidate. The result of
the caucus elections, intikhābāt tamthīliyyah, is known as coalition, ijmāʻ.
Upon the very first activation of the Bani Laith charter in 2007, al-Nawafleh, one of
the branches of the clan of al-‘alāya was the first to be agreed upon by the other three
branches in nominating their candidate in 2007. According to (H. S.): “The first elec-
tions held according to the tribal division have been taken by al-Nawāfleh branch or al-
‘alāya”. The other three branches sent 60 members and voted for Dr. Hani al-Nwāfleh
as the first unity candidate for Petra Region. On the official election day, two other can-
didates nominated themselves, acting against the caucus elections. Because of the Bani
Laith charter, the unity candidate won the elections for the first time and this secured a
seat in Parliament for the Bani Laith.
Having built the coalition to obtain their parliamentary seat, the Bani Laith had taken the
first step towards influencing the government at both regional and national level.
One of the most urgent matters to be dealt with was to have the PDTRA managed by
someone from the local community, someone who lived his everyday life like them and
who could feel their pain: “As for Petra, the most important thing is the PDTRA com-
missionership – they must be from the people of the town” (S. M. H. N.). The coalition
itself was perceived as a new lobbyist in one of the most important regions of the coun-
try, Petra. It was stated by (S. M. H. N.) in a speech that: “We should be strong since
there will be great support for you [the candidate] and that all Bani Laith will back you
up”. Bani Laith’s MP, therefore, would have more power than some of the other MPs
in Jordan.
6.3 2010 Elections, intikhābāt as social drama in Wadi Musa
Breach and crisis, as mentioned above, occupied Chapters Four and Five. These chap-
ters described the gradual value disorientation and increasingly public friction between
economic classes within the community, between those supporting and benefiting from
tourism and those who were not, between traditional authority, shoyoukh and the shabāb,
or younger generation and, on a different level, the local community and government,
dissenters and loyalists. The backdrop to the intikhābāt tamthīliyyah, or caucus nomina-
tion mechanism was developed in 2007 to address rivalries between tribes and families
and unite Wadi Musa in order to take the parliamentary seat dominated in the past by
candidates from Ṭaybeh or Maʻan, who benefited from Bani Laith’s internecine quarrel-
ling. “Since social dramas are disruptive episodes of social action, special attention is
paid to the potential they have for transforming the social order, thereby affecting micro
to macro level change” (McFarland, 2004: 1249). The phase of redress, the “public
meta-social rite” is that attempt to repair the breach in the community.
As Turner emphasizes again and again, there are elements of liminality in both the “cri-
sis” and “redress” phases of the social drama (1974a:33; 1987:4, et al.). The present
narrative will follow the tacking back and forth between conflict and mediation which
took place during the months preceding the campaign and election period until I (the
candidate) was called back from my studies in Germany by the shoyoukh and some
members of my clan, or ḥamoulah, and my subsequent nomination by the intikhābāt
tamthīliyyah. Upon my official nomination I agreed to replace my extended family sur-
name, al-Ḥasanāt, with the tribal name Bani Laith to become Sami Bani Laith.
The period we will consider as the rite of redress was the thirty days of official cam-
paigning culminating in the election day itself and the victory celebration. The period is
locally referred to simply as al-intikhābāt – “elections”. The relatively private and in-
formal intrigue and mediation which were the precursors to the intikhābāt tamthīliyyah
emerged during the intikhābāt into the public arena in carefully choreographed perfor-
mances. The morning immediately following the tamthiiliyya, a huge area of ground
was prepared and the campaign tent, or maqar, was erected. In Wadi Musa the “thea-
tre” in which the representatives of order were confronted was the maqar – the elec-
tions tent.
Chapter Six explores the intikhābāt period in detail, using the Bani Laith and national
wedding (ʻurs waṭani) symbols to unpack the metaphorical baggage of the meta-social
rite of redress. The terms of the redressive action describe an exercise in public reflexiv-
ity – the way in which a group explains itself to itself (Turner, 1977: 466). In addition,
a number of root metaphors and key scenarios emerged from the community discourses
during the campaign as follows:
• Value disorientation associated with tourists and hotels.

• Obsessive and anxious concerns over decisions regarding land use.
194 Chapter 6
• The perception that tourism has made people greedy and materialistic, coupled with
envy of the goods and opportunities of the minority who benefit materially from tourism.
• Self-hatred and internal conflict amongst tourism providers themselves.
• Perception that tourists are given legal priority over local residents and prevail in
competition for resources and planning for the future.
This interpretation argues that, for a certain period, the fragmented, competitive and
conflicting factions in Wadi Musa chose to describe themselves as Bani Laith, a united
entity, in a bid to reclaim authority and autonomy over the Region, literally their land,
which had been lost to them since 1994.
As for reintegration, the fourth and final stage of the social drama – either the Bani Laith
symbol will work or it won’t. It will be internalized and incorporated as part of the new
order, or Bani Laith will refragment once again into competing interest groups. Turner
writes that in the “political field” one can assess the efficacy of redressive action by:
“[…] compar[ing] the ordering of political relations before and after […] Opposi-

tions may be found to have become alliances. Asymmetric relations may have be-
come egalitarian ones. High status will have become low status and vice versa. New
power will have been channelled into old and new authority and former authority
defenestrated […] The bases of political support will have altered. Some compo-
nents of the field will have less support, others more, still others will have fresh sup-
port, and some will have none. The distribution of the factors of legitimacy will have
changed, as also the techniques used by leaders to gain compliance. These changes
can be observed, ascertained, recorded, and in some cases their indices can even be
measured and assessed in quantitative terms” (Turner, 1974a: 42).
The tribes and clans of Petra Region will either muddle through how to work together
– articulate themselves over the long term as a unified entity – or collapse back into
tribal infighting and competition amongst the shoyoukh for traditional social dominance,
understood in terms of wāsṭa, influence in eliciting favours from government and court,
mainly for family members. Such a reversion will surely alienate the shabāb, either oc-
casioning the legitimation and formalization of the schism, or circling back into crisis
again. Failure to reintegrate in a new way will also mean relinquishing any hope of gain-
ing a measure of local control over and positive investment in Petra.
6.3.1 The nomination process for the 2010 elections
The second round of caucus elections in Wadi Musa was in 2010. After the session of the
15th Parliament in Jordan was dissolved by the end of 2009, both the government and the
people started preparing for new elections in 2010. In Wadi Musa, this time it was the turn of
the al-ʻbaidiyyeh. Several meetings were held by various clans to clarify the caucus arrange-
ments and the mechanism by which caucus elections would take place in accordance with
the Bani Laith charter in 2007. (H. S.) stated: “There exist several points circulated amongst
people at that time [2010] and during that time tribalism gave the turn to al-Ḥasanāt”.
The caucus committee decided in September 2010 that it was al-ʻbaidiyyeh’s turn to run
for the 2010 elections and so they needed to start working on the nomination process. In
accordance with the kinship structure in Wadi Musa (Figure 4.7, above), al-ʻbaidiyyeh con-
sists of five clans including al-Helālāt, al-Ḥasanāt, al-Ṭwaisāt, al-Mashāʻleh and al-Naṣarāt.
Each clan worked out its internal caucus which resulted in the nomination of one or two
candidates for each clan, except for al-Ḥasanāt who nominated six candidates (Nāṣer al-
Ḥasanāt, Fawwāz al-Ḥasanāt, Ḥasan al-Ḥasanāt, Mājed al-Ḥasanāt, ʻākef al-Ḥasanāt and
Sami al-Ḥasanāt). I was one of these candidates and I was nominated by my close family
group fakhdh while I was outside Jordan. The al-Ḥasanāt set a date for the final internal
caucus. As an absent candidate I was represented by my family group who affirmed the
legitimacy of my candidacy. They made contact with other clans and invested in all their
relationships to support their candidate. Only when they were assured of the acceptance
of their candidate was I called back from my studies in Germany. On my arrival in Wadi
Musa a lengthy meeting was held and attended by all the members of the family group. I
accepted my family group’s nomination only when they told me that: “you may get your
PhD this year or the next, but you will never gain our confidence if you lose it this time,
when we need you”. (S. A. S. H.) stated: “And he [Sami] said, ‘I am at the command of
the ʻashīrah. If the ʻashīrah wants me to represent them, I will never let them down’”.
Several meetings of the al-Ḥasanāt clan were held. The final and most important one
was at one of their dīwāns. According to (S. A. S. H.): “ʻashīrat al-Ḥasanāt was the big-
gest ʻashīrah in al-ʻbaidiyyeh, and I remember that seven of them were nominated [deep
breath] – we did the impossible, in order to come out with one person to represent the
ʻashīrah”. All of the six candidates and the members of the clan were called for internal
caucus elections.
Shaikh Wajīd, shaikh ʻabdallah and the clan’s dignitaries organized the caucus process
as stated by (S. A. S. H.): “I remember that Wajīd phoned me and said, ‘Tonight we want
to gather the members – because we made committees from the ʻashīrah itself – we want
to gather all the members and candidates together’”. They first started convincing can-
didates to withdraw so that they could reduce the list. Four of them did withdraw for the
sake of the clan and Wadi Musa. Only two remained, Fawwāz and I. Each one of the three
family groups (ʻyāl Shāhīn, ʻyāl Slaimān and (ʻyāl ʻīsa) of the clan introduced their 20
representatives to vote for either one of the candidates. The total number of 60 represent-
atives voted and I received 35 votes out of 60. By the evening of 26 September 2010, I
was selected as the al-Ḥasanāt’s unity candidate for the Wadi Musa final caucus elections.
The other clans of al-‘baidiyyeh – Al-Helālāt, al-Naṣarāt, al-Ṭwaisāt and al-Mashāʻleh –

had chosen their candidates and passed their names to the caucus committee. Al-Helālāt
presented Khalīl al-Helālāt, Ṣāleh al-Helālāt and Khalīfeh al-Helālāt, al-Naṣarāt pre-
196 Chapter 6
sented Ḥussein al-Naṣarāt, al-Ṭwaisāt introduced ʻali al-Ṭwaisi and al-Mashāʻleh intro-
duced Jihād al-Mashāʻleh. By this stage the number of candidates running for the caucus
elections was seven, including myself.
On 2 October 2010 the final caucus elections were held at the al-Farajāt dīwān. The
committee of the local electoral caucus had already arranged the whole process, calling
the shoyoukh to send the 60 representatives of all the clans of Wadi Musa so that they
could vote for one of the seven candidates.
The head of the caucus committee, shaikh Mājed Abu Faraj, announced the start of the cau-
cus elections by saying: “On behalf of my committee, I swear by the name of Almighty Allah
that we will be absolutely transparent in managing the caucus elections”. He also briefed all
the candidates and the representatives about the caucus document (Bani Laith charter), high-
lighting that “this caucus election does not contradict democracy in Jordan at all. On the
contrary, it makes it easier for the people of Petra to choose their candidate transparently.
It also helps us to avoid any clashes or problems”. At the same time, he asked all the candi-
dates to swear by the name of Allah that they would accept the results of the caucus elections
and that if any one of them wanted to withdraw at this stage it would help by shortening the
list. The al-Ṭwaisāt candidate, ʻali al-Twaissi, withdrew and the other six remained.
The election process started and I received 35 votes out of 60. At this point, I became
the unity candidate of Bani Laith. The result of this caucus pleased everyone, including
the other candidates, and they congratulated me. The crowd outside the dīwān cheered
loudly and a procession took place to accompany me to my temporary maqar [election
tent]. During the night, most of the Bani Laith came to congratulate me and my clan on
the winning of the caucus elections. The next morning the permanent maqar was erected
as the “theatre” in which the representatives of order in Wadi Musa were presented.
6.3.2 Specification of qualifications sought for the official coalition candidate
At the heart of the nomination process was the specification of qualities that the official
coalition candidate should possess – young, educated, a tourism professional and, most
importantly, a permanent resident of Wadi Musa. In a relatively small community such
as Wadi Musa people get to know each other well and the qualities that each person pos-
sesses. (H. A.) stated: “He [the candidate] must be educated, and Dr. Sami 88, māshā’
Allāh 89, is richly [sic] known [by the people of Petra] as a cultured person. I met him
88 It is common in Jordan that people use the title of Dr. for a Jordanian student as soon as he/she embarks on
their studies for PhD. If he/she is a lecturer at a university, their colleagues and students also use the title
of Dr.
89 Māshā’ Allāh literally means “God will”. Normally people say that before they state their opinion about a
person or a thing that they like, respect or appreciate. It is similar to saying “touch wood” in English.
more than once at his home, and indeed he is a cultured person with a high degree of
understanding and consciousness”.
In an interview, His Excellency Ḍaifallah al-ʻamarāt, the judge of sharīʻah law in Petra,
said: “After one of al-Fajr prayers at the suburban masjid 90, I met with some of my
friends and we discussed the qualifications, which I had speculated on and had them
written down. Among these were that the candidate must be an educated person, a tour-
ism professional, talkative with a strong character, [who] knows the needs of the region
and its people and a person who [has] lived his life among the people of [the] town.
We discussed all the candidates and applied these specifications to [each of them and]
concluded that Sami al-Ḥasanāt is the most capable for that job […]”
In another interview, the same view was embraced by His Excellency Ibraheem ‘Assaf,
the Governor of Petra Region, who stated: “However, through their experience and their
coexistence with this person [the candidate] [the people of Petra] felt that he would be
the representative who was capable of representing them [in the parliament] and mak-
ing their voice reach out [to the government] and this is due to his experience of tourism
development in the region […] They [Bani Laith] felt that Dr. Sami al-Ḥasanāt would be
their representative within the tribes. These issues are private to the Petraian street, so
to speak”. (N. F.) also assured them that: “All the good qualities were in this candidate,
otherwise he would not have been chosen”.
In pre-election meetings and debates the people of Wadi Musa and members of the local
electoral caucus determined that they would work toward selecting a candidate for Parlia-
ment who was educated and a tourism professional. According to (O. M. H.): “And I was
supporting him from many points of view, among them being: he is an educated person who
is aware and conscious of the concerns of the people. He was educated in the first place”.
In the same vein (I. A.) insisted: “The MP we want to choose must be cultured and educat-
ed”. By selecting an educated tourism professional they hoped to elect someone who could
wield the authority to investigate and control decisions and actions concerning their region.
For example, (H. A.) said: “But no, I believe that the candidate must be from the town,
and knows the needs of people, understands their problems and knows the shortcomings
of decision makers in the country”. Another interviewee, in particular, was a lady of
Yemeni nationality, who has been married to a man from Wadi Musa for almost 10 years,
who stated: “Because people trust him as they are confident that he is the one who will
respond to their demands […] and he is the one who knows exactly what they need. Be-
cause he is the one who lives with them and sees their problems and sees their suffering”.
(S. M. M.) also stated: “We want one of the youth – someone enthusiastic, someone who
understands, someone who comes from a life closest to that of the people of Wadi Musa”.
90 Masjid is a mosque where Muslims pray. In almost every suburb in most cities in Islamic countries there
is a mosque. The size is dependent on the size of the community.
198 Chapter 6
(I. A.) said: “Sami’s work was in [the] tourism sector in the first place […] therefore, he
knows the tourism sector and what that sector needs. He knows the needs of the town
because this sector is the main financer of the economy of the people of the town […]”
(M. M. T.) also said: “[…] It was [in] the interest of the society as a whole to have an
appropriate person […] and the need is an urgent need for a person who is capable of
making the voice and demands of the society heard, especially in Wadi Musa, reach out
[to the decision makers] […] there was enthusiasm, there was a need for choosing a
nā′ib 91”. They hoped that their anticipated candidate might be able to find new invest-
ments and projects to benefit them, find or create jobs, create better access to education
and scholarships and develop a strategy for equal distribution of the wealth from tourism.
6.3.3 Economic issues at the centre of the campaign
The most recurrent motif or theme that arose during the campaign period in 2010 was
about benefiting from tourism revenue. People of Wadi Musa stressed the fact that tour-
ism is an important economic source not only for Petra Region, but for the country as a
whole. The main focus was on discussing how the wealth generated from tourism rev-
enue could be distributed equally. This theme was coupled with how to find jobs for the
unemployed. The general feeling that was dominant at the time was how all citizens of
Wadi Musa could be involved in profitable and innovative projects. Indeed, the demand
was urgent so that they could get their due rights from tourism income in particular.
6.3.4 Women and youth as emergent forces in the vote
Open meetings for the women of Wadi Musa were held in every tribal dīwān so that
they could voice their concerns and demand to play a more active role on election com-
mittees as well as in public life in the region. For the first time they spoke effectively
and openly to me as the consensus candidate with respect to finding real opportunities
for them in all areas of life. They were determined to support me in order to get the
parliamentary seat and thus get more rights for women in Wadi Musa and to open up
better opportunities for their children in the future. Some of the pre-election speak-
ers assured women’s role not only in the election, but also in all aspects of life. Here
(S. W. H.) in his speech asserted that: “Bani Laith women are equal to Bani Laith men.
We, as men, came from you and we will remain with you [the women]. We will do our
very best to reach the parliament.” Another speaker (S. D.) urged women to support the
candidate in order to achieve a better future for their children and to empower them in
reaching a place where they could be involved in decision-making. Here he asserts that
“[…] Women’s participation in elections is very important to empower women to reach
91 Nā’ib means a Member of Parliament.

decision-making units. I ask you to support Sami, who came for your sake and for your
children’s future […]”
Most of the pre-election meetings focused on women. Their role emerged as partners
in all decisions related to their lives. They expressed their resentment at being ignored
in the past due to social ignorance of their role. They also confirmed their capability of
becoming leaders in their community, being equipped with knowledge and education
which would enable them to excel. A group of highly educated women were in attend-
ance at all meetings with women, during which they expressed their opinions and shared
thoughts with the other women.
Young people in Wadi Musa have the lion’s share in terms of standing before the older
generation. One of the older generation, (N. Sh.), in his speech, asserted that: “I believe
that this platform must be left exclusively to the shabāb of Bani Laith so they have the
full chance of expressing themselves in an unprecedented way”. The older generation
chose to put the shabāb in the forefront so they could express themselves in a different
way. It was stated by (S. W. H.) in his speech: “This is your candidate. A young man
chosen from among you. You know him very well. His success is yours. Put your hand
with his. Surround him with your help. The hope of the nation is dependent on you […]
The youth of Bani Laith are the men of tomorrow, the builders of the future and the
Knights of Change […] On this night we share responsibility with the youth – the re-
sponsibility of serving the liwā’ firstly and Jordan secondly”.
For the first time they were able to highlight their importance in the process of building
their community and in an attempt to deciding their future independently of the deci-
sions that elders made on their behalf. “It is good to respect our fathers, but if they were
wrong we must tell them that […] Each person represents himself. No one can decide on
behalf of other people […] I’m asking you all to be honest with yourselves” (M. Sh.).
Respect of the older generation is an important value, although the younger generation
must have a free space in which they can express themselves in a different way. It was
also stated by (S. D.) that: “[…] Youth must be included in the building and moderniza-
tion process of the country […]”. The role of the youth in Wadi Musa could thus become
more powerful and assertive. They were demanding the creation of employment oppor-
tunities for graduates and the unemployed and were also more determined than ever to
be given a real chance to express their needs.
6.4 Wadi Musa as a community seeking redress
Now we turn to what I interpret as my community’s efforts at redress and reintegration

of the fragmentation, or, in Turner’s terms, the breach of community. I see my own se-
lection for the candidacy as an attempt to redress the breach through social drama. My
campaign coalesced around Bani Laith as a root metaphor, a unifying symbol, and in
fact I was the second candidate in the Region’s history to be elected as a unity candidate.
200 Chapter 6
Ethnography, including sources such as participant observation, archival resources, pho-

tography, videography, interviews, surveys, meetings and speeches of a cross-section of
the Wadi Musa community, was my approach to establishing a thick description of my
community.
“The point is […] that ethnography is thick description. What the ethnogra-
pher is in fact faced with […] is a multiplicity of complex conceptual struc-
tures […] which he must contrive somehow first to grasp and then to render.”
(Geertz, 1973)
The combination of quantitative measurements and qualitative information that I gath-

ered and interpreted gave a texture and depth to the portrait of the Wadi Musa com-
munity by constructing a Geertzian “thick description” of Wadi Musa. From this thick
description it was possible to draw root metaphors and key scenarios which are used by
the community to order cultural life.
“One can conceptualize interrelationships among phenomena by analogy to

the interrelationships among the parts of the root metaphor […] Key scenari-
os […] both formulate appropriate goals and suggest effective action for achiev-
ing them. [They] formulate, in other words, key cultural strategies.” (Ortner,
2002).
These root metaphors and key scenarios in turn provide the symbolic material neces-
sary to understand what Victor Turner calls the “social drama” via which communities
process crises and transition periods in their cultural life. In “Dramas, Fields and Meta-
phors: Symbolic action in human society”, Turner (1974a) noted that “Conflict seems
to bring fundamental aspects of society, normally overlaid by the customs and habits of
daily intercourse, into frightening prominence”.
Two very rich and prevailing symbols/metaphors emerged from the interviews and doc-
uments (including videos, photographs and recorded material from pre-election meet-
ings and speeches) collected around the elections period: Bani Laith and ʻurs waṭani, the
“national wedding”. Using Ortner’s checklist as a heuristic device, Bani Laith and ʻurs
waṭani were selected as metaphors to be analyzed in depth for the insights they might
yield into cultural identity and socio-political processes in Wadi Musa.
In this chapter we will be using Bani Laith and “national wedding” (ʻurs waṭani) sym-
bols to “unpack” the metaphorical baggage of the meta-social rite of redress. The terms
of the redressive action describe an exercise in public reflexivity – the way in which a
group explains itself to itself (Turner, 1977: 466). This interpretation argues that, for a
certain period, the fragmented, competitive and conflicting factions in Wadi Musa chose
to describe themselves as Bani Laith, a united entity, in a bid to reclaim authority and
autonomy over their Region.
6.4.1 The metaphorical baggage in Bani Laith symbolism
The various attempts of redress were crowned by the unifying symbol of Bani Laith. That
was an attempt towards reintegration of the people of Wadi Musa under the rubric of Bani
Laith. This particular redressive action and reintegration can be understood in the light
of unpacking the metaphorical baggage of the meta-social rite of redress in terms of Bani
Laith symbolism. In order to reach a better understanding of this symbolism, the in-depth
topical interviews concerning the election period were analyzed using MAXQDA soft-
ware and interpreted to enrich this argument. The pre-electoral speeches were also semi-
otically analysed to add yet another layer to the interpretation of Bani Laith symbolism.
Looking at the society of Wadi Musa as a whole, it is evident how the kinship structure was
formed. 99 % of the whole community belong to one particular tribe: the Bani Laith. Every
individual belongs to a clan which in turn refers to one tribe, more than 24,000 members,
who all have the same surname, (Bani Laith). The society of Wadi Musa, therefore, can
be seen as an interdependent whole which results in unity. Here John Wilson states that:
“Seeing society as an interdependent whole results in unity and solidarity. Each

individual find his or her social identity through this unity. Simultaneously, each
individual’s life and social contribution is an expression of the whole, and there-
fore valuable to the whole. Westerners have not lost this sense of community en-
tirely. We see glimpses of it during times of crisis, in team sports and in military
units where organization, rank and mutual interdependence creates almost a
tribal mentality” (Wilson, 2006).
What concerns us semiotically is that belief in the Bani Laith myth which created such
an unswerving unity of all clans of Wadi Musa. Here Peter Manning asserts that belief:
“Social signs, since they communicate group relations, have differing capacities
to represent social power, coercion, and shared meaning to groups. Those signs
that are hyperelevated into matter of trust, and shared reality that approaches
the unquestioned, are myths” (Manning, 1987:27).
The overwhelming desire for unity was derived from that social cohesive force which
was evident during the elections of 2010. It was a social power coupled with mutual trust
that strengthened the social bonds of the Wadi Musa community and pushed people to
reintegrate politically under the rubric of the Bani Laith. One interviewee (B. S.) stated:
“The goal was to be unified so that we have a candidate for our coalition […] this
candidate succeeded on the Election Day, in which all efforts were focused on the fact
that this person must succeed”. Another interviewee (M. H.) believed that: “On the
election day, it wasn’t only that the elections produced people who can represent the
people and make the society’s voice, worries, hopes and pains reach [the authorities],
but also, on the other hand it brought the society back to a kind of social structure”. It
202 Chapter 6
was also asserted by (N. Sh.) that the children of Bani Laith should possess a sense of
pride of belonging to Bani Laith: “It is time for the children of Petra to say that I’m a
son of Bani Laith as Sami did”. He also reiterated that unity means a collective sense of
thinking about Bani Laith as a whole: “We shall never reach farther than ‘ain Musa 92,
if we remain as we were saying in the past – ‘alāya, ‘baidiyyeh, Bani ‘aṭā and Shrour.
The name of Bani Laith must become one of the [most] brilliant names in the whole of
Jordan”. By saying “we shall never reach farther than ‘ain Musa” he actually meant
that the departure point from Wadi Musa starts at ‘ain Musa, which is a spring of water
located at the very edge of the town. That means it would be impossible for Bani Laith
to go to a national level separately – to do that they must be united.
The map produced by using MAXQDA, in Figure 6.1, below, shows the interrelation-
ships amongst several variables with which interviewees from Wadi Musa chose to de-
scribe themselves as a unified entity, namely Bani Laith.
Election
process streets
National Wedding voting place alhaḥdulillah
men
(‘urs waṭani) Election day
security
moment
problems ya‘ni
situation
social
ijmā
enthusiasm brother
Results
Bani Laith
Tribe
commitees
Diwan
Democracy
Taybeh Maqar
succeed
Youth
Unity fireworks anthems remember joy
Children shooting candidate
Figure 6.1: Unpacking the metaphorical baggage of Bani Laith
A total number of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted on election day. Interviews

were recorded, transcribed, translated into English and analyzed using MAXQDA soft-
ware. It was found that in 14 interviews the coding “Bani Laith” appeared 110 times as
a dominant code, while a category “Tribe” appeared as a sub-code under “Bani Laith”
with 50 sequences, and two sub-codes were generated: “problems”, which appeared
92 ‘Ain Musa: the spring of Muses, which marks the main entrance and exit to the city of Wadi Musa. The
whole city was named after this spring as the valley of Muses.
22 times and “dīwān” 93, which appeared 16 times. Interviewees expressed their con-
cern about brawls and conflicts between the contesting parties. It was also found that
the dominant code “Bani Laith” encompassed 25 co-occurring codes including tribe,
problems, maqar 94, youth, joy, shooting, remember, candidate, Alhamdulellah 95, voting
place, national wedding, moment, situation, ijmāʻ 96, enthusiasm, nā′ib 97, results, com-
mittees, democracy, Ṭaybeh, succeed, unity, fireworks, children and anthems. All of the
previous recurring categories represented those signs of related meanings from which
we have learned how Bani Laith interpret themselves to themselves. They represent the
ingredients of the myth in which Bani Laith believed, which provided them with the so-
cial power so that they could reintegrate. They also shaped the web of meanings through
which the community interprets itself to itself.
While it is not an easy task, obviously, to verify all of the information historically, the
21st century identity of Bani Laith is shaped primarily by who they believe they are,
their “mythography” of the tribe. Renowned scholar of religions Ninian Smart under-
stands myth as a sacred narrative which bears authority for the community which uses
it. Evaluating myth as “true or false” is specious, because myth’s validity lies in its
cohesive power for a community, in its “sharedness”, the consent of the community to
allow it to define them (Smart 1969:18, et passim). Once a myth is no longer shared,
“believed”, it loses power and cogency. In an important sense, then, if one’s goal is to
understand the Bani Laith, their own construction of themselves is more important than
a scholarly historiography they do not share. In an effort to interpret how the Bani Laith
explain themselves to themselves it is crucial to quote some interviewees as well as
interpreting semiotically the way they see themselves in order to grasp the real meaning
of their culture in its own context. Here Turner says:
“What do I ‘mean” by ‘meaning” here? I am aware of the formidable ambigui-

ties of this term, and of the controversies surrounding it. To ‘mean’ is, in its sim-
ple lexical definition, to have in mind, to have an opinion. To intend, and derives
ultimately from the Indo-European base maino, from which are derived, O. E.
maenan and German meinen, all of which signify ‘to have an opinion’. Broadly
speaking, a ‘meaning’ is ‘what is intended to be, or in fact is, signified, indicated,
referred to, or understood’”. (Turner, 1987).
93 Traditionally, each tribe in Jordan has its own dīwān, which serves as a tribe hall. The word describes a
huge gathering hall that a tribe uses for all types of meetings. It is the place where discussions concerning
tribal issues are held and where decisions concerning the tribe are taken. It is used as the place where the
tribe celebrate all of their occasions, whether that is wedding parties or to receive condolences. Dīwān
in the past was known as (shig), which was a section of the Bedouin tent. It was mainly in the tent of the
shaikh. In the tents of the ordinary people it was known as meḍīf, “guest hall”.
94 Maqar is the official campaign centre, the place where the pre-election activities are held.
95 Alhamdulellah: praise be to Allah or thank God.
96 Ijmāʻ: Tribal consensus or coalition
97 Nā′ib: means a Member of Parliament.
204 Chapter 6
Understanding the meaning of what has been signified, indicated, referred to or under-
stood by the Bani Laith themselves is to grasp what is in their minds, what opinions they
have about themselves; in other words, to understand what has been meant by the rubric of
Bani Laith which took over the names of all the other names of smaller ḥamāyil 98 under it.
It was observed that the first arrangement for the election day was establishing a com-
mittee to supervise and structure the election process. All members of that committee
were members of the Bani Laith. According to (S. A. S. H.): “[…] that was formed [the
election committee] from all the clans of Bani Laith, from the people of the liwā”. This
was significant since members of such a committee know almost everyone from the
Bani Laith. This committee is necessary for the transparency of the election process.
The name of the candidate (myself) was changed to become Sami Bani Laith. As stated
by (M. S. H.): “The candidate of liwā’ al-Batra’ 99 is Sami Bain Laith”. When I became
a Member of Parliament the name was still there as stated by (N. F.): “And we are full
of hope in the nā′ib Sami Bani Laith. Gratitude was due [to] all of the members of Bani
Laith for making the success of the elections”. (M. H.) stated: “[…] And we, in turn,
thank all of the children of Bani Laith, and all the brothers who contributed to the suc-
cess of this national wedding”. The children of the Bani Laith are considered members
of the same family as well as people from the same tribe are identified as brothers and
sisters, although they do not descend literally from one father.
Here (S. A. S. H.) stressed: “[…] And everywhere there were parades of cars and peo-
ple, anthems and ululations from Bani Laith in general, from our sisters and brothers”.
(E. H.), who was ever present in the maqar, reports the approximate number of people
from Bani Laith, men and women who were frequenting the place by saying: “The num-
ber of people in the maqar was not less than 5000 people from Bani Laith […] and in
[the] women’s maqar the daughters of Bani Laith were nearly all there”. This shows how
people from the same tribe keep records of those who frequent the maqar. If someone is
missing, one of his close relatives or friends would question his absence. All people in the
town know each other and keep an eye on each other, therefore, they respect each other.
On election day, it was lodged in the memory of (S. A. S. H.) who stated: “I remember
that the families (ʻashā’ir) of Bani Laith insisted that they would not go to the voting boxes
unless the candidate was with them”. Despite their undoubted knowledge that they were
all included in the event, they wanted nevertheless to prove to each other that they were
all actually there. As a candidate I was obliged to join members of each clan at the voting
centres. The same interviewee stated that: “Alḥamdulillāh rabb al-ʻālamīn [all praise be
to Allah, Lord of all mankind] our work and, let us say, the enthusiasm of the youth of al-
Ḥasanāt and the youth of Bani Laith in general truly, I mean, one cannot describe […] I
remember when the numbers [of votes] reached 3,800, all those from Bani Laith who were
98 Plural (hamaayil) which means clans. The singular (hamoulah) means one clan.
99 District of Petra.
there inside and outside the maqar were overflowing with joy, al-shukru lillāh [thanks
be to Allah], the anthems, the shooting of guns, and the fireworks, the folk dances […]
Groups of people left the maqar from Bani Laith, being afraid of the shooting”.
After the announcement of the final results of the elections on the evening of 9 No-
vember 2010, there were 5,508 votes for me out of the total registered number of 7,978
votes. Asma al-Rawāḍiyeh received 1,905 votes and Jihād al-Mashāʻleh 565 votes. By
this point the Bani Laith had secured their seat in Parliament with the overwhelming
majority of the votes for their unity candidate.
The speeches during the nightly meetings at the maqar emphasized the social power of
Bani Laith. They evoked in the members of Bani Laith their identity which seemed to
have been lost due to the tribal conflicts amongst them. One of the speakers (A. I. T.),
in an attempt to remind Bani Laith of their history, stated: “In October 1917 Bani Laith
stood up united to defeat the Turks. 17 martyrs passed away from Bani Laith, from al-
‘baidiyyeh, al-‘alāya, Bani ‘aṭā and al-Shrour. Today they are standing again for their
coalition to choose one of the best people among them.” During the election days a huge
challenge faced the Bani Laith. The elections were such a battle that they had to fight as
bravely as their ancestors did in the battle with the Turks in 1917. Comparing the two
situations, the elections and the battle with the Turks seemed almost the same. This was
a battle that they had to win.
In the same context, (I. E. A.) stressed the fact that: “Some of the shoyoukh of Wadi
Musa were killed in the past for the principles they stood for […] We need to become
unified for the general benefit of our country Jordan and our city Petra.” In this way,
the various speakers evoked the connection with the forefathers who had passed away
defending their principles, including defending the country and its people. They had
died defending their rights in the fight against their enemies.
Another interesting metaphor was devised by (H. A. H.) in one of the encouraging

speeches: “Arrival of Bani Laith to their maqar seems like the rainfall; it irrigates land
and makes plants grow and it brings warmth and joy […] If Bani Laith want to make this
change, they must go to vote tomorrow [on the election day]”. In a dry place, in an arid
land, rainfall makes a tremendous change, therefore if Bani Laith were to make changes
in their circumstances, they were urged to vote.
In his speech on the occasion of opening the electoral maqar, shaikh Wajīd al-Ḥasanāt
emphasized cooperation for the good, unity, and shared responsibility of Bani Laith, the
role of the youth and necessity for change, as well as women’s equality along with men:
“[…] Cooperation for the good […] [narrating Ḥadīth] ‘The hand of God is with the
group’ […] You – Bani Laith are most welcome to the maqar of Bani Laith, the coalition
maqar […] I extend my hand out to yours, promising to be faithful to you […] Thank
you Bani Laith for all of your efforts in uniting our word and for bringing the people of
Bani Laith together in a real reunion […] The youth of Bani Laith are the men of tomor-
206 Chapter 6
row, the builders of the future and the Knights of Change […] On this night we share
responsibility with the youth. The responsibility of serving the liwā’ firstly and Jordan
secondly […] Bani Laith women are equal to Bani Laith men. We, as men, came from
you and we will remain for you […] We will do our very best to make our way to the par-
liament […]” Such a speech was full of meaning, stressing the unity of Bani Laith. The
“hand of God is with the group” is a replication of “together we stand” and “even God
helps those who help themselves”. It was the opening of a new page in the book of Bani
Laith and Wadi Musa, a new strategy to redress and reintegrate in such a healthy atmos-
phere. Responsibility is shared and the roles of both youth and women are highlighted
and confirmed. Cooperation for the good of the region and its people is definitely ad-
dressed by putting hands together to make the essential change towards a better future.
The call for unity and leaving hatred and conflict behind was evident in the speech of
(H. H. T.): “[…] I am asking all of you to stand together and cooperate in order to
abandon conflicts and to renounce hatred so we attain the spirit of being one team, so
we can serve this country with the best we have”. Only when people stand together do
they combat hatred and conflict so that they become like one team, and only then do
they become capable of serving their country. There was a clear sign that social conflict
had arisen from the envy of those who thought that they did not benefit from tourism
towards those who do benefit from it. Not only that, but also all the other sources of con-
flict resulting from misunderstandings which had led most of the time to quarrels. For
example, the most recent quarrel took place on the evening of 18 November 2014 when
one of the youths was driving his car with loud music playing and passing in front of
his neighbour’s house. The neighbour told him to stop and this resulted in a big quarrel,
with four people being admitted to hospital with serious injuries and the rest (more than
20 people) being put in jail. What a waste of time and money! Hatred itself is a huge
waste of energy at both personal and group level. These are the sorts of things, among
others, that tear the community apart. Calls to leave such conflicts behind were included
in most of the electoral speeches.
6.4.2 Importance of “Bani Laith” vs. the separate tribes
As previously mentioned, in Petra there are other tribes such as al-Rawājfeh at Rājif ,
al-Bidoul at Umm Ṣayḥoun and al-ʻAmarīn at Baiḍa, who are smaller in number than
the dominant tribe of Bani Laith. As the Bani Laith live in Wadi Musa they have their
own candidate. The other tribes in the Petra region belong to another constituency called
Badu al-Janoub, the Bedouin of the south. They do not share the parliamentary seat of
Petra with Bani Laith at Wadi Musa. What is important is what the opinion is of the Bani
Laith about themselves. Quoting one of the speakers (I. E. A.): “Bani Laith are excep-
tional. They have a very long history. Some of them were hung in the past. And some of
them died in Palestine. I would like to assert what was said in Dr. Sami’s speech that we
belong to a great civilization”. Their long history is marked by their defence of Palestine
and by their belief in the great civilization they belong to.
As shown in the MAXQDA map on page 202, the word “tribe” is a sub-code (Figure 6.2,
below) springing from Bani Laith, which is the main code or main category.
Democracy committees
represent
Na‘ib Results
candidate Diwan
remember women
Unity brother
needs
happy
Children
procession
Tribe
Bani Laith
Figure 6.2: Bani Laith tribe and its association with elections in Wadi Musa.
The word “tribe” appeared 50 times in 11 interviews. Interviewees expressed their

thoughts about tribalism (al-ʻashā’iriyyah), which still plays a pivotal role in elections
in Wadi Musa. Here (B. S.) stated: “Of course I can say that maybe the tribalism (al-
ʻashā’iriyyah) side was playing and still plays a strong role in this subject [elections],
or has a negative effect […] But, as I said, I still see that Jordan, most unfortunately, is
characterized by tribalism and it plays a great role in this issue [elections] […] At the
same time I am against it – why? – because it is true that this person [the candidate],
this time, is the right person, if tribalism plays the same role, that could bring a person
we may not want […]” She believed that tribalism exists and has two sides: sometimes
it brings the appropriate candidate to represent people, but other times it may not.
One interviewee, (S. N. H.), who was originally from Yemen, but married to a man
from Wadi Musa for 10 years, described the situation in the following terms: “On your
side [Wadi Musa], every tribe nominates their candidate and they make it to the parlia-
ment […] On our side we do not have the same situation for each tribe. We do not have
that. You belong to a political party and the party supports you to reach the parliament”.
That sounds true in the case of Jordan, although there are some political parties in the
country, but most of the people would vote for a member of their tribe and not for a
member of a political party. This was evident in Bani Laith’s situation during elections.
They only vote for a member of their tribe. That is at the heart of the function of the
maqar for the members of each tribe during the election period. All members of the tribe
208 Chapter 6
have their names registered in a list according to their constituency. Tribal committees
check the names and they make sure that everyone votes. This process is illustrated in an
interview with (S. A. S. H.) who said: “I also remember that on election day from eve-
rything that was going on with me, I received a telephone call that the voting was low in
the Shamāsīn district, and there was not enough voting. The names were coming to these
committees – I said ya 100 uncle, you have this, that and the other person – why didn’t
they vote? And I made a phone call to Mamdouḥ al-Shamāsīn and to Abu Mehdi 101, and
I told him, ‘ya Abu Mahdi – you have this, that and the other person, and another and
so on, with complete names, these ya uncle, have not voted. Time – we have no time’. It
was five, I remember, or five thirty”. After approximately 15 minutes he called me and
told me ‘Ya Abu Saif, this one voted, and that one voted, and the other voted, and this
one is married in Kerak 102, I swear she’s not here’”. That shows how people of Bani
Laith know each other inherently. If the interviewee did not know a particular person,
he would certainly know someone from the same clan who knows almost everyone in
his own clan. The insistence on checking the names leaves no one out from voting. Even
when the interviewee doesn’t know the names of those who didn’t vote, he will call oth-
ers he knows very well to make sure that everything is under control.
The category “Problems” (shown in Figure 6.3, below) was an expression that appeared
as another category or a sub-code of the dominant code “Bani Laith”.
joy
Youth
shooting
alhaḥdulillah Maqar
anthems
voting place Bani Laith

National Wedding
moment
Tribe
problems
Taybeh
Diwan
ijmā
situation ya‘ni men social
Election day security streets
Figure 6.3: Bani Laith’s concern about problems (violent brawls)
100 (Ya) is used before the name of a person when we call someone, i. e. ya Uncle means “oh you, my uncle”.
101 The man is usually named after his first son. Abu Mahdi: father of Mahdi.
102 One of the southern governorates of Jordan, which is about 200 km from Wadi Musa.
A pervasive theme of the election day itself, which emerged clearly in the subsequent
interviews, was the threat of hoshah, “violent brawl”, the traditional brawls which of-
ten accompany weddings and other celebrations 103. The threat of hoshah was associ-
ated with the election day, which was described as a “national wedding”. It was one
of the biggest of gathering occasions. During “election day”, large numbers of people
(youth, men and women) gathered near voting centres or in the maqar in large crowds.
There was a concern about opposition to the coalition “ijmāʻ” itself. During the election
day there was the probability of unfavourable encounters due to the competition with
“Ṭaybeh” or al-Mashāʻleh. Concern about hoshah also came from the parades in the
“streets”, gatherings and activities around and at “voting places”, during the “moment”
of announcement of the final results, unwanted “shooting”, the joy of one party might
not please the other and the whole “situation” was alarming in terms of problems or
brawls occurring. People were glad that nothing amiss had happened on that day. The
final expression was alḥamdulillāh for that grace.
It was expressed clearly by (S. A. S. H.) who said: “Our main goal at that moment,
what the first thing was – to assume control of the situation in general and to accom-
modate the joy of Bani Laith as a whole, and no problems would take place and nothing
wrong would happen”. Finishing the event without trouble was a happy sign as stated by
(B. S.): “Honestly, after the elections operations were finished, alḥamdulillāh [Praise
be to Allāh], it ended without problems in the sphere of liwā’ al-Batra, and especially the
area of Wadi Musa”. (S. M. M.) said: “It was free of problems. There weren’t any clash-
es or any problems, and it was – bi faḍl Allāh [by the grace of Allāh] – very special – wa
alḥamdulillāh […] And the proof is that in many other areas of the Kingdom problems
occurred […] Without social solidarity there could have been problems and it could
have been a national struggle”. Concern was expressed by many people about disputes
that might have happened, if there wasn’t unity among the Bani Laith themselves. It was
also believed that consensus was one of the reasons that trouble was avoided. As (H. A.)
said: “Because they say or, from my point of view also, that the coalition reduces prob-
lems and reduces the tension between people”. People agreed that having one candidate
for the Bani Laith would reduce the tensions between them.
Some officials, such as His Excellency mutaṣarrif of Petra, Ibrāhīm ʻAssāf, declared:
“So there were no problems or any disturbances on this day, which is considered as a
national wedding and not an election battle as rumoured in some of the media […] Tru-
ly, because the elections [were] held without any problem, without registering any vio-
lation”. Another official (B. S.) said: “No trouble was made, no incidents, the security
situation was excellent, the psychological situation for voters was very comfortable, the
efforts which were made by the youth who worked with the nā’ib were strenuous”. The
youth of the Bani Laith did their best to avoid any trouble. (S. A. S. H.), from his posi-
tion as a coordination officer, confirmed that he was ever present before any problem
103 – and of which the al-Ḥasanāt are notoriously fond (as stated previously).
210 Chapter 6
could have happened: “We received communications from the operating room – I was
the coordination officer – (he coughs) – pardon – I was, as you say, if any mob or any
problems had happened the operations room would have called me and I would have
gone directly to that place […] More problems happened, but, alḥamdulillāh rabb al-
ʻālamīn, they were contained at once”. That was the kind of preventive measures that
were in place to resolve any dispute before it took place.
Figure 6.3, page 208, shows another important category (dīwān). Dīwān as a place for
people to gather is a symbol of unity for each ḥamoulah and each ʻashīrah. Dīwān al-
Farajat, for example, was the place where the caucus election (intikhābāt tamthīliyyah)
took place. Each ʻashīrah held meetings in their own dīwān before establishing the main
maqar. In one interview in particular, “dīwān” was mentioned 16 times. (S. A. S. H.)
mentioned: “[…] They were gathered all together at the dīwān and they wanted to start
moving all together in a procession. And actually we called Mr. Sami and we took him
to dīwān al-Helālāt and they mounted the procession. It was a huge procession for all the
members of the al-Helālāt tribe. al-Helālāt men were all gathering in their dīwān. One
of them (Salmān al-Helālāt) was talking loudly that they were all going to vote by the
leadership of their shaikh Hāroun al-Helāli and burst out singing loudly ‘ya Sami laina
ou ḥaggak ʻalaina’ (oh Sami is for us and his right [to be supported] is located in us”.
The importance of “Bani Laith” vs. the separate ḥamāyil, whether in the region or in
Jordan in terms of the 2010 elections, is their coalition. Their decision to choose one
candidate and give their approval of him was perceived positively by the other ḥamāyil
in the country. Here (A. T.) stated: “He told people in Amman about the ijmāʻ. They
admired the idea”. Another important aspect of Bani Laith is their unity as described
by (S. M. H. N.): “The clans of Wadi Musa represent five fingers in a hand”; this is a
metaphor for an inseparable union of the clans of Bani Laith.
6.5 Desire for redress of socio-political “breach”
Interviewees and speakers emphasised that there was a desire for redress of the socio-po-
litical breach in Wadi Musa. The Bani Laith idea of consensus for one person to represent
them at the Parliament was an attempt to redress the socio-political breach. In an interview
with (B. S.), she observed: “All tribes consented that nā′ib Sami is the only person who can
respond to their demands and achieve their hopes and ambitions – youth, [the] old, chil-
dren, mothers and women, everyone consented on nā′ib Sami”. As part of the ambition to
redress the breach, the Bani Laith focused on the point that the candidate could be a medium
by which they could have access to the political system because of the authority an MP has.
Harmony and unity exist in an inevitable desire for redress, as stated by (M. H.): “The
entire community was in harmony, interdependent and loving. The whole society was
consistent about one idea, which is the idea of ijmāʻ, which did not produce a person as
[much as] it produced a set of social values. And a unified and common thought towards
unity. This was recognized by all people despite their differing thoughts […]”. The focal
idea was that of the coalition or consistency. They came to understand that their different
interests must meet at one point, which was coalition. The same interviewee continued:
“It was a great atmosphere that brought people back to old times. Yaʻni there was [a]
kind of great harmony, which people have lost and abandoned for [a] long time. They
have revived this lost legacy and this lost atmosphere […] This conflict [in the past]
resulted in a wide gap between classes in the society […] all that produces weak social
cohesion”. It seems like people have learned from the past conflicts and disharmony.
They started to identify the mistakes in anticipation of rectifying them; in other words,
to redress the breach or crisis in their community.
It was also clear that the decision was in the people’s hands of whom to choose as the
candidate who would help their voices to be heard by the decision-making institutions,
as stated by (H. A.): “[…] everyone believes in the person who wants to represent him in
front of government or in communicating his opinion and his voice to responsible people
in the Ministries”. Furthermore, some interviewees, such as (M. S. H.), believe that the
MP has the potential to reach the king himself: “I say to everyone [who] won, everyone
[who] reached the Parliament, and whoever become nā′ib that he is nā′ib of King Ab-
dullah II […] In addition, they were [Bani Laith] hand-in-hand. Meeting together, they
have achieved everything that they are capable of”. Bani Laith succeeded in having
their unity MP. This would facilitate people’s efforts to redress the crisis by presenting
their crisis directly to the king who might respond to it faster than ministers.
People assumed control on the back of the successes of election day. Here (H. E. I. A.)
says: “The monitoring of local society – no mistakes were noticed either in the electoral
procedures or in the voting booths. No disturbances took place among the citizens – they
were full of understanding and love on all sides”. Indeed, the Bani Laith were waiting
impatiently for election day. They worked hard for a smooth electoral process in order
to ensure the success of this historic event, which should bring them closer to realising
their ambitions. “Solidarity amongst people was clear” (S.M.M.). With solidarity and
harmony the community of Wadi Musa reached a redressive situation to deal with the
socio-political breach. The community indeed moved from being scattered and dishar-
monious to a more stable state of unity and harmony.
6.5.1 The youth’s desire for redress
The youth’s desire for redress was evident in their concerns which were somewhat differ-
ent from that of the older group who made up most of the electoral caucus. “It is good to
respect our parents and listen carefully to them, but if they are wrong, we must tell them
that.” These were (M. Sh.’s) words when he harangued the older generation in the pres-
ence of the youth. (H. A.) said: “The maqar was in the midst of people – we were listening
to the youth’s speeches, who were calling for the elevation of their town and asking for the
human rights of the youth and women, which are, in my point of view, buried at home”.
212 Chapter 6
The youth’s desire for redress anticipated better circumstances in which they would
try very hard to facilitate the success of a relatively young MP who they hoped would
respond to their needs. This way they chose to express themselves differently from the
mechanisms imposed on them by the older generation or government or even the other
situations beyond their control.
On the opening of the electoral maqar, shaikh Wajīd of the al-Ḥasanāt clan said: “This
is your candidate – a young man chosen by you. You know him very well. His success
is yours. Put your hand into his. Surround him with your help. The hope of the nation is
dependent on you”. In his speech, Issam al-‘alāya said: “Petra is an exceptional city and
the circumstances are exceptional, therefore we need an exceptional MP and Sami Bani
Laith is an exceptional man […] I would recommend Sami to look after Jordan, Petra and
Bani Laith […] I want to focus on what the previous speaker focused on – that the benefit
of Petra is located in PDTRA. Our rights in participation were stolen. Why is that? Only
one commissioner out of five?[was appointed from the local community] Did the women
in Petra fall short to bring those who can manage it from within? We are asking you
[Sami] to deal with that. Why not? […]”. Supporting those who spoke before him this
speaker stressed the fact that the future “health” of the region is located at the PDTRA.
The youth’s desire for redress was centred on their need for better public services, espe-
cially for better educational opportunities and better health care. On behalf of the youth,
one speaker (E. A.) said: “We hope that our representative will meet our expectations
to move that rock away from our chest, which was placed on our chest, intentionally or
unintentionally represented by the feeble laws and bad regulations, which might have
been made to serve only one particular portion of society. We hope that our candidate
will lead the systematic renaissance that has been long awaited by the impatient youth
of this generation”. Here, (I. A.), one of the female youths, said: “This needs to reach
the Minister of Health Care, so he can support the hospital with very good medical staff,
not trainees; not to bring trainee doctors to the hospital. Because this is a big, huge
hospital, it needs a very well advanced medical staff”.
As for (M. H.), his speech addressed contemporary issues in the Petra Region, stressing
the fact that the youth must give something in return to the region for all that people have
obtained from it: “It is time for us to give something in return to our city, Petra […] Wa-
ter sector is a problem in Petra […] Health sector is in need of more attention in terms
of shortcomings […] Educational policies need to be revised and enhanced […] Build-
ing a multipurpose hall for activities […] Committee from the highly qualified people
of Wadi Musa to make changes for the better […] Proportion for Petra from the high-
ranking jobs in the government […] Centre for information and a data base for things
that the region lacks in order to enhance the status of the liwā’ […] Contribution to
legislation to review some of the laws such as social security and rent law […] Enhanc-
ing the roads and infrastructure […] The youth are the hope of society and they need
support […] Combating corruption […] Combating drugs […]” Youth’s urgent need
for more job opportunities was also addressed by the same speaker who demanded:
“The youth are the hope of society and they need jobs. Not only that, but also Wadi Musa
youth must have their share of the high posts in the government in Amman”. This goal-
oriented speech was also supported by (S. G.): “We all must increase our efforts for the
benefit of our region”. Redress in this context involves equal pay from government on
one level and people themselves on the other.
At the heart of the youth’s desire for redress was their need to be included in the de-
cision-making processes concerning their Region. This was mentioned specifically by
(N. Sh.): “The request I demand from Sami is establishing a consulting council from the
distinguished people of Petra and the highly educated people to accompany the meetings
of the Iqlīm and to monitor the decision-making process in the region”. In his speech,
(S. M. H. N) focused on three main categories: management of PDTRA should remain in
the hands of the children of Petra: “As for Petra, the most important thing is the PDTRA
commissionership [who] must be from the people of the town”; the master plan which he
described as “the dangerous master plan” and the distribution of tourism wealth when he
stated: “The equal distribution of tourism wealth so we all become equal in rights and du-
ties”. At the same time (M. H.) demanded: “There is an urgent need for a local committee
from the highly qualified people in Wadi Musa to alleviate the Region’s circumstances”.
6.5.2 Importance of host-guest behaviours in the redressive process
An important aspect of redress are the host-guest behaviours, which are significant in
social relations not only among individuals, but also among the clans of Bani Laith. When
the maqar was erected, the al-Ḥasanāt clan, including all its members, were the hosts. In
contrast, all of the other clans and their members were guests. That was in the case of the
internal host-guest behaviours within Bani Laith, but on the external host-guest behaviour,
all the clans of Bani Laith were the hosts and all the other tribes were guests. The strict
rules of hospitality were applied and every single behaviour was observed and attended to.
Signs of polite behaviour were all exchanged by both hosts and guest at the electoral
maqar. “Signs indicate groups and social relations. Social signs point to group identity,
to membership, and to social roles […] there are also signs of polite behaviour such as
tone of voice and greetings […] spatial-temporal relations (how close people are to each
other, when and where)” (Manning, 1987: 27). As behaviour must be observed, in host-
guest behaviours every sign can be interpreted in many different ways. For instance,
greetings: if a guest arrives and greets the host by saying: assalāmu ʻalaykum, (Allah’s
peace be upon you), then the host must reply: wa ‘alaykum assalām wa raḥamt Allāh
wa barkātuh, ahlan wa sahlan, (you are welcome), itfaḍḍal ijlis hana (please come and
take this seat). If the reply does not include all of these expressions, the guest might feel
unwelcome, might be upset and might even leave the place, as well as talking about it
to other people. The consequences might be a fight between two clans. In the maqar all
the al-Ḥasanāts were prepared to a high level of politeness with a sincere welcoming
attitude to their guests. Here we hear Geertz again who said:
214 Chapter 6
“[…] Behaviour must be attended to, and with some exactness, because it is

through the flow of behaviour – or, more precisely, social action – that cultural
forms find articulation” (Geertz, 1973: 17).
Another example is when some of the speakers mentioned the names of all the clans
in Wadi Musa, but forgot to mention the name of one particular clan, whose members
were present in the maqar. All members of that clan in the maqar left immediately after
the man finished his speech and expressed their displeasure in angry words: “yallah,
wallāhi mānḍal fī al-maqar […] haḍoala mitjāhlīnna […]” (let us go away, I swear by
God that we shall never stay in this maqar […] these people are ignoring us […]). The
hosts moved very quickly and apologized for the mistake. After they had persuaded
the angry members to stay, they asked the speaker to apologize right away in front of
everyone. The situation might have become more complicated if the angered members
had left the maqar. and would have persuaded the rest of the clan members to boycott
the elections on one level and al-Ḥasanāt on the other. It might also have developed into
an awkward situation which could have ended up with a brawl between the two clans.
Indeed, all the other behaviours, including hospitality protocols and farewell greetings,
have to be applied in the maqar. Bedouin coffee 104 and tea 105 were served. Sweets and
fruit were also presented to guests. In this context it can be said that appropriate behav-
iour by the host leads to guest satisfaction. All of this culminates in a healthy host-guest
relationship which would certainly fulfil the purpose of the invitations at tribal level.
While attention is focused on the host in terms of host-guest behaviours, the guest must
also behave modestly. Guests must show a similar level of respect to rules of traditional
hospitality. The words must be chosen carefully so that no one will be offended and
nothing wrong will happen.
104 Bedouin coffee is made from coffee beans lightly roasted, mixed with cardamom and boiled for more than an
hour. Serving coffee in the Bedouin tradition is the highlight of Bedouin hospitality. For Bedouins in Jordan,
serving coffee has strict rules: 1. It has to be very hot and clean. 2. It is served starting from the right hand
side to the left. 3. The one who serves it must hold the jug with his left hand and the cup in the right. 4. The
host must drink one or two cups. When he finishes he must shake the cup a few times as a sign that he is
finished. In the Bedouin culture it is stated that “al-oūla lal ḍaif, wel thānyeh lal kaif, wel thāltheh lal saif”
– the first cup is for the guest, the second is for fun and the third is for the sword. It is fine if the guest drinks
two, but if he asks for a third without shaking his cup that means something is wrong. In this case, the guest
is understood as a person who needs help. It is worth mentioning that in the Bedouin tradition the guest can
stay in the host’s house for three days and a third. During the guest’s stay the host is not allowed to ask him
any questions. In this case, if the need of that guest is urgent, the coffee protocol cancels the rule of stay.
105 Tea is important in Bedouin hospitality. It might have been brought to the Bedouins by the British since
Jordan was a British protectorate from 1921 to 1946. Peter Manning (1987) considers the “mythological
role of tea for the British. To believe in tea is to affirm of one’s location both by choice and without think-
ing in a British collective or group […] tea is a central part of the society”.
With all these rules of host-guest behaviours and hospitality protocols it must be said
that redress is possible. A healthy relationship between host and guest is sustained and
redress is facilitated by all means of kindness and mutual respect.
6.5.3 Campaign meetings during the day – constituency hosts candidate in

clan’s dīwān
In a desire for redress it was essential that the clans strengthened their social bonds with
each other. Visits and practising hospitality in its wider domain played a pivotal role in
the redressive process.
During the campaign period as a candidate, I was invited by all the clans of Bani Laith.
Several meetings were held for either the women or the men of each clan. For meetings
with the men I was accompanied by dignitaries from my clan and my campaign crew.
We were welcomed by dignitaries from the hosting clan. At the women’s meetings I was
accompanied by my wife, sisters, aunts, and women from my campaign crew.
I visited every clan at their dīwān. If any clan had been forgotten, the consequences could
have been dire. Coffee, tea, sweets and fruit were served in these dīwāns. Host-guest rules
were applied strictly during the visits. I chose my words carefully and all of the questions
were posed by the audience in a polite way. Mutual respect was the overwhelming atmos-
phere during all the visits. My election manifesto was discussed thoroughly during these
lengthy meetings as well as people’s concerns being considered with care. In general, peo-
ple were aware of the importance of the 2010 elections in terms of the redressive process.
6.5.4 Maqar meetings at night – candidate hosts constituency in a temporary

“sacred space”
Redressive action typically takes place in a liminal space/time, although not, as in ritual
threshold states, in secret or in a space circumscribed as taboo. In Performance in post-
modern culture (1977), Turner writes:
“In public meta-social rites we have to do with public liminality, and such
rites are often performed in the village or town square, in full view of every-
one […] All performances require framed spaces set off from the routine world.
But meta-social rites use quotidian spaces as their stage; they merely hallow
them for a liminal time” (Turner, 1977: 467).
The meta-social rites during the 2010 election period exceeded that standard by being
performed not only on the streets or square of the town, parades of cars prowled the
streets of the town to attract almost everyone to the maqar, which was the temporary
“sacred space”. I hosted members of the constituency in a temporary sacred space in
216 Chapter 6
which people expressed their need for redress and indeed, they practised that redress.
Performances took the shape of traditional dance or dabkah, singing, ululations, cheer-
ing, shouting and all other forms of performance. In his essay Frame, Flow and Reflec-
tion: Ritual and Drama as Public Liminality, Victor Turner says:
“[…] These may include dancing, gesturing, singing, chanting; the use of many
musical instruments; mimetic displays; and the performance of drama during
key episodes” (Turner, 1979: 469).
Everything that is mentioned by Turner was practised widely, not only in the maqar, but
everywhere in the town. The celebratory ritual erased all boundaries between people and
caused them to gather together, hand in hand, in practising all the ingredients of the ritual
without limits. Throughout the “performance” of the social drama the backdrop of norma-
tive social structure and relationships persists (1974a:43). In the maqar, the communitas,
which seemed chaotic, was actually not. Everything was structured, although it seemed
unstructured. Behaviours were also controlled by a tangible web of social norms. In his
brilliant essay on Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (1983), Turner examined the complex orches-
tration of an enormous celebration to demonstrate that communitas and its associated chaos
is only possible within a publicly shared and carefully maintained structure; what appears
to be chaotic is actually structured by a social tradition governing this specific chaos.
In the maqar, the theatre, in Wadi Musa social status was blurred. Having this status be-
tween members of the one society might erase some of the strict traditional laws tempo-
rarily, but the most important is to keep these traditions and cultures within their frame.
This frame is bound with mutual respect. Having communitas does not at all mean that
anyone young or old exceeds his limits, and although relations might seem variable and
unlimited, they are not.
In social drama, crisis is the flipside of cohesion, and shared or diverging interests form
the medium which, respectively, either binds them or creates conflict (Turner, 1977: 45).
Anti-structure is not just the inversion of structure but rather its unravelling – nonethe-
less, it cannot exist in the absence of structure. In the case of Wadi Musa, it appeared that
the maqar was the stage on which conflict was turned into harmony and social cohesion
amongst the clans of Bani Laith as a means of redress.
6.6 Social drama
6.6.1 The campaign period – preparations, structure and procedure
After announcing the results of the caucus elections on 2 October 2010, the campaign
started in earnest and continued until 9 November 2010. A campaign committee was
formed by the tribes of Bani Laith. Highly educated members were chosen by their clans
to manage the electoral campaign. An effective plan was put forward by the campaign
committee during several meetings with me as the Bani Laith unity candidate and the
plan was immediately put into action. In the limited time available they realised that
they only had 38 days to work very hard towards implementing the campaign plan. The
plan identified the following aspects:
• Electing the head of the committee and a secretary.

• Selecting the committee of women of Bani Laith. They attended regular meetings of
the campaign committee and they supported me during my meetings with Bani Laith
women in the clan’s dīwān.
• Selecting a financial committee to meet directly with Bani Laith to discuss financial
issues concerning the campaign.
• Selecting the information and media committee to manage the stage, speeches, an-
nouncement, regulation and all the activities related to the election procedures.
• Selecting the reception committee from the al-Ḥasanāt clan to welcome guests to
the maqar.
• Selecting a hospitality and service committee to serve guests at the maqar.
• Selecting a transportation committee to organize vehicles for the candidate as well
as organizing traffic to the maqar and parking around it.
• Selecting a committee for resolving disputes and quarrels in the event they occurred.
• Selecting the team for the operations room and risk management, especially for elec-
tion day.
The al-Ḥasanāt clan met at the request of the campaign committee and agreed to start
fundraising to finance the election expenses. According to the head of the financial com-
mittee, ʻAdbdelmahdi al-Ḥasanāt, more than JD50,000 were spent on the election cam-
paign. Expenses included hospitality and tents for erecting the maqar and lunch to host
members of the constituency.
During the day I accompanied members of the committee to allotted visits and meetings
with clan members (men or women) at their dīwān. Other meetings were also held in charity
premises and cooperative societies in the Petra Region as well as with students and teach-
ers in schools, and with employees at their place of work. The meetings in the maqar were
limited to night time or evenings, during which supporters from all over Jordan participated.
Members of the Bani Laith tribes used to come regularly every evening to the maqar.
6.6.2 Local conflicts and competition during elections
Bani Laith society, presumably, like other tribal societies in the world, has many cross
points and sometimes conflicts of the kind that has occurred among the Bani Laith
throughout their long history. In collective circumstances that cause people in society
to decide on one particular subject – the elections in this case – people might agree or
disagree with each other on matters such as the elections caucus. The elections split Wadi
Musa society into two contesting parties. At a certain point competition from both Ṭaybeh
218 Chapter 6
and al-Mashāʻleh bred a state of conflict, which appeared to be quite frightening. “Con-
flict seems to bring fundamental aspects of society, normally overlaid by the customs and
habits of daily intercourse, into frightening prominence.” (Turner, 1975). Any possible
encounter between people from other contesting parties might lead to real hoshah.
In the Bani Laith there was a permanent conflict concerning representation in Parlia-
ment; in other words, which clan would occupy the parliamentary seat. “The past elec-
tions didn’t show us in any other light but in conflicts and disputes” (I. E. A.). In previ-
ous elections every clan nominated a candidate, but the number of votes in one clan was
not enough to obtain the seat. As a result, either Maʻan or Ṭaybeh got the seat. In 2010
conflict in elections still existed, but the Bani Laith decided on unifying all their clans to
reintegrate under the rubric of Bani Laith and to choose one candidate to guarantee the
parliamentary seat. In accordance with the updated election law and regulations for the
2010 elections, for Maʻan governorate there were five seats: three seats for the city of
Maʻan, one for Shawbak and one for Petra. Petra was considered the third constituency
or third circle and it has one seat in Parliament. The law further identified a quota for
Jordanian women. The woman who runs for the quota and gathers the highest number
of votes in each governorate would secure her seat in Parliament regardless of the con-
stituency.
Bani Laith at Wadi Musa agreed on one unified candidate. The conflict originated from
Ṭaybeh, which is inhabited by al-Shrour, the fourth clan of Bani Laith. They announced
one candidate and one woman from the quota, openly contradicting the Bani Laith elec-
tion charter to which they had been committed since 2007. Here (S. A. S. H.) stated:
“And there were people for and people against [the caucus elections and coalition]
and so on, and we saw, let’s say, [that] the people of Bani Laith must sit down together
unified for the whole liwā’, or for the people of Wadi Musa, let’s say, in order to come
up with a mechanism [so] that it [the parliamentary seat] is not taken every time by the
people of Ṭaybeh”. The committee of the caucus elections decided on excluding Ṭaybeh
from the elections due to their contradiction of the charter. Ṭaybeh people started acting
against the caucus and their candidate, whose name was Raja Khlaifat gave his votes
to the quota, whose name was Asma al-Rawāḍyeh and so they started competing for
the seat of Petra and not only for the quota. When Ṭaybeh insisted on their candidacy,
al-Mashāʻleh too insisted on their candidacy to Jihād al-Mashāʻleh as a sign of their
objection to the caucus mechanism and the action of Ṭaybeh. (I. A.) stated: “Jihād al-
Mashāʻleh was nominated and there was very stiff competition between the two candi-
dates [actually the three candidates], although the result was predefined [for the benefit
of the ijmāʻ candidate]”. The ijmāʻ was strongly supported by the overwhelming major-
ity of the Bani Laith, therefore the result was predefined for their side.
Bani Laith were determined to continue their coalition and they challenged the conflict
and contained it. All the coalition efforts focused on making the Bani Laith’s unified can-
didate successful – myself. (A. A. H.) stated: “There was an unprecedented ijmāʻ except
for a group of people at Ṭaybeh [and al-Mashāʻleh]”. Intensive mediations and arbitra-
tions by shoyoukh and dignitaries of Bani Laith took place to convince both opposing
parties to respect the Bani Laith caucus charter and the collective will of Bani Laith, but
both al-Shrour and al-Mashāʻleh continued their opposition and another small clan, al-
Shamāsīn, also joined the opposition. The opposing parties clarified why they were op-
posed to the caucus by insisting that the mechanism was only posed by the shoyoukh and
they were against it. Al-Shamāsīn’s candidate, Maḥmoud al-Shamāsīn announced: “I’m
not against Sami and al-Ḥasanāt. I’m against the way the elections were managed”.
Finally, al-Shamāsīn joined the coalition while both al-Shrour and al-Mashāʻleh con-
tinued their challenge until 9 November 2010, the day of elections. One critic of ijmāʻ,
(consensus) was made by (H. S.) who stated: “The tribal ijmāʻ, in my private opinion,
which is a personal opinion only to me, is killing democracy at its roots. Democracy
is represented by electing the one who deserves the place and not according to what is
known as ijmāʻ or tribal allotment. Every tribe wants to elect a candidate to represent
liwā’ al-Batra’. Unfortunately the ijmāʻ has so happened and the shoyoukh of Wadi Musa
agreed on it. The fundamental intention was not to let it go [parliamentary seat] to the
sons of Ṭaybeh. This is widely criticized by me personally and by many people in the
Wādi [Wadi Musa]”. This opinion was contradicted by the head of the coalition commit-
tee, shaikh Mājed abu Faraj, who said: “[…] The ijmāʻ is not directed against anyone.
We have only decided to share all the good between all of us […] This effort was blessed
by Bani Laith”. It is understandable, however, that such an effort of redress might have
opposite or conflicting opinions.
The coalition was able to stand strong in the face of opposition. It became evident that I,
as the Bani Laith unified candidate, expected to receive votes far in excess of the votes
for other competitors. According to (A. A. H.): “Most important is personal conviction.
I was convinced that Sami is the best to represent Wadi Musa at that stage”. In the same
vein (S. T.) said: “Because he is the nā′ib who deserves nomination from all. And not
because it is only tribalism and the tribes of the region have consented to him as they
did for the previous nā′ib, but he was [the] nā′ib with conviction from people more than
being only nā′ib ijmāʻ 106”. As for (B. S.): “Of course on that day no matter how hard
and tiring it was, it was a beautiful day, at least for me. The reason for that is how much
I felt, how much the community in Wadi Musa loved nā’ib Sami. They liked him as a
human being, before they liked him as an MP”. The people were convinced that I was
personally agreed upon by the overwhelming majority of Bani Laith.
In spite of the opposition of the parties mentioned above, there were some members
from Ṭaybeh and al-Mashāʻleh who joined the ijmāʻ and they voted with the coalition.
(A. T.) stated: “I also liked a speech of one of the sons of Ṭaybeh, who said that they are
with us and for us”. Although it was not compulsory for people to join the ijmāʻ, most
of the people in Wadi Musa were committed to the Bani Laith charter.
106 Na’ib ijma’ is the MP of the consensus or coalition.

220 Chapter 6
6.6.3 The maqar “theatre”
6.6.3.1 The maqar itself – structure, location, décor, banners
The maqar is literally a theatre with a stage. A square plaza framed by huge tents ac-
commodates thousands of chairs, a platform, podium, sound system and footlights. In
the centre of the plaza is a flagpole donned with the Jordanian flag and a huge picture
of King Abdullah II. It is on this “framed space set off from the routine world” that the
ritual of public redressive action was played out. Turner writes:
“To frame is to enclose in a border. A sacralized space has borders […] sacred

space may be demarcated by an improvised fence […] or cleared area by ritual
adepts. Time also enters the framing, since rituals, as van Gennep has shown,
have a well-defined beginning, middle, and end” (Turner, 1979: 468).
The maqar location was chosen to be in a place where as many people as possible could
access, park their cars and with an open space to accommodate everyone. It was erected
in a huge area of ground prepared and cleared especially for it. It was enclosed by an im-
provised fence of small Jordanian flags hanging on a rope around the area surrounding
the maqar. Time also entered the frame since the campaign period started on 2 October
2010, the middle was the election day and night of 9 November 2010 and the end of the
ritual time was the Tahāni period. Congratulations were received starting from the elec-
tion night on 9 November 2010 until the evening of 13 November 2010.
The maqar was built out of huge tents, which were decorated in the style used by the
tent people for wedding parties. It was constructed in the form of a U (as shown in Fig-
ure 6. 4, next). On the left of the main entrance a huge tent was installed to welcome
more guests. On the right side of the same tent the stage or platform for speeches was
installed. Thousands of seats were arranged with narrow pathways between them. Ban-
ners with slogans expressing support for the candidate were displayed, along with other
banners that had been brought by individuals from Bani Laith and Jordanian friends of
the candidate. The banners included the names of all the clans of Bani Laith. The maqar
organizers placed the banners on the interior and exterior side walls of the tents. Two
signs in particular were hanging in a prominent place. One was from the al-Bidoul tribe
and read: “We are not going to vote for you, but our hearts are with you”. The second
banner was from the Syrian community 107at Wadi Musa, which read “The Syrian com-
munity in Petra expresses their support of the candidate of Bani Laith”.
On the main gate a huge picture of the candidate was installed opposite to the picture of the
King. At the very top of the main entrance a huge welcoming banner hung, with a slogan
107 It is worth mentioning that there was a small Syrian community in Wadi Musa. Some Syrians came to
work mainly in building houses. They brought their families with them and lived in Wadi Musa for a long
time before the situation in Syria deteriorated.
which translates as: “Bani Laith are most welcome to your maqar full of love for its trium-
phant Hashemite leadership”. Jordanian flags were hung everywhere around the maqar and
on the surrounding houses and streets. It was in this space that many elements of the recog-
nized social order were at the same time emphasized and blurred (see Figure 6.4, below).
Figure 6.4: Maqar, electoral tent setting
Thousands of members of Bani Laith and their friends from the whole country were
present in the maqar every night. Although there were thousands of chairs, they were
not enough, sometimes, and some youths and children had to sit on the ground. In the
maqar social hierarchy is strictly observed in the seating arrangements, for example, but
the shabāb used the occasion to harangue their elders, as shown in Figure 6.5, below.
Figure 6.5: Shabāb take the occasion to harangue their elders

222 Chapter 6
The nightly performances at the maqar built in intensity towards election day, when
the action burst symbolically forth into the entire village in crowds, demonstrations,
parades, speeches, iconography, and intricate stage-management. A pervasive theme
of the day itself, which emerged clearly in the subsequent interviews, was the threat of
violent hoshah, the traditional brawls or problems which often accompany weddings
and other celebrations. The entire ritual frenzy climaxed with the communitas of the
victory celebration itself, held in the maqar on the night of the election, as shown in
Figure 6.6, next.
Figure 6.6: Maqar on election nights
6.6.3.2 The structure/ritual of the nightly conventions
Ritual is defined as “a system or collection of religious or other rites. Rite is a particu-

lar form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice” (Dictionary, 2014). For
Turner, ritual is the performance of a complex sequence of symbolic acts. Ritual is a
“transformative performance revealing major classifications, categories, and contradic-
tions of cultural processes” (Turner 1987: 5). Nevertheless, ritual can be understood as
a type of critical juncture wherein some pair of opposing social or cultural forces comes
together. Examples include “the ritual […] tradition and change, order and chaos, the
individual and group, […].Ritual is consistently depicted as a mechanistically discrete
and paradigmatic means of socio-cultural integration, appropriation, or methods; such
consistency is surprising and interesting” (Bell, 1992: 16).
In the ritual of the nightly conventions of 2010 elections both the youth and elders,
educated and illiterates, and all people from different social levels and different cultures
and ways of thinking came together. The occasion of elections with its ceremonial rites
brought people into a state of harmony. Rituals during the nightly conventions in the
maqar were structured, including the serving of Bedouin coffee to the guests and man-
aging the platform in terms of organizing speeches and controlling the audio system.
A documentary describing the life and occupation of the candidate was also shown.
All the tribal protocols of hospitality were carried out, from welcoming the guests to
accompanying guests to their seats in the maqar. Traffic and parking around the maqar
was organized. There were performances including folklore dancing and singing; when
the platform managers started singing Jordanian national songs and anthems this was
a signal for all those who wanted, to join the party. Interestingly, the folk dances were
traditionally structured to circumambulate around the central post of the maqar, a ritual
feature with which dancers invite everyone to join the line of dancers. Although every
action seemed structured, it seemed chaotic only when the youth drove their cars away
to draw the attention of the other people in the town to the maqar. It was also impossible
to control those who fired bullets in the air or set off fireworks.
In his essay The Anthropology of Performance (published posthumously in 1987) Turn-

er wrote:
“Social dramas, with much the same temporal or processual structure that I
detected in the Ndembu case, can be isolated for study in societies at all levels
of scale and complexity. This is particularly the case in political situations, and
belongs to what I now call the dimension of ‘structure’ as opposed to that of
‘communitas’ as a generic mode of human relatedness” (33).
Turner constantly harks back to minutely empirical observations of concrete social events
and occasions. The different activities took a ritual form as elections – a political situa-
tion – by which the Bani Laith chose to express their desire for redress in an elaborate
form. The occasion was an investment in time by the whole society in which to explain
itself to itself in anticipation of achieving reintegration under one rubric and one goal.
6.6.3.3 The speakers, speeches
As soon as night fell the platform managers arranged the speeches, traditional folk
bands, national songs, dabka, and all the other activities. They wrote the names of the
speakers on a list and called out their names in turn. On average, the number of requests
received by the platform to speak totalled 50. When a speaker’s name was called, he
came to the platform and spoke freely, without any restrictions.
All speakers stressed their commitment to the Bani Laith electoral charter, praising it
and those who had enacted it. Some had a commitment to the charter related to religion
and they cited verses from the Holy Qur’an. “The ‘sacred’ properties often assigned to
communitas are not lacking here, either: this can be seen in their frequent use of reli-
gious terms,” (Turner, 1969: 370). Some other speakers stressed the fact that fulfilling
promises is the strongest bond in social relationships. In many speeches there was an
intensive focus on the history of the Bani Laith. This was intended to remind people of
224 Chapter 6
their history and to recall their ancestors in order to maintain their glory and greatness
as shown in Figure 6.7, next.
Figure 6.7: One of the speakers at the maqar during election nights
In this instance, the forefathers have kept Petra safe and passed it to us to keep safe for
generations to come. Speeches in particular were encouraging the motivation of the
people and evoking what local society was determined to achieve.
In all speeches in the maqar the speakers stressed the desire for a relatively young MP
who “speaks their language” and responds to their needs. They also emphasized the need
for better public services, especially educational opportunities and better health care. They
also stated that there was an urgent need for more job opportunities. At the same time, they
were insisting on getting access to decision-making processes concerning their Region.
6.6.3.4 Deputations and tribal delegations
Throughout the parliamentary campaign, deputations and delegations from local tribes
in the Petra Region and Jordan visited the maqar. Locally, a group from Rājif, which is
one of the six communities of Petra, came to support the Bani Laith candidate. The rep-
resentative of that delegation praised the Bani Laith coalition and described it as the best
example of a brotherly relationship. The other members of the delegation performed at
the maqar, playing folklore songs (Sāmer). Another group from Umm Ṣayḥoun came,
holding a banner in their hands reading: “We do not vote for you, but our hearts are with
you”. The Al-Bidoul delegation also performed Sāmer. For many nights during the cam-
paign huge numbers of al-Shrour clans visited the maqar to show their support, despite
the election’s internal conflict at Ṭaybeh. From Baiḍa a group of the al-‘amārīn tribe ar-
rived, singing their traditional songs. Their representative spoke, praising the candidate
personally and his tribe. They expressed their regret at not being able to elect the Bani
Laith candidate because they belonged to another constituency.
Nationally, a large number of people came from Maʻan, Kerak, Madaba, Tafīleh, Irbid
and Amman to represent their people and to show their support to the Bani Laith candi-
date and to his tribe. They stressed the fact that the candidate was a national candidate
and not only for one local tribe. All of them gave assurances that the nā′ib was a nā′ib
waṭan, the MP for the whole country. They also expressed their admiration for the Bani
Laith coalition which was perceived by them as an example of unity and social cohesion
that would encourage the other Jordanian tribes to follow.
Internationally, personal friends of mine from Germany, France and America made pres-
entations. Tourists in Petra also came to the maqar to learn something new about the
local culture. They also participated in the folk dances and songs, sharing in the joy of
the event with the local people.
6.6.3.5 Electoral maqar as a theatre to act out the period of redress
The period of redress for the Wadi Musa community was enacted in the electoral maqar
as theatre. On the eve of election day and throughout the campaign period, the maqar
was the theatre. It was like a crucible in which any conflict gradually melted, creating a
state of harmony and social cohesion. In the social drama a community in crisis moves
into a period of redress, during which those who represent “order” are publicly and
more or less formally challenged either to reintegrate the community in a new way, or
to formalize the breach and create a new order from its conflicted parts. Turner writes:
“The basic human plot is the same: someone begins to move to a new place in
the social order; this move is accomplished through ritual, or blocked: in either
case a crisis arises because any change in status involves a readjustment of the
entire scheme; this readjustment is effected ceremonially, that is, by means of
theatre” (Turner, 1969: 28).
In Wadi Musa the “theatre” in which the representatives of order were confronted was
the maqar – the elections tent. It was this readjustment of the entire scheme which was
put into action at the theatre, where the Bani Laith acted out the repair, adjustment or
redressive period. We have seen in Chapter Five how crisis took up a menacing stance
in the public forum with all of its liminal characteristics. I would say that the most
important factor in dealing with a crisis is to admit that a crisis exists in the first place.
Only then can redress or remedy be possible. Now, at this particular stage, the theatre
is the platform on which the community has to act and find out how to redress such a
crisis.
Redress, too, has its liminal features for it is “be-twixt and between”, and, as such, fur-
nishes a distanced replication and critique of the events leading up to and composing the
“crisis”. This replication may be in the rational idiom of the judicial process.
226 Chapter 6
As ambiguity still occupies the redressive period – the state of “be-twixt and between”
– the liminal feature of the redressive period was represented in the way the Bani Laith
stood at a particular point. They were neither in the past situation during the crisis, nor
in a clear position to make them assured of their future. In other words, the pain was
still there. Remedy might be hard, but they would have to cope with redress, which was
thankfully provided by this theatre in which they could act out and tolerate the pains of
redress. They needed to go back and forth, revisiting the situation and comparing past
and present. As they endured the pain of what now I call the healing period with more
patience, they aspired towards a better future. Here Turner in the “The Anthropology of
Performance”, says:
“There may be an attempt to transcend an order based on rational principles by

appealing to that order which rests on a tradition of coexistence among the pre-
decessors of the current community, whether these are conceived as biological
ancestors or bearers of the same communal values” (Turner, 1987: 26).
Some of the speeches recalled the great values of the ancestors of the Bani Laith in the
past. Through these speeches during the rituals, effort was focused on restoring those
values that characterized the predecessors. Not only that, but also folklore was a serious
attempt to recall coexistence among the ancestors. Continuity ensured its validity to be
applied in a new, but more complicated, order. The traditional songs and folklore played
by members of the community or deputations of neighbouring tribes was an effort to
reincarnate the glory of the past.
6.7 The structure of the Election Day
The voting centres opened at 7 o’clock in the morning of 9 November 2010. I was
escorted by car and accompanied by the shaikh of the al-Ḥasanāt clan. (S.A.S.H.)
narrates that: “I and two of the best youths have been selected so that murashshaḥ
lil niyāba (the candidate for parliament) must remain with us all the time in order
to provide personal protection in order to make the election day perfect”. I was sup-
posed to be accompanied by these people, but I decided to be on my own to be able
to move freely. I also wanted the shaikh to take care of other things in the town. Here
the shaikh narrates: “But I was surprised by Mr Sami’s supervision – because he knew
me personally he asked me to be everywhere all the time in every place. If I were to be
with him all the time, it would put restrictions on my movement”. I went to one of the
voting centres and voted for myself. I also visited all the voting centres in Wadi Musa
and made sure that the whole electoral process was going smoothly. In every voting
centre there were members of my electoral committee who had been nominated by
the Bani Laith representatives. “[…] there were very well-organized committees, tru-
ly […] They were checking the voting places […]” (M.A.H.). The electoral committee
was chosen carefully and included members of those who were known by almost eve-
ryone in Wadi Musa and who knew most of the voting population. Each member had
a list with the names of all those who were entitled to vote.
An operations room was prepared in one of the hotels with tables, chairs and mobile
phones. The staff in the room were preparing lists with the names of all people in Wadi
Musa who would be expected to vote.
All the streets of Wadi Musa were crowded with cars. Some cars had loudspeakers call-
ing people to go and vote. All cars were decorated with pictures as shown in Figure 6.8,
below, and the name of the candidate as well as encouraging slogans. (A.T.) described
these cars, saying: “I also liked the decorated cars of the town. All the male and female
youth [and] even women wrote on their cars ‘for your eyes Sami and for your eyes Wadi
Musa and Petra’”. (M. A. H.) said: “Most of the youth were in parades, yaʻni [that
means], there were loudspeakers fixed on the cars with songs and national anthems […]”
Buses and other cars were also volunteered to bring people to voting centres.
Figure 6.8: Decorated car during election day
The pervasive themes extracted from the interviews conducted concerning election day
included “national songs”. (B. A.) stated: “It was organized. The joy of the audience
was great. They expressed that with national songs”. (M. A. H) also mentioned: “The
voices, the national songs […] We were playing the national songs and we were very,
very happy”. (N. F.) also stated: “There were national songs in the cars”. Also (S. F.)
said: “There were voices of national songs and people”. (S. T.) said: “[…] on this day
we woke up very early to the sound of national songs”.
Another pervasive theme was “anthems”. (M. A. H.) stated: “They presented songs, na-
tional anthems, and people were very happy”. Ululations could be heard from every
part of the city. “Of course it was teeming with songs and ululations” (S. T.). People
228 Chapter 6
were serving coffee, tea, water, food and sweets in the streets of Wadi Musa and to the
committees. (M. A. H.) said: “There were youths and women carrying bakārij qahwah
and abārīq shāy [jugs of tea and coffee] and distributing sweets on the streets […] And
there were people who brought food for these committees, whether that was drinks, shāy
[tea], qahwah [coffee], juice”.
There were many cars and huge gatherings of people all over the town, especially on the
main streets and the streets leading to the voting centres. (B. Sh.) said: “On the Election
Day the crowds that I saw during the three rounds I took through the schools and the
voting centres and so on, I noticed how big the public crowd was and how big the will
to vote was”. The general attitude of the Bani Laith on that day was positive. An atmos-
phere of joyful optimism prevailed throughout the town.
The main concern of the organizers and election committees was about hoshah. Po-
tential problems were also a dominant theme in the in-depth interviews. People were
concerned about brawls in particular. As already mentioned, such brawls sometimes
take place at wedding parties, during general meetings of clans, or between individuals.
The concern in this case was that the hoshah might occur during the election day and
might be generated from the fact that there was competition between the Bani Laith
unified candidate and the two other candidates. During the night before election day
all members of clans were warned and recommended to avoid any encounter or any
clash that might arise during the day with the supporters of the other candidates. The
mutaṣarrif Ibrāhīm ʻassāf expressed assurances about this: “[…] yaʻni [I mean that] the
process was managed through the mutaṣarrif liwā’ al-Barta’ and through the commit-
tees who were chosen to enter the election centres and to manage the election process.
Everyone who contributed, whether they were security agents or local management or
the participants in managing the elections as heads of committees and members and
observers.”. In general, avoidance precautions regarding any clashes or unfavourable
encounters were taken by official authorities, tribal leaders and dignitaries. Because of
this, nothing wrong went during the election day and evening.
6.7.1 Celebrations during Election Day
Celebrations during election day involved sacral imagery, including flags, drawings of
love hearts and imagery of lions. However, the election day itself took the form of a cel-
ebration with all of its sacral associations. The day had great significance and embodied
social values for
the Bani Laith. Celebration, as Kaverina writes, is:
“[…] always a period of time that has a structure-forming idea. It is always an

action devoted to somebody or something. The most critical feature of celebration
is its connection with a sacral, in other words a sacred sphere, or a sphere that
has a special meaning. Scenario and attributes of celebration are symbols of its
sacral idea as ‘each celebration is connected with a certain value, sometimes a

higher level, which is a sacrum of the celebrating group’” (Kaverina, 2009: 456).
As the sacral is a critical feature of celebration there are signifiers of such a sacral. No
matter whether signifiers or symbolic actions are representations, the events of the elec-
tion day flowed as an unprecedented occasion in the history of the Bani Laith. Flags of
Jordan were the overwhelming decoration in the maqar itself, houses, streets, cars and
voting centres. The flag was used as an identification of Bani Laith as Jordanians with
their own country. “A flag represents identification with one’s own country which is
predicated upon an awareness of other countries and the identification of people within
those countries” (Weinstein, 1957). In the same way as it is a national symbol for all
countries all over the world, the flag was for the Bani Laith of Petra – Jordan.
Drawing of love hearts depicted a deep meaning in the celebrators’ lives. These heart
drawings appeared on cars, on walls, on banners and almost everywhere, and they rep-
resented love of the country, the city, their tribe and their candidate.
Images of lions represented the power of the coalition in the face of competitors. It was
also a representation of the epithets al-Layāthneh (“those of Laith”, or “the lions”) and
Bani Laith (children/sons of Laith, or sons of the lion).
Another significant feature of the ritual sacral was the parades of cars and people. Streets
of the town were teeming with car parades moving back and forth between the voting
centres. People were parading accompanied by singing, shouting, cheering and jumping
up and down or dancing. The whole city seemed to be shaking with the accumulative
noise and sense of celebration.
6.7.1.1 Candidate’s inspection visits during Election Day
During election day I visited all the voting areas and all of the clan dīwāns in the dif-
ferent neighbourhoods. On my arrival at any of the voting centres or on visits to a
clan dīwān, the crowd burst into chanting, singing, dancing and making a lot of noise.
It seemed like there was a wedding party in each one of these dīwāns. Members of
each tribe were sitting together in harmony, talking to each other with big smiles on
their faces, sometimes singing and sometimes dancing. Every dīwān was decorated
with banners welcoming the candidate. In two dīwāns in particular, the al-al-Helālāt
and al-Salameen clans refused to leave their dīwān and go to the voting centres un-
less I accompanied them. On my arrival at the entrance to the dīwān, I was carried on
the youths’ shoulders and brought into the dīwān with cheering, chanting and singing.
When they went to the voting centre a procession was mounted with a parade of cars
and people walking until they reached the nearest voting centre, no matter how far it
was.
230 Chapter 6
6.7.1.2 Election night: ritual frenzy climaxing in communitas
The entire ritual frenzy climaxed in the communitas of the victory celebration itself, held
in the maqar on the eve of the night of the election.
On the night of the announcement of the election results (9 November 2010) I of-
ficially became a Member of Parliament and had to host the public. The maqar was
rearranged to host as many people as possible. Extra chairs were brought in and a wider
area was given over to host more people. The road to the maqar was blocked by cars
so that everyone had to walk there. In the maqar at night the whole previous order
was overturned. The community changed with no sign of conflict and every member
of the community became naturally altruistic; in other words, there was no structure
for action, but there was a spontaneous flow of events which made the communitas the
communitas it really is.
The bonds of communitas are anti-structural in that they are undifferentiated, egalitar-
ian, direct, non-rational (though not irrational), I-Thou or Essential-We relationships in
Martin Buber’s sense. Structure is all that keeps people apart, defines their differences
and restrains their actions […] Communitas is most evident in “liminality”, a concept
I extend from its use in Van Gennep’s Les Rites de Passage to refer to any condition
outside or on the peripheries of everyday life. (1974a: 46-47).
The notion of communitas was created to embrace a wider range of experience on the
social stage, and equates communitas with all anti-structural conditions of social life.
The actions of people and their associated behaviours that night were not actually as
structured as they seemed. As structure keeps people apart, makes them variant and re-
strains their actions, that night there was no impediment on the way people spontaneous-
ly performed and acted out their feelings. “Communitas emerges where social structure
is not […] so communitas can be grasped only in some relation to structure; just because
the communitas component is elusive” (Turner, 1969: 371). In fact, what seemed to have
been structured had just been the opposite – anti-structure and vice versa.
6.7.1.3 Levelling of hierarchy and overturning of normal order
The extraordinary atmosphere was fired by extreme euphoria. No video or picture or even
a valid ethnographic account could capture the wholeness created out of relationships
in the totality of the event. It was the joy of celebrating the victory of winning the elec-
tions. Communitas, anti-structure, is thus inherently unsustainable. As the key point in the
process of transition from one order to a new one, communitas must needs be temporary.
Communitas is the implicit law of wholeness arising out of relations between totalities.
But communitas is intrinsically dynamic, never quite being realized.
In states of communitas, writes one critic, “interaction is characterized by personal hones-

ty, openness, a lack of pretensions or pretentiousness (St. John 2008: 7). There is no quo-
tidian structure to accommodate anti-structure – once the event is over so is the openness
and egalitarian levelling of hierarchy. The liminal “betwixt-and-betweenness” that makes
communitas possible cannot exist on either side of the threshold as an order, or structure.
Hierarchy was flattened and everybody was equal as shown in Figure 6.9, next. As stated
by (S. A. S. H.): “There were all the wujahā’ [dignitaries], shoyoukh, young, old, y‘ani
[I mean] – everyone was equal on that day”.
Figure 6.9: Social hierarchy was flattened in communitas state
The social order was overturned and those dignitaries and shoyoukh were serving the people.
They gave their seats to ordinary members and guests. Not only that, but they also joined the
dabka to dance with youths and children. Now conflict was replaced with harmony.
6.7.1.4 Altered states of consciousness
Strange, non-governed, unconscious or unsociably structured behaviour can sometimes

occur. Occasionally, we may behave strangely. We may not notice, but others might.
Children sometimes behave as if they were men. Men might also behave as if they were
children. Sometimes, the entire society seems to behave as if everyone were mad. That
was the case during the announcement of the election results. It was the particular mo-
ment when all states of consciousness were altered in a collective but unprecedented
experience away from the quotidian life of the community. That was when the whole
ritual frenzy climaxed in the communitas of the victory celebration held in the maqar that
night. “Thus the highest becomes the lowest; the equality of all outside social structure is
asserted” (Turner, 1979: 474).
232 Chapter 6
Everybody was jumping up and down, waving, singing, doing strange movements, car-
rying each other, hugging each other, kissing each other, shouting, crying, firing guns
and rifles into the air, spraying water and foam on each other and into the air, praying
and prostrating in gratefulness to Allah for granting them that extremely high qual-
ity and very special moment. “Communitas, the mutual confrontation of human beings
stripped of status role characteristics – people, ‘just as they are’, getting through to each
other – may strikingly occur” (470-471). They all enjoyed the moment as if it were their
very own moment and every other person’s moment.
6.8 Al-ʻUrs al-waṭani (the National Wedding)
The metaphor ʻurs waṭani is used in Jordan to express celebrations on a national scale.
Celebrating Independence Day, for example, is always referred to as ʻurs waṭani. In
the case of the 2010 elections in Wadi Musa the metaphor ʻurs waṭani was used as an
identification of the celebratory activities of the occasion on a national level. Once we
unpack the (ʻurs waṭani) symbol we shall be able to “unpack” the metaphorical baggage
of the meta-social rite of redress (see Figure 6.10, page 234). The terms of the redressive
action describe an exercise in public reflexivity – the way in which a group explains
itself to itself (Turner, 1977: 466). This interpretation argues that for a certain period
the fragmented, competitive, and conflicting factions in Wadi Musa chose the electoral
maqar as a theatre to act out the social rites, and in particular the celebratory flow of
these rites in an open forum.
The metaphorical baggage contained a presentation of a national wedding which meta-

phorically wedded the clans of Bani Laith to each other, the candidate (myself) to Bani
Laith, Bani Laith to the other tribes in the Petra Region and Wadi Musa to Jordan.
The election day, the ʻurs waṭani, was the occasion which took place at both local and
national levels during which there was a definite resolve (however short-lived) to seek
redress within the system, at both local and national levels.
Election day was characterized by the people of Wadi Musa waking up particularly
early. Like an ordinary wedding day, people wake up very early in the morning in order
to prepare for the wedding party. For a typical Jordanian family a wedding is consid-
ered an unique occasion. It represents an opportunity for people involved in it to gather
together. Family members, relatives and friends celebrate such an occasion together.
Everyone helps in preparing the wedding meal and all the other arrangements, including
the wedding party.
Using ʻurs waṭani as a metaphor here was to represent an occasion that brought peo-
ple together with great joy. It does not happen very often, but when it does, people
appreciate the time spent together. It lives for a long time in their memories. Like
an ordinary wedding, people involved in this “wedding” were family members and
friends who met together to express the intimacy that brings them together. The goal
of that meeting is to sustain unity. People are unified in all aspects of the wedding
process. While the groom in the national wedding was the candidate, the bride was
the parliamentary seat. All the people of Petra gathered to do their job. Friends from
other villages and neighbourhoods joined them at that wedding to share in their hap-
piness. The climax of the ordinary wedding is the procession, which occurs when the
groom is wedded to his bride. In this national wedding, the climax was achieved when
the candidate (myself) won the parliamentary seat. This moment was expressed as a
procession, which took place as the results of the elections were officially announced
on 9 November 2010.
The theme ʻurs waṭani was repeated 371 times in 22 documents from the in-depth in-
terviews. ʻurs waṭani was used as a metaphor in which I was the groom to Bani Laith.
(A. S. A.) stated: “Every candidate was a groom in his own governorate or his district
or his area. And so Mr. Sami al-Ḥasanāt was the groom of this national wedding in liwā’
al-Batra. It happened when he wanted to go to the al-Salāmīn clan. I remember that the
road was closed completely by the cars which were close to the schoolyard”.
Unity was the goal of all meetings of clans. John Wilson in his work “Unity in community”
stated that:
“Seeing society as an interdependent whole results in unity and solidarity. Each

individual finds his or her social identity through this unity. Simultaneously, each
individual’s life and social contribution is an expression of the whole, and there-
fore valuable to the whole” (Wilson, 2006).
People were unified in all aspects of the wedding process. In the case of Wadi Musa
on the election day, unity was clear and people found and indeed expressed their so-
cial identity in what they called the “national wedding”. According to one interviewee
(S. M): “The wedding was national, or it was a social wedding […] It was a social soli-
darity before it was a national wedding, because without social solidarity we couldn’t
have reached this national wedding. Without social solidarity there could have been
problems and it could have been a national struggle. And so by degrees [we] started
from social coherence (takāful) and social continuity and unity amongst people – until
we achieved [the] national wedding […] So social solidarity is one of the components
of the national wedding […] The solidarity amongst people was clear”.
On election day harmony between people was prevalent. As (B. S.) said: “[…] we are
able to say that the character of that election day was harmony and love”. In the same
context, (M. H.) stated: “[…] there was [a] kind of great harmony, which people have
lost and abandoned for [a] long time”. Harmony and love were expressions confirmed
also by (M. A. H.) who said: “At the maqar al-intikhābi people came after they voted and
sat together, telling stories with unprecedented harmony and love”. (H. E. I. A.) recon-
firmed this by saying: “It was dominated [the election day] by affection and harmony”.
234 Chapter 6
The ʻurs waṭani was characterized by expressions culminating in a national procession

(zaffah) 108. Figure 6.10, overleaf, shows the cumulative sacral experience of people
during the ʻurs waṭani, starting with waking up early to vote. As stated by (S. A. S. H.):
“That day started as I remember at 4 or at 5 in the morning; I woke up very early [and
got] out of my bed” and (I. A.) who stated: “[…] that day was a national wedding. All
people yaʻni [I mean that] woke up very early in the morning to prepare themselves as
if it was a day of Eid [feast]. Children put on their clothes very early and we had our
breakfast and we got ready”.
National songs
flags
unprecedented
happy
cheering shooting
anthems fireworks
sweets ululations
marches celebration
organized atmospheres
enthusiasm beautiful day
Early wake up moment

tears
streets
procession Codes lead to procession
National Wedding
Urs Watani (National Wedding)
Figure 6.10: Cumulative sacral experience of people during the ʻurs waṭani
Streets were crowded with people and cars as mentioned by (M. A. H.): “The thing that
attracted the most attention was the presence of people on the streets in the voting loca-
tions – [this] attracted a lot of attention”. People’s enthusiasm was evident, as stated
by (N. S.): “It was a mass wedding. There was enthusiasm because people had agreed
in principle before contesting the election on one person as a Nā′ib. There was a great
influx, which resulted in the expected and required result from them”. (A. A. H.) con-
firmed this by saying: “I noticed a great enthusiasm from all ages”. 
108 “Procession” is Zaffah in Arabic. It is the way the bridegroom is introduced to his wife. It was used here as
a metaphor to compare the same circumstances and activities practised in a real wedding. The bridegroom is
accompanied by a group of men who take him in a celebratory atmosphere until he meets with his wife. In the
national procession, I was accompanied by people who took me to the maqar to meet with my constituents.
The very well organized process of the elections and parades of cars and people was also
described by interviewees such as (B. S.) who said: “Everything was organized, eve-
rything was fixed […] Of course I was happy because our work was very organized.
Our management was well organized and the fast announcement of the result by the
mutaṣarrifiyyah 109 of Petra was the proof that our work was a hundred percent accurate”.
The youths played a pivotal role in the organization of the electoral process, as wit-
nessed by (O. M. H.) who said: “As for the Election Day, the police, people and the
shoyoukh, (s. shaikh) of the town have organized the process in a serious manner […] As
for the banners and pictures, they were presented in an organized and civilized way […]
In general, the voting process was organized by the youth […] I have never seen in my
life such organization for an election day like this”.
Sweets and coffee were served to people of the town as a sign of hospitality and joy at the
same time. Here (M. A. H.) noticed that: “There were youth and women carrying bakārij
qahwah 110 and abāraīq ash-shay 111 and distributing sweets on the streets”. Sweets were
not handed to people or even served on trays or plates, people were throwing them in the
air so voters could take as many as they liked, as stated by (S. A. S. H.): “[…] and most
of the people brought sweets, randomly – and they did not serve these sweets person-
ally, they were throwing them in the air […] I remember one of the cars, that belonged
to [Z. M. S,] who was one of the people, I mean he and [M. K. M] – I remember they
brought sweets with them and climbed on a small hill and started throwing these sweets”.
National songs, anthems and cheering also characterized the procession of the national
wedding. (S. T.) stated: “[…] Eh [(also) in an attempt to remember more things] […]
on this day we woke up very early to the sound of national songs and shouting of the
people of the town to the other people of the town […] it was [the town] teeming with
songs and ululations […] Of course when the result was announced, the town was full
of ululations and the songs of joy eh […] the noise of cars yaʻni [that means] their joy
was priceless […] the town seemed yaʻni [I mean] like a flame of all people, yaʻni [that
means] you couldn’t tell from which location the fireworks were launched. You couldn’t
tell where the ululations and songs were coming from”. (S. F.) confirmed this by saying:
“There were sounds of national songs and people”. (N. F.) also confirmed this by say-
ing: “There were national songs in the cars”.
Loudspeakers were used for the anthems, as stated by (M. A. H.): “Most of the youth
were in parades, yaʻni, there were loudspeakers fixed on the cars with songs and nation-
al anthems [he smoked his cigarette after he had spoken] […] The souq was crowded
109 Mutaṣarrifiyyah is the administrative headquarters of Petra Region, a smaller version of the governorate.
110 Coffee pots, in which coffee is kept warm for a longer period of time.
111 Jugs of tea.
236 Chapter 6
with parades, national songs […] We returned to the maqar al-intikhābi 112 which was
teeming with citizens, national songs were playing, fireworks, good words, [he smokes],
and the gathering of large numbers of the people of Wadi Musa and the vicinity”. (I. A.)
also said: “The voices, the national songs, the songs of women, ululations, the children
were very happy and they exclaimed with happiness […] We were playing the national
songs and we were very, very happy”. (E. H.) stated: “All cars were playing national
songs […]” (B. S.) illustrated the way people expressed their joy by saying: “They ex-
pressed that with national songs”. People were also playing music for their folklore
dance (dabka), as stated by (S. A. S. H.): “Indeed we made the dabka and anthems and
songs on the street and each car that arrived was automatically compelled to stop”.
Happiness and joy were represented by the celebratory and festive atmosphere by way of
Jordanian flag-waving, gunshots, fireworks, ululations and tears running from people’s
eyes. Here (M. S. H.) was one of the children who witnessed the events of election day
and said: “When I went with bāba 113 to the elections, ai […] m [trying to remember] we
were doing marches yaʻni as if it was a celebration […] It was a very joyful celebration,
especially at night […] And the thing I liked the best among all the other things, the, the,
the fireworks and the glamour and things like that”. As for (S. A. S. H.) he believed that
election day was a big achievement: “[…] And after we got the final result, there were
members of ʻashīrat al-Farajāt in their dīwān and they made a joyous celebration and
a good celebration […] And alḥamdulillāh rabb al ʻālamīn [praise be to Allah the lord
of mankind], the wedding is accomplished, and the celebration is accomplished […] The
shoyoukh were leading the dabkāt, (s. dabka), the national anthems and celebration at
the same time […] I remember […] all those from Bani Laith who were there inside and
outside the maqar were overflowing with happiness; the anthems, the gunshots, the fire-
works and the folk dances (dabkāt)”. (B. S.) stated that festivals were all over the region:
“There were fireworks and national festivals on this day in all the regions of Petra”. The
general atmosphere of the elections was described by interviewees such as (M. H.) who
said: “As for the electoral atmosphere, it was a very healthy and positive atmosphere […]
Now, regarding the election day as a day, it was held in a very clear and very transparent
atmosphere […] As for the joy of the people, it was a great atmosphere […] an atmos-
phere that brought people back to old times […] They have revived this lost legacy and
this lost atmosphere”. (I. A.) said: “And the atmosphere was very encouraging […]”.
(E. H.) said: “[…] The atmosphere was frankly unforgettable […] unforgettable”. Wav-

ing the Jordanian flag was only one of the ways to distinguish the procession of the
national wedding from that of an ordinary wedding. (S. N. H.) said: “[…] a proces-
sion occurred with cars sounding their horns and [the waving of] flags”. In the same
vein, (S. M. T.) stated: “We woke up to the sound of the brothers wandering around
with cars and the Jordanian flags fluttering and joy is full […] it was filling the area”.
112 The gathering place for the election activities.

113 My father (Daddy).
(N. F.) talked about the celebratory events: “There were the […] mmmm [arranging her
thoughts] flags fluttering on all the cars, on all [the] houses and on the electoral maqar”.
(I. A.) also stated: “They decorated schools with the national flags”. (B. S.) noticed that:
“They were putting imageries and national flags on their cars”. The feeling of joy was
expressed by tears running from people’s eyes. This was confirmed by (S. A. S. H.) who
said: “When the final results were announced and it was 5,503, uqsim billāh al-ʻaẓīm,
[I swear to the great God] 114 that moment and that happiness – when someone says
someone cries – indeed I have seen tears running from eyes, but they were not tears of
sorrow, but tears of happiness, involuntarily, tears were running from people’s eyes”.
And (M. S. H.) reconfirmed this by saying: “I was extremely happy […] [She started
crying […] she wiped her tears] […] I had a great joy which was unprecedented”.
All the recurring expressions culminated in the moment that the final results of the
election were announced, describing the whole day as a “beautifully unprecedented”
day. This was evident in (S. N. H.)’s words who described the election day as follows:
“[…] a procession occurred and horns of the cars and flags. All people were happy.
This is the first time I see all of Wadi Musa happy for the same reason. Yaʻni [I mean
that] I have never seen a similar collective joy like this. Even on Independence Day, I
haven’t seen such joy. They were very, very happy. And after that the meals people made.
Māsha’Allāh [God wills] none of the people fell short with him [the candidate] and he
didn’t fall short with them. This is the Election Day […] Another thing attracted my at-
tention on the day of the result. On the day of the result the procession was so, so beauti-
ful. A national procession for brother Sami. They danced in it. And it was a very, very
beautiful national wedding”. Ritual with its sacral features was described thoroughly by
people who elaborated them with the meaning these rituals represented.
In his interview, (A. A. H.) described the way in which the al-Salāmīn clan mounted this
procession: “I remember this story when the candidate was wandering on foot and al-
Salāmīn brought him. They wedded him in a wedding procession to the voting boxes”.
A similar procession was mounted by al-Helālāt starting from their dīwān to the voting
centre and was described by (S. A. S. H.) as follows: “The al-Al-Helālāt were gathering
all together at their dīwān and they wanted to start moving all together in a procession
[to the voting centre]. And actually we called Mr. Sami and we took him to dīwān al-
Helālāt and they mounted the procession. It was a huge procession for all the members
of the Al-Helālāt clan”.
In the same vein, (I. A.) said: “I saw the cars yaʻni [I mean that] every 15 minutes or
10 minutes there was a group of cars. They go and make like a wedding procession, like
when they go to take a bridegroom or something like that from his house, they were do-
ing like that. Wedding procession in general […] And after that when the result [was]
announced, ululations started by women and they made a wedding procession for Mr.
114 People swear to God three times to confirm what they say without any doubt.
238 Chapter 6
Sami from the elections centre to the maqar. When they arrived, it seemed like they were
doing a wedding procession for [the] bridegroom to his house. They took him there. He
met with people and he talked to them”.
During the moment of announcing the election results I was at the main centre where
they counted the votes. The moment I left that centre there was a group of youths from
al-farajāt waiting among other youths from all of the clans of Bani Laith. One of the
al-farajāt youths carried me on his shoulders for more than 1km until we reached their
dīwān. A huge procession was mounted by all those who were waiting to hear the final
results at the counting centre. At their dīwān, al-farajāt enjoyed a big celebration after
which I was driven to the main maqar where thousands of people from all over the
country were waiting for me. Upon my arrival in the maqar the whole place burst into
noise, cheering, chanting and loud shouting. I was carried on shoulders again all around
the place.
The 2010 elections represented a “wedding” of the ḥamāyil, (s. ḥamoulah) to each other,
candidate to Bani Laith, Wadi Musa to Jordan. It was a formalization of healing the
breach between Wadi Musa and all of the other communities in the Petra Region. It
was also a sort of resolution (however short-lived) to seek redress within the system, at
national level.
6.9 The Tahani, congratulations period
6.9.1 Protocol/structure of tahani visits
From the first moment that the result was announced people came from all over the
country to congratulate me and my tribe, the Bani Laith. In the main tent luxury seats
were arranged in front of the ordinary seats. The first seat next to the main entrance was
the place where I sat to receive congratulations. Next to me sat the shoyoukh until an
important guest arrived, and then they left to find another seat.
The protocol of congratulations was structured more or less like diplomatic or govern-
mental protocols. The receptionists were al-Ḥasanāt dignitaries, elders and youths who
were lined up in an organized row to welcome the guests.
Some of the youths organizing the parking and others led the guests to reception where
someone else took or directed them to where I and the shoyoukh were. Others stood alert
on watch until after they had finished the tahani and then took them to their seats. The
youths started serving them Bedouin coffee, tea and sweets.
The tahani period continued for the following day and night at the maqar. Deputa-
tions of religious leaders, tribal delegations, high government officials and employees
all came to convey their tahani to me and my tribe, as well as tourists in Petra who also
came to present their tahani.
Tribal delegations came in many cars. A delegation could be recognized easily as they sound-
ed their car horns, cheered, sang and danced. The head of each delegation was at the front,
with the others behind him.
At the women’s maqar the structure was the same. My wife and the wives of the al-
Ḥasanāt shoyoukh and dignitaries lined up at the main entrance to welcome the women
guests. My wife, sisters, daughters and other women relatives and friends were the host-
esses. Coffee, tea and sweets or fruit were served to the guests. All those who came for
tahani were invited for the feast.
6.9.2 The feast: Preparation of feast and the feast itself
“Carnival” means any season of revelry or indulgence, riotous feasting, merriment or

amusement, from the Latin carnem levare, to put away flesh (Chambers 20th Century
Dictionary, 1983).
Similar to Eid, the feast celebration took place over three days. Like the activities of
Eid, people visit each other to convey Eid Tahani, or, similar to a wedding, people come
to convey their Tahani to the groom’s family. It is worth mentioning that in the Islamic
tradition there are two feasts: Ramadan and al-Aḍḥa. The latter is a feast of the sacrifice
or the vow, in the tradition of Ibraheem (Abraham) when Allah ordered him to sacrifice
his son. In this tradition, Muslims all over the world celebrate this sacrifice or vow by
slaughtering a goat, sheep, cow or camel.
The three days following the aftermath of the elections were recognized as the carnival
period; feasting and celebrating the occasion as if it were a real Eid. The carnival took
place in the streets and at the maqar. In amongst the feasting and celebrating, however,
the carnival was not devoid of scrutiny of injustice in the region.
Strictly speaking, “carnival” refers to the period of feasting and revelry […] “All things
of the flesh, including the ‘things that are Caesar’s’, are being brought to the fore of
social attention, the pleasurable to be indulged in, and the politically and legally unjust
to be given a long hard look” (Turner, 1979: 475).
In the case of Petra’s carnival, not only “things that are Caesar’s”, but also “things that are
God’s” were all brought to the forefront of social attention – prayers, entreaties, words of
praise to Allah and songs repeating “irfa’ rāsak foag el ttalah […] ma nirkaʻ illa la Allah”,
raise your head upon the hill […] we shall never bow to anyone, but to Allah. The occa-
sion created an irresistible feeling amongst the people of Wadi Musa especially the youth.
240 Chapter 6
Flow is an important characteristic in the sphere and scope of the social drama:
“flow is a state in which action follows action according to an inner logic which
seems to need no conscious intervention on our part; we experience it as a uni-
fied flowing from one moment to the next, in which we feel in control of our
actions, and in which there is little distinction between self and environment,
between stimulus and response, or between past, present, and future” (486-487).
In Wadi Musa at redressive stage, there was a short-lived continuity in the flow from
one action to another; the continuity between ancestors, this generation and generations
to come; the spontaneous and intuitive behaviours that make the flow run as if it were
a flood, which seeps down its course gradually. If one tries to divert its path, the fate
might be a tragic loss.
Petra’s feast was meant not only to celebrate the result of the long-awaited moment but
was actually a moment of honour, when the whole society came to be honoured by its
members. Here Peter Manning in his book “Semiotics and fieldwork” writes:
“Social codes are integrated systems of signs. There are many of them, but think,
for example, of protocols or etiquette whose function is to communicate relations
among individuals; rituals, where the group itself is honoured by its members;
fashion, which is stylized communication of a social identity or role” (Manning,
1987: 27).
The Bani Laith were honoured indeed by me as their new Member of Parliament. The
huge feast was intentionally and carefully arranged to serve the honour protocol as
shown in Figure 6.11, below.
Figure 6.11: Bani Laith tribe members were honoured by their MP
A banquet was prepared to honour the Bani Laith as shown in Figure 6.12, below. 25
camels were slaughtered to feed the Bani Laith, their guests and friends. Thousands of
people attended the feast in which they all dined at the same time.
Figure 6.12: A banquet was prepared to honour the Bani Laith’s members
At this time the hosts were all the members of the al-Ḥasanāt clan who wanted to say
thank you in an excessive way to the Bani Laith in deeds and not in words only. That
was a clear sign that not only conveyed gratitude, but was also a symbol of fostering a
sincere relationship and of intentions to maintain it with their tribal fellows.
6.9.3 Closure: the candidate enters into a new status in the order
Arnold Van Gennep in his foundational work Les Rites de Passage, first published in
1909, explicated rites of passage as ritual processes composed of three phases which
accomplish a transformation in the status of the participant(s). The campaign period, the
elections and the aftermath of the elections were comprised of these ritual processes.
In the same vein, Van Gennep focused on rituals of transition for as many life phases
found in as many cultural communities as have existed in history. He observed that rites
of passage are structured similarly across cultures; there are three “stages” to a rite of
passage:
Separation: the initiate (that is, the person who is going through the transition) is
stripped of his/her current social status and usually marked as somehow different from
others in the community.
During the very first stages of my nomination I was the one who was perceived as dif-
ferent from others in the Petra community. I was separated from my previous status no
matter what that status was.
Limen, or margin: the person enters a period in which his/her status is ambiguous, and
the normal rules of behaviour and society are somehow disordered.
On a societal level, the breach/crisis situation was the dominant sphere in the social
drama. Ambiguity, therefore, was the main characteristic of the liminal period. The “be-
242 Chapter 6
twixt and betweenness” situation bred that ambiguity, which is somehow threatening
and frightening. The candidate of the society, as the society itself, were at the margin.
They were neither in their previous status nor in the following stage. Anxiety was bred
by the ambiguity which was formed from disorder and the distorted atmosphere of the
stage of liminality or marginality.
Reassimilation, reaggregation, reincorporation: the phase which marks entry into a

new social status and in which order is restored – but the person has a new role in that
order based on the new social status (Turner 1969:94ff.).
On the eve of the election night after communitas was achieved, the social status started
to calm down gradually. The frenzied climax was still quietening down and social
order was restored, although people were still under the influence of previous social
reactions.
I, however, was feeling assured of my new status in the order. My status – the liminar –
was marked and my role became clearer: that now (9 November 2010) I was an MP of
the Bani Laith as I entered a new social status in my own society.
An autoethnographical epilogue
When I first started my thesis, its first contention was that Wadi Musa had experienced
an exponential rate of change and an economic success since 2007 as a direct result of
its selection as one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World” (N7W). In Chapter Four
I established a baseline against which the change in Wadi Musa was measured. It was
necessary, therefore, to establish a portrait of the study community in 2006–2007, just
before N7W. I triangulated my research methods in an approach with which my research
evolved into a combination of both quantitative measures and qualitative description,
gathered through archival research, interviews and participant observation, to construct
a Geertzian “thick description” of the study of Wadi Musa as a community in transition.
Geertzian “thick description” seemed to me like gathering the various coloured pieces to
construct a mosaic picture of my community, Wadi Musa. My approach to painting that pic-
ture was established by the amalgamation of both quantitative measurements and qualitative
data that were gathered and interpreted to produce a consistency and depth to the mosaic por-
trait of the Wadi Musa community. Thick description was my approach towards capturing
my community at a time of decisive transition in its social, cultural, political and economic
aspects – most of which were intertwined with the tourism industry in the Petra Region.
Throughout my efforts to establishing a thick description of Wadi Musa it was crucial to

assess as much as possible of the dynamics of change socially, culturally, politically and
economically. It was also equally important to examine the interrelationships within the
community enlightened by the way my community explained itself to itself; in other words,
in the context of how the community perceived change in the various aspects of its life. My
interpretation was based on as many layers of information as possible, which were analysed
and interpreted in order to thickly describe the study community. Layers of analysis and
interpretation were rendered in anticipation of making my description more convincing. In
other words, I tried to move from what seemed intuitive into what was hidden behind that
intuitive meaning. My attention, therefore, was focused on the flow of both individual and
group behaviours within the context in which they occurred. Through that flow of behav-
iours I gained empirical access to the web of meanings that members of community share
and indeed, practice intuitively, in their quotidian life. Through behaviour and social actions
culture can be understood as that of a web of shared meanings in the community (Geertz,
1973). The community of Wadi Musa as a whole is socially and culturally wired to that
web of meaning with all of its symbols and semiotics. However, observing social actions
within their context was a more appealing approach towards experiencing different patterns
of culture and the possibility of interpreting that culture to be presented to other people who
belong to other cultures so that they may understand it. Understanding the other culture is
something, but to agree or disagree with some of its aspects is something different.
The ethnography of Wadi Musa was enriched with data that portrayed a community
in transition, as discussed in Chapter Two. The data demonstrated that Wadi Musa has
244 An autoethnographical epilogue
experienced an exponential rate of change and an economic success since 2007 as a

direct result of its selection as one of the N7W. Political change in the local government
brought the situation in Wadi Musa towards a gradual breach.
The breach kept widening until N7W with an associated increase in tourism – as dis-
cussed in Chapter Five – when the breach turned into a crisis. In this context, the data
demonstrated that the local government was driven by increasing tourism, planning for
the next generation was driven by increasing tourism, the local economy and planning
for development was driven by increasing tourism. These realities, however, are com-
bined with the sense that the local communities themselves are disenfranchised from
decision-making processes concerning their region. In the same vein, the benefits of
tourism are insecure due to the influence of regional events beyond the control of the
local market.
In the public meetings associated with the Strategic Master Plan (SMP) and the 2010
elections, locals expressed disaffection ranging from cynicism to desperation. They felt
“like strangers in our own town” and that tourists take priority over residents. There was
a sense that tourism is responsible for every problem: uncertain income, political injus-
tice, pollution, congestion, water scarcity and social inequalities within the community.
The assessment of a community’s or individual’s “subjective sense of self, its existential

core”, was difficult, somehow, to illustrate in quantitative terms, although some of these
– for example, the vast disparity between economic benefit to government entities vs.
households – were suggestive. The traditions and customs – culture, in short – is built on
a shared system of values and ethics which in Wadi Musa are perceived to be disrupted
in contrast with outsiders’ behaviours. These are the layers of experience that were yield-
ed up through anthropological methods such as interviews and participant observation.
The second contention of my thesis was that Wadi Musa’s increased value as a tourism
destination has created socio-cultural tensions and ambiguities, leading to what might be
characterized as a liminal period in the life of the community. With N7W, however, the rate
and scale of change steepened exponentially, as demonstrated in Chapter Five, bringing the
community to the point of social crisis. The material presented in Chapters Four and Five
illustrated that Wadi Musa has experienced a disruption of daily life and institutional forms
as a result of N7W. While Wadi Musa as a community has not been destroyed, its basic as-
sumptions about its identity – its subjective sense of self, its existential core – are certainly
threatened. I argued that this perceived “threat” lies primarily in the locals’ sense that they
have no access to control over their own lives. These threatening “disruptions” cross-cut
almost every aspect of society, i. e. the institutional, socio-cultural and personal aspects.
Nevertheless, I hope that by stating some of the realities associated with change in Wadi
Musa, I have built a convincing portrait of a tourist community under social, political
and economic strain due to a rapid increase in tourism.
An autoethnographical epilogue 245
After the argument that Wadi Musa was, by the end of 2010, a community in breach/
crisis, occupying such a “menacing stance”, a difficult liminal period ensued, during
which, as we have seen, many were concerned that violence might break out. During the
election period of 2010, people were concerned about violence breaking out among the
clans of Bani Laith as a consequence of competition and conflict. Certainly the members
of the SMP teams were cowed, even terrified, by the vehement opposition they encoun-
tered at public meetings. The events which took place in Petra 2011–2013 were such
an embodiment of the character of breach/crisis in Wadi Musa, especially those which
broke into an encounter with the government represented by the gendarmerie and police.
The third contention of my thesis, using Victor Turner’s theories of social drama, was
that the parliamentary campaign period in 2010 represented an effort to redress a breach
in the community’s structure by erasing clan distinctions and crossing hierarchical
boundaries to reintegrate politically under the rubric of Bani Laith.
We have seen in Chapter Six how in the social drama a community in crisis moves into
a period of redress, a period during which those who represent “order” are publicly and
more or less formally challenged either to reintegrate the community in a new way, or to
formalize the breach and create a new order from its conflicted parts.
My interpretation of the subject community made it possible to identify two prevailing

symbols/metaphors which emerged from observation, interviews and documents collect-
ed around the 2010 election period: Bani Laith and ‘urs waṭani, the “national wedding”.
Using Ortner’s checklist (section 2.2.2) as a heuristic device, Bani Laith and ʻurs waṭani
were selected as metaphors to be analyzed in depth for the insights they yielded into cul-
tural identity and socio-political processes. Indeed, my community used both Bani Laith
and ʻurs waṭani to reorder their cultural life. These root metaphors and key scenarios
in turn provided the symbolic material necessary to understand the Bani Laith “social
drama” by which they processed crisis and the transitional period in their cultural life.
An examination of the reintegration attempt of the community
The community, however temporarily, re-imagined and reconstituted itself in such a

way as to redress that cultural breach, to use Victor Turner’s term. Turner’s theory of
social drama provided an analytic structure within which I analyzed the events and dy-
namics of the period from 2007–2010, which culminated in the parliamentary elections
of November 2010. The elections – my selection as Bani Laith’s unity candidate, the
major campaign issues and points of conflict within the constituency, the results and the
aftermath – were parsed as social drama. Particular attention was devoted to the election
itself as an example of public ritual by which the community attempted to reintegrate
itself. Analysis of the root metaphor of Bani Laith and the key scenario of the “national
wedding” (‘urs watani) articulated the discourse implicit in the social drama.
It is fair enough to conclude that Bani Laith’s redressive process was successful by the end
of the election period in 2010. We have seen how their earnest struggle to redress culminated
in their reintegration. The community reintegrated under the rubric of Bani Laith as a unify-
ing identity. The redressive strenuous process brought to the forum every possible effort to
bring people together. In a certain space and time they realized that “united we stand”. They
reached a certain level of self-actualization by being able to obtain their seat in Parliament.
Here we come to the time when this thesis closes with an epilogue which will narrate,
returning to the autoethnographical voice of the prologue, the aftermath of the elections.
As I am writing on 27 August 2014, almost four years after my selection as Bani Laith’s
MP, I regret to conclude that redress and reintegration did not last for a long time. Unfor-
tunately, it was a temporary, short-lived experience enjoyed by my community: “when re-
dress fails, there is usually a regression to crisis” (Turner, 1974: 41). These stages of social
drama in Wadi Musa did not run their course in bringing people to a long-lasting state of
harmony and unity. Reintegration was present only during the election days and probably
during the short space of time around the elections – the first few months of that period.
The tribes and clans of Petra Region tried very hard to “muddle through” how to work
together – articulate themselves over the long term as a unified entity. Failure to continue
with reintegration is due to many reasons (which will be justified presently in what I call
“circling back into crisis again”): my people collapsed back into tribal infighting and
competition amongst the tribes of Petra on one level and on the other amongst the shoy-
oukh, opinion leaders (opportunistic individuals), and dominants of tourism business
in Petra Region. All of this resulted in a reversion which surely alienated the shabāb,
either by occasioning the legitimization and formalization of the schism, or having the
whole community circling back into crisis again. This tribal infighting and competition
jeopardized every possible effort towards moving forward with Petra and its people.
Circling back into crisis again
In accordance with my own experience as an MP of Petra Region (9 November 2010 –

4 November 2012) and as a researcher, it seemed to me that the people of Petra raised
their expectations of me as their MP. It also might be that they had the impression that
I had a “magic wand” with which to change things over-night. The failure to maintain
redressive and reintegration achievements has had many repercussions.
Bani Laith has once more disintegrated into tribal and clan factionalism, exacerbated
by a cross-cutting rift between tribes on the one hand and the “youth” (shabāb) and the
shyoukh, or tribal elders, on the other. They returned to the same issues of conflict issues
that they had before the election of 2010. The larger tribe wanted to keep the benefits of
tourism only for themselves, regardless of the existence of the other tribes in the region.
The elders retreated to imposing their opinions, believing that their understanding of
the situation was far better than that of the youth. The youths are therefore confined
between hopelessness and fear of the future. My busy time in Amman prevented me
from listening more carefully to people. More efforts should have been taken by me to
meet regularly with my people. It was a shortcoming from my side as an MP that I didn’t
probably listen enough to what people had to say or share with me. It seems to me that
I only counted on what has been achieved as a result of the elections’ reintegration. I
shouldn’t have ignored the fact that people needed me to be much more closer to them.
There was a failure to prioritize individual needs over those of the whole community.
Upon my nomination and just before I was chosen to become the candidate of Bani
Laith, my main condition was that people should not distract my future parliamentary
work with individual requirements. I urged people to prioritize the general requirements
of the society as a whole. Unfortunately, the hardest issue I was faced with from the first
day (9 November, 2010) was taking a large number of calls from people asking for jobs
and personal favours only. Very few of the people called me to help with the collective
benefits for Wadi Musa. I also discovered that most of those who attended the meeting I
called for or even those who joined the local committee which I established, right after
the election day, were expecting personal favours only. Once they discovered that I was
not able to comply with every single personal interest, they left me. I should have been
more tolerant to contain everybody. My judgement of people was not fair. I didn’t give
another chance to understanding people in a better way. I might have been wrong for
being too quick to distract people away from me at a time when I was supposed to keep
people as close as possible to my side.
There was the expectation of a rapid and unsystematic change happening very soon.
In spite of my strong belief that change must take its own time, I was rushed and even
pushed by the people of Wadi Musa to force the PDTRA commissioners to start their
project. I was pushed to ask PDTRA to build walls and roads for almost everyone who
built a house in Wadi Musa. I was also pushed to force them to do everything very
quickly. This was met not only with resentment on the part of the PDTRA officials but
also, to a certain degree, this distracted the PDTRA staff from paying greater attention
to the needs of the whole region. I am sad to say that there was an obvious selfishness
in terms of personal services regardless of the requirements of the whole population of
the region. I also expected things to happen very soon. I was in a hurry, racing against
time. I was rushing due to my feeling that my term of office might not last long due to
the political situation in the Region. I couldn’t see at that time that my way of pushing
things, expecting them to happen soon, made decision-makers act against me.
There was competition for leadership among the shoyoukh and opinion leaders and me
as their MP. This resulted in fear amongst those opportunistic groups or individuals.
Their fear was generated from the newly prescribed words of Weber: “those to whom
he addresses his mission have the duty to recognize him as their leader, charismatically
qualified” (Weber, 1968). Commuinty leaders were threatened by my new position as
an MP, thinking that I might marginalise them in terms of leadership in the region, even
though I reassured them that my political work as an MP would complement their social
work and that I would never contradict or interfere in their social work. In addition, I
consulted them in most of the decisions I made on behalf of the people of Petra and
Jordan, such as voting for confidence in the goverment. I believe that I should have paid
more attention to the shoyokh by giving them work to do and to help me. The mistake
I made was that I didn’t succeed in containing them in a better way. The very first en-
counters with them were unsuccessful in the sense that I expected them to cope with me,
while it was supposed to be the other way around. They certainly needed my practical
support, especially at the time when they needed that support.
There was a lack of real support for me as an MP by some people in Petra. This resulted
from my inability to deal with some people’s personal needs; for example, securing a
job for an individual or obtaining private favours from PDTRA or the government in
general. It became evident that they started talking to other people in Wadi Musa against
me. I should have realised that there is nothing wrong with helping individual needs
since the most important thing for individuals and their families is obtaining a job. My
failure in creating jobs was based on the government’s broader failure in this matter. I
should have recognised that when people in my constituency’s culture vote for an MP,
they certainly think of jobs and personal favours in the first place. Trying to change
that culture can be a hard task. This lack of support was coupled with the stereotypical
traditional perception of the MP and based on their experience of former MPs who only
worked for their own benefit, close friends and relatives, in addition to the perception
that such an MP would leave them behind and move to live in Amman. I confirmed in
many meetings with my constituency that I would never leave them behind. I assured
them that I was still living with them in Wadi Musa and that I wouldn’t live in Amman.
I also assured them that my work would benefit the whole region and not a particular
person or tribe. At the same time, I assured them that I would never ever benefit person-
ally as I had no interest whatsoever in any of the projects I presented on their behalf.
This was an attempt to convince them and to clear out something that culturally lives in
their minds about the personal interest of an MP.
There was tribal infighting about the matter of socio-economic participation. The domi-
nant tribe –Bani Laith – would not give other tribes in the Petra Region a chance to ben-
efit from the projects that I proposed when I was an MP. My approach was to establish
a real local partnership based on the local societal core competencies, including natural
resources, human resources and the cultural resources of the local community of Petra.
Shoyoukh and other people from Wadi Musa, in particular, blamed me and actually
openly resisted my calls to include all the six communities of Petra in the development
process and potential benefits from tourism revenue. They blatantly asked me: “why
should you bring other people to compete with us in our time while we are the only peo-
ple who suffer the impacts of tourism?” I tried to convince the shoyoukh by my efforts to
bring the people of Petra together, though, in the first place, I should have worked harder
on mitigating the ongoing, long-lasting conflict to seek favours either from the tourism
industry or government in the Petra Region or on the national level. It would have been
better to have brought people together to sit at one table and talk with them about things
that might bring them closer together.
There were changes in the Jordanian government at national level. From 2010 – 2012
four governments completely changed, with at least three changes of particular minis-
ters within some government cabinets. This rapid change took place in response to the
political and economic situation in Jordan which was influenced by the consequences
of global economic recession and the so-called “Arab Spring” in the Arab world. Every
time I was near to achieving favours for the region from the government, the govern-
ment suddenly changed. These favours were supposed to have been for Petra in general,
such as initiating new projects and new government departments to avoid centralization.
It seems clear that, although people of Wadi Musa knew that, some people, such as the
shoyoukh and others, thought that I had fallen short in representing them at national
level. They certainly needed to hear more about all these changes from me personally.
My assumption that they knew about these changes was inadequate.
Officials at PDTRA failed to fulfil their obligations towards the region due to the dishar-
monised atmosphere among the commissioners which reflected negatively on the devel-
opment process. Most of their failure has to be blamed on the Prime Minister (PM) who
did not complete the finalisation of the PDTRA law. I personally joined the former chair-
man to meet with one of the PMs in this regard. He promised to approve the law as soon
as possible. Unfortunately, since it seemed like there was an evident absence of institu-
tional organization within the government, the law was not approved and I needed to start
all over again to persuade the new PM to approve the law. In the absence of clear law,
governance and transparency systems in the PDTRA, the staff of the commissioners were
not able to move in any direction towards development or any other aspect to improve the
lives of the local communities. During my work as an MP for Petra (2010–2012) I did my
best to support the PDTRA, in the form of increasing the budget for PDTRA in 2011 and
2012 to JD22 million from JD16 million. I also praised the work of PDTRA in Parliament
and in my meetings with the King and the PM. I was always demanding real empower-
ment and independence for the PDTRA so that real development could be achieved on
the ground for the region. I’m not sure that I conveyed this support clearly to officials at
PDTRA. Sometimes I was even hard on them in such a way that they started to resent me.
The Jordanian Parliament was dissolved two years after its start in 2010. Certainly that
did not give me the chance or the time to continue with the strategy I had put forward to
help development of Petra Region. Instead of behaving based on the political authority
I used to have as an MP, my behaviour was supposed to have been based on a concrete
moral responsibility, not necessarily a political authority. I made many attempts to co-
operate with the present MP of Petra Region, but it seems to me that he has his own
strategy which may be different from mine.
Reflection on where I am and where my community, Wadi Musa, is in 2014
As soon as I started my new job as an MP for Petra Region on 9 November 2010 and in the
light of the above-mentioned repercussions of the failure of the community to reintegrate,
I wanted to change the mentality of my people from being beggars to the government to
becoming self-reliant. I built my strategy on a four-year term (2010 – 2014), the period
during which I was supposed to represent them in Parliament. My strategy was based on
establishing a new development entity in Petra Region in the form of a “Petra Region
Development Fund”. Resources for this fund were to have come from a percentage of the
entrance tickets to Petra, membership fees, project funding from government and NGOs
and a contribution – as promised – from the royal court. Obviously, the failure here is
represented by my inability to do all this hard work alone. There should have been a com-
mittee of professional people to help me do this. My job should have been in initiating
the process and following up with the committee who might have helped to make it work.
I invited King Abdullah II to Petra for the first time in the history of the Region. On 27
March 2011 he visited Petra and talked to people and listened carefully to their demands.
During the meeting I was able to present a very short strategy to him. On his arrival at
his office he called for a meeting to present my strategy, which I did, but very little has
actually been achieved.
During that meeting we agreed on establishing the fund and the king donated one mil-
lion Jordanian Dinars as seed money for the fund, if it was established. The fund has not
yet seen the light of day. He also promised to help facilitate all three projects I presented
to him and his consultants in the presence of the head of the royal court and to confer
the patronage of the court.
The result of this very hard work was rather unpleasant. The projects were sent to the
Ministry of Planning for a feasibility study. Ironically, the first two projects were re-
jected for their unfeasibility. The third was feasible and was like a bone thrown to me
to shut me up. “The power of discipline not only destroys personal charisma but also
rationally transforms the stratification of society into elite status groups” (Weber 1968).
Promises, promises and more promises were all that I received.
The whole idea of the fund was rejected outright by the Prime Minister. He justified that
rejection by saying: “If we give Petra this privilege, then all the other cities may ask for
the same”. Not only that, but a new corrupt, unqualified and unwanted commissioner
was added to the PDTRA Board of Commissioners. Here Max Weber says:
“The creative force of charisma wanes when faced with power which has be-
come solidified into lasting institutions, and becomes effective only in short-term
mass emotions, incalculable in their effects, as in the case of elections and the
like. Nonetheless, charisma is still an extremely important element in the social
structure, though of course in a greedy altered sense” (Weber, 1968: 284).
Additional to the resistance I encountered on a national level outside the boundaries of

Wadi Musa, I’m sad to say that most of my people did not support me when I needed
them to stand up for themselves, their children, their city and its future. “[…] so go,
you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here (watching)” (Quran,
5:24). With only a very few people standing by my side – my closest relatives and a few
youths – I expressed my frustration towards my government for not fulfilling their com-
mitment to my projects and for appointing the new commissioner. For example, during
the action of shutting down the PDTRA offices and the main entrance to Wadi Musa on 3
August 2011, I was before them when we closed the whole building of the PDTRA dur-
ing which I challenged the government, stressing the fact that we wanted real develop-
ment in deeds, not only in words. I realised that I didn’t plan carefully for such an event.
Most of the people of Petra didn’t know about it because it happened all of a sudden.
They didn’t even know the real reason behind its occurrence until some of them asked
me personally after a while. That particular event represented a great opportunity for us
in Wadi Musa to achieve our demands in terms of creating jobs and real development on
the ground, but unfortunately, that opportunity has been lost.
Another message was conveyed to the royal court by banning the distribution of the food
aid they occasionally send to the poor people of Jordan. The message was clearly con-
veyed: “people are not hungry for food, they need to live with dignity”. Unfortunately,
most of the people perceived that as cutting the provision for the poor. I justified that ac-
tion by telling them that “the poor can only live one or two months on the food the royal
court sends, but what about the rest of the year? I assert that we all must work towards
having a sustainable income for the poor and all the people of Petra at the same time. We
don’t have to beg for our food, we have to work to obtain our food”. I now know that
before banning food aid, there must be alternatives to help them think in a different way.
Optimism was still dominating my efforts. When my projects were jeopardized I estab-
lished a coalition of 18 cooperative societies in the Petra Region (The Coalition of Petra
Cooperative Societies in the Petra Region). I revisited the royal court and talked briefly
to the king, but nothing has happened. I developed a pilot study for a project, namely
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. I succeeded in securing JD 500,000 funding from the
royal court. The money was transferred to a special account in the name of the new coa-
lition, but we were not allowed to use it. After another visit to the royal court, I found out
that the money had been transferred for the benefit of any other feasible projects and it is
still frozen at PDTRA after three years! Among other things I was busy with, I needed to
focus more on such a project. It was a glimpse of hope which seemed to have been lost
due to my preoccupation with other commitments.
On 10 March 2014 the PDTRA called for a meeting with the local cooperative societies
by request of the royal court regarding the transferred money. I insisted that the money
came as a result of my strenuous efforts as funding for the project (Medicinal and Aro-
matic Plants). During the meeting I presented the same project again. All the other repre-
sentatives of the 24 societies also insisted on having their share of the money. In the light
of the same ongoing infighting, the Chairman of PDTRA suggested that each society had
to provide a project proposal by a deadline of 10 April 2104. I registered the same pro-
ject proposal, the feasibility study and a pilot study. Sadly, until now (28 August, 2014)
nothing has happened. I wish now that I had given other societies the chance to present
their projects which might have been worth supporting more than mine.
Enormous efforts were made by me and a few other people to deal with the troubling
issues in the Petra Region. As a direct response to the unemployed youths’ protest and
the kiosks protest in 2011 I harangued the commissioners at PDTRA to enforce the es-
tablishment of a mechanism to solve the problematic issues in the Region. Finally, after
a series of lengthy meetings with all of the officials at Petra and the local community, I
succeeded in attracting benefits to the local community at Petra, as follows:
• Establishing a new cooperative society in which every household is enrolled. The

new society (namely, ʻāṣsemat al-Anbāṭ) was established and has become the official
entity to represent the local community in Petra Region and to be accountable to it.
• Deducting 10 % of the price of entry tickets to Petra as seed money for the new
society. Although this decision was made by the PDTRA, they received a rejection
from the PM. The result was further protests, with nothing useful or constructive for
the region and its people.
• Building 20 kiosks at the tourist bus station close to the main entrance of Petra. The-
se kiosks were built and handed over to the new society. Instead of granting them to
the needy people, they rented them to those who can afford the high rent. I realised
that the society made the right decision by renting them out and keeping the income
generated from these kiosks to fund other projects.
• Continue working on the back road from Petra to Wadi Musa.
• Signing a contract between PDTRA and the new society to operate the cafeteria,
which was built as part of the new visitors’ centre. The cafeteria was rented for JD
78,000 and the rent provides income to the society itself.
• Increasing the fees for Petra by Night by adding JD3 for the benefit of the local com-
munity. Unfortunately, the other achievements, including the Petra by Night JD3
extra fees, were rejected by the dominant tour operators. The result was the Petra By
Night protest, 18 December 2013, and that terrible encounter with the gendarmerie
and the police, as described in section 5.4.1.9.
• Establishing a new parking station for tourism transportation outside Wadi Musa.
The land was secured and the project is still waiting to be implemented.
• PDTRA has promised to issue an official letter to the Prime Minister to exclude
PDTRA from his decision concerning preventing appointments to the government.
The PM refused again and the youths are still waiting for job opportunities.
• Establishment of a horse racing range in Baiḍa. This project has not yet seen the
light of day.
• Establishment of a committee to facilitate a joint-stock company for developing the

Region. This thinking was substituted by the society which was established after the
decision was taken.
• It was agreed to take the necessary action by the PDTRA in collaboration with the
security authorities to regulate and control issues within the boundaries of the ar-
chaeological park. No serious action took place in the light of the bullying of the
local opportunistic people inside the old city of Petra.
• Work on the issues concerning souvenir shops in the tourism street. The newly built
kiosks solved this problem, but the rest of the shop owners remained unhappy since
these shops are closer to the new visitors’ centre and they take most of their business.
The same resistance was my fate during the establishment of the new cooperative soci-
ety. After strenuous efforts to bring the people of Petra together to agree on establishing
such an entity, it was very hard to convince the various tribes’ representatives on the
administrative board. I tried very hard to convince them that all board members must
be elected professionals – no matter to which tribe these members belonged – so that
they would work for the betterment of the community as a whole. Unfortunately, people
insisted that there must be equal representation of each tribe. They established a board
of 18 members, most of whom were elders and retired people. The result was a failure
of the new society due to the unsuccessful choice of its board members. It is worth men-
tioning that the capital of this new society in 2014 reached almost JD1,250,000, which
was obtained from membership fees and rent of the new kiosks and the new cafeteria.
Although I tried to be transparent with my people with an open door policy and dia-
logues with them, they seem not to have understood or appreciated my intentions and
efforts. Instead, they wanted benefits very quickly. They only focused on benefits from
tourism because it represents an easy income. In other words, they just wanted to receive
money while they were sitting at home. Most of the people want to have a horse regis-
tered on the Petra list. Why a horse in particular? Most of the horses are only registered
on the list, while very few of them actually work in tourism. It was left as voluntary for
the horse owners in terms of having an actual horse working or just having their names
on the list. Either way, they would get money by the end of the month. This has evoked
the envy of those who do not have their names on the horse list.
Regarding the tribal infighting and conflict over distribution of the benefits from tourism
in Petra, the enforced agreement with the PDTRA was jeopardized and contradicted. My
strenuous efforts towards the implementation of acquisitions that had been obtained on
the ground were buried by this tribal infighting, which was hard for me to reconcile due
to my weakness in cooperating with the shoyoukh. Within Bani Laith each clan wanted
more benefits than the others, and within the tribes other than Bani Laith each tribe
wanted more benefit. A feeling of envy that was predominant between those who benefit
from tourism and those who do not was and is still ongoing. Those who benefit argue
that “we have established our business [a] long time ago, therefore, we must remain in
this business”. Those who do not benefit argue that “you have gained enough and it is
time for us to benefit equally as you did. We do not want to share what you have gained
in the past, but we want to start benefiting now”. Bani Laith themselves do not want
the other tribes, i. e. al-ʻamārīn, al-Bedoul, al-Rawājfeh and al-Seʻīdiyīn, to share in the
benefits with them. On another level, the other tribes of the Region do not welcome the
idea of having al-Seʻīdiyīn, for example, to share with them, claiming that they do not
belong to Petra Region as most of them live in Wadi Araba, south west of Petra.
Another important feature which emerged, taking advantage of the local tribal infight-
ing, was that the neighbouring towns and villages lack opportunities to benefit from
tourism in Petra, claiming that Petra is a part of Jordan and they also have the right to
benefit from it. An alarming demand was from people in Maʻan, claiming that Petra is
one of the districts of Maʻan, therefore, they need to benefit from tourism revenue in
Petra. I am afraid that the situation in Petra is getting worse and worse. Having Bani
Laith sinking again into crisis may bring the situation to a more dangerous level. Greater
fights within the governorate or even within the country might break out if the situation
is not handled in an effective way.
Although the ritual worked at the beginning, and the community did reintegrate, the
community has since returned to crisis again. The community has not formalized the
rifts within it and has not fundamentally changed. Failure to reintegrate in a new way
will also mean relinquishing any hope of gaining a measure of local control over and
positive investment in Petra.
Failure to reintegrate in the 2013 elections
Bani Laith seemed to have wanted to repeat the attempt at redress and to reintegrate
again under the rubric of Bani Laith during the 2013 elections. The caucus elections
did not work properly. The shoyoukh influenced the transparency of the process. Nei-
ther most of the caucus candidates nor the people of Wadi Musa were pleased with the
result. Thus, in accordance with the Bani Laith caucus charter, it was the turn of the
Bani ʻaṭā to run for the 2013 elections. From among them al-Farajāt won (see Figure
4.7, above).
After the 2013 caucus elections there was a huge gathering of people at dīwān al-
Falaḥāt, one of the clans of Bani Laith. Upon their arrival in the dīwān, the shoyoukh
were ejected by some of the people who were gathering in that dīwān. Since then, the
al-Falaḥāt decided to isolate themselves from the Bani Laith coalition and its associated
charter in response to the shoyoukh’s conspiracy in influencing the results of the caucus
elections. Many people, especially most of the youth, decided to support the new coali-
tion. They worked very hard in order to sabotage Bani Laith’s coalition and the former
arrangement with which they complied during the 2007 and 2010 elections.
Two competing candidates reached the final 2013 elections. Competition was too keen
between them. Ultimately the candidate who was supposed to have been a unity candi-
date of Bani Laith won. He assured people in his speech that the result did not represent
the coalition and that he was an MP of competition, not an MP of coalition, (nā′ib tanāfus
mush nāi’b ijmāʻ). During these elections, some people from Wadi Musa worked openly
against the will of the shoyoukh in having the candidate they had chosen for Bani Laith.
The youth were even making fun of the rubric of Bani Laith. They claimed that they only
heard about the rubric during elections. This failure to reintegrate under the rubric of
Bani Laith during the 2013 elections is rooted in the regression to crisis in the first place.
Potential strategies for the reintegration of the community
Following on from the interpretation of the community in terms of social drama, it is

crucial to pose potential strategies for the reintegration of the community in the face of
changed circumstances. Any future effort to bring local tribes together may fail if people
do not know how to benefit from tourism. Education, therefore, is necessary to show peo-
ple first: why tourism? For whom is it beneficial? How can they benefit from tourism?
From a very localized perspective it is important first to understand both the mentality
and the culture of the local people at a given tourism destination. It is a key issue before
putting forward any potential strategy to know how people think; in other words, to think
of things that might bring them together, not keep them apart. Throughout this research
we have seen how ambiguity bred anxiety in the life of the Wadi Musa community. We
have also seen how sincerely the Bani Laith in Wadi Musa tried to redress and reintegrate.
Redress and reintegration may fail one or more times, but it is not the end of the world. I
believe that there is always another chance or another attempt to redress and reintegrate. My
community must have learned something from the different stages of the social drama expe-
rience which unfolded in their community. I know that failure could be the first step towards
success. Like individuals, societies may fail sometimes, but there are things forcing them to
stand up again and to continue on their way. Responsibility here is placed on those who know
how to help their people, no matter how much they resent them or misunderstand them. They
must keep trying until they make the essential changes, no matter how long it might take.
In the hope of achieving favourable change in the future of the region and its people, I
am aspiring to recommend some potential strategies as follows:
• Education: this is the job of the educated people who need to establish a disciplinary
approach on how to deal with the elder generation; with respect based on our Islamic
traditions, but strict in a way that allows the youth to think for themselves and not
to be thought about on their behalf. Education also includes convincing people that
Petra is for all the six communities in the Region, not for the Bani Laith alone. It is
also important to teach people that if (X) tribe is benefiting, then (Y) tribe is benefi-
ting too, i. e. from job opportunities for all their children.
Education may also include a serious effort to focus on the reality that only those who
work get the financial reward; in other words, in the tourism industry, there is a need for
professional people who work and get paid for the work they do. For the local economy
to prosper and the tourism revenue to be shared equitably, people need to work – not to
sit and wait for charity.
• It is the job of the department for the development of the local community at the
PDTRA to comply with their responsibility in raising the awareness of the local people
of Petra about the issues that are disturbing the whole region. In this context, there is an
urgent need for scientific research to be conducted on these different issues so that the
government and social activists may take ownership of the problems and solve them.
• Establishing a youth movement from all the local tribes: the youth must be ready
to think in a collective way, not in a tribal way. Their loyalty must be to the whole
group. This movement must be imposed by means of representation to the local
community in all decision-making units at both local and national level.
• Engage the older generation, including the retired, with things that make them busy
with constructive work rather than interfering in all the affairs of the town.
• Encourage the cooperative associations in the region and enhance their members’
understanding of the cooperative and voluntary social work.
• Training people to divorce themselves from their fear of government. They need to
know that government is created to serve people and not to enslave them; in other
words, they need to be socially and politically liberated.
• Reduce the wāsṭa, influence in eliciting favours from government and the court.
Only then will people feel more secure about their right to get access to jobs. The
youth will feel more comfortable when they come to know that recruitment is based
on honest competition and not on wāsṭa.
• While establishing our goals, shoyoukh must be contained and not suspended. They
need to know that they are still the leaders of the community and that no one is com-
peting with them, including the members of parliament.
These strategies can be implemented only when people themselves are ready for the
essential change. Their mentality needs to change in terms of tolerance, i. e. accepting
each other as members of one region.
At the heart of the potential strategies is located the need for projects that reduce compe-
tition in tourism business. In a broader understanding, any effort towards development
must not ignore any of the six communities in the Petra Region. A suggested strategy
must come from within the people, not imposed by international agencies or another
“planet”. In this context, I would recommend embracing a strategy that is based on
possible practices in terms of diversification of the local economy with which the local
community might become usefully engaged.
My role as a researcher
In my research I aimed to explore something I apprehend as a local person on an intui-

tive level and wanted to understand as a researcher on a more explicit, phenomenologi-
cal level. Since I began working in tourism in 1993 – just before the great expansion
of tourism that followed the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty in 1994 – I have seen a rapid
transformation of attitudes amongst the population of Petra’s host communities.
When I presented my early quantitative research and outlined the trajectory of my doc-
toral thesis for faculty and classmates in Eichstaett, however, my ability to conduct ade-
quately objective research on my own community was bluntly questioned. For this reason
I began this work by taking up the question of reflexivity, therefore, here I started with
an autoethnographical mode, to establish my own position vis-à-vis my research topic.
I recognized that I have intimate connections with the community I was studying: I
was far more than a participant observer. I was an “Opportunistic Complete Member
Researcher” (OCMR), which means that I was an ethnographer who was in every way a
member of and insider in the participant group I was observing. Peter and Patricia Adler
(1987: 67-84) refined the CMR into two types: the opportunistic member and the convert
member. As I clearly fall into the “OCMR” category, I recognized the value of locating
myself in relationship to ethnography and in relation to my research subjects (family,
constituency) as well. An acute sense of reflexivity has been crucial to constructing a
credible narrative about not only my own culture, but my home town, my family – for
Bani Laith is, quite literally, my family. What I offered was, of course, an interpretation
of my own world. As a family member and an elected official (2010–2012) there was
not only a reciprocal influence between my research subjects and myself – I profoundly
desired, indeed hoped, to intensify that reciprocity.
In their well-known work entitled Naturalistic Inquiry (1985), in the chapter on “estab-
lishing trustworthiness” as an ethnographer, Yvonne Lincoln and Egon Guba remark
that “prolonged engagement [with the subject community] provides scope, persistent
observation provides depth” (304). My relationship with my subject entailed both life-
long engagement and – perhaps more recently – persistent observation. While I rec-
ognized that it is as difficult to “make the familiar strange” as it is to make the strange
familiar (Terre Blanche et al., 2006: 321), I do believe that my fluency in the local Ara-
bic dialects and in the particular intricacies of life in an Arab Muslim village in Jordan
allowed me to interpret us more accurately than a non-Arabic-speaking anthropologist
who has spent a year – or five or ten – here.
It is also the case that my academic training, my years as a tour guide (and consequent
exposure to many people of other cultures) and my experience as a politician at the
national level equipped me to interpret my community with more critical insight than,
for example, my very intelligent and perceptive, but uneducated, untravelled and insular
uncle who is a sheikh of our tribe, steeped in the myth and tradition of Bani Laith in
ways that national politics can only desillusion.
In accordance with constructivism I recognized that my role as a researcher was as an inter-

preter of a set of observations, on which was borne my own social and political apparatus. I
brought my own set of tools to the craft, and the result was significantly shaped by the use
of those tools as opposed to a different set. From my perspective as an interpreter of my
own culture I realized that it is vitally important to me that my account of the social, cultur-
al and especially economic dynamics of my community does, somehow, “match reality”.
On the contrary to what was noted by Ellis, Adams & Bochner (2010: 40), that “Au-
toethnographers view research and writing as socially-just acts; rather than a preoc-
cupation with accuracy, the goal is to produce analytical, accessible texts that change
us and the world we live in for the better”, I was preoccupied with accuracy. On one
level, it seemed to me socially unjust to portray my community purely from my own
subjective vantage point, since discord and social dissonance characterize much of the
research problem. On another level, analysis which is not “preoccupied with accuracy”
leads, in my view, to poorly founded decisions on which to “better the world we live in”.
Ambitions for research should include recounting more than personal experience. Por-
traying a community, describing it as “thickly” as possible – carefully, evocatively, in
numbers, interviews, surveys and metaphors – must extend beyond the personal per-
spective, especially, as in this case, conflicts of interests were tearing this particular
community apart and it was necessary to identify the reasons for this in an objective
way. While any research may be necessarily grounded in self-experience, it was neces-
sary here to reach beyond my own experience and into others’, fully recognizing that a
key underlying element of the phenomena described here is the fact that we do not all
interpret the same situation in the same way.
The same goes for “reading” a community: I brought the tools that may help the reader
to read as accurately as possible. An organism is a complex thing to study. A community
of 20,000 organisms, e. g. Bani Laith, is complex in the extreme. Language and cultural
fluency are the two most important tools I was equipped with for the job. Without them,
no amount of academic preparation might have helped me. As a researcher I was aiming
to understand something I felt was going on in my community: I saw it, listened to it,
ate it at countless communal meals, struggled with it (literally, physically), talked with
it, smelled it. I mean this literally. It is an empirical fact that my community is in conflict
over its identity, and literal, physical fights break out over it.
Any good ethnography (or bad, for that matter) has political implications; neither is
political advocacy (“critical ethnography”) the goal of this research. While aiming at
scholarly objectivity, and acknowledging that the very idea of the dissertation was based
in western enlightenment (specifically, secular humanist) thought, this approach was
liable to lead to accusations of not being adequately rigorous and scientific in academic
(western, secular humanist) terms.
Examining the development of the tensions that led to my community choosing me

as a parliamentary candidate undoubtedly shaped and framed my interpretation of the
subject. In attempting to interpret my community’s efforts at redress and reintegration of
the fragmentation, or, in Turner’s terms, the breach of community, I came to see my can-
didacy as an attempt to redress the breach through social drama. The political campaign
coalesced around Bani Laith as a root metaphor, a unifying symbol.
My research way was paved by my understanding of Geertz’s “thick description” and

Turner’s “social drama”. The text of this thesis outlined a very promising, possibly
unique project exploring social change caused by tourism within the context of a south-
ern Jordanian village. As is customary, much of this text discussed methodology and
addressed the likely problematic nature of my role as a researcher conducting a study
of events in which I played a central role. While this research outlined some innovative
trends in recent anthropological work, my work ended up advancing a traditional Geert-
zian interpretative method framed by Turner notions about social drama.
This thesis, nevertheless, included an autoethnographical prologue, which was estab-

lished to serve the functions of the interpretative project which might mean limiting
details such that the text served the function of indirectly providing the reader with
background about the research question as well as how I came to pose the question. The
research question and approach to the question were outlined. Wadi Musa’s story and
its identity crisis were presented all at once, leading to the point of a torn community,
separately from my personal story. These related to the issue of the election period as a
social drama, and the failure to resolve the conflict. The rest of the thesis was devoted
to outlining the factors and forces that produced the conflict. The autobiographical nar-
rative in the epilogue in part was produced by the same structural forces, such as tour-
ism development, but the narrative is driven by a sort of anti-thesis that seeks to mend,
counter or at least expose the causes of the social conflict. It is worth mentioning that,
although the issues of communal conflict and social change were primarily driven by
an increase in tourism, there were other issues, such as the exposure to media including
internet and satellite channels, changes in the patterns of tribal authority and economic
policies etc, that have a major impact and are forces that become enmeshed in tourism
but have an impact beyond and separate from tourism contexts. The text, however, was
revised to more sharply focus on how I came to ask the questions while showing how
I was in a position to address them: my own concern about inequality growing as my
observations about the inequities exacerbated by how tourism economy is organized.
Thus it was possible for much of the thesis to “de-centre” myself and portray my role as
a researcher, seeing myself as a product of the forces I was studying. These, however,
dovetail with personal developments, leading me to an interest in becoming a professor.
These two strands were outlined separately but came together in the last chapters.
Finally, this anthropological research revealed the elements of socio-cultural change through
which tourism has played a pivotal role in a short period of time. The local community was
transformed from being a semi-isolated society depending on subsistence economy associ-
ated with traditional production patterns and marginal tourism activity into a more open
stage of development and modernity. That change was due to the political stability in the
Region after the peace treaty with Israel in 1994 and establishing a suitable infrastructure to
cope with the tourism requirements in the Petra Region. The social drama that unfolded in
Wadi Musa 1994 – 2010 is different from that described in Turner’s work. The elements of
this social drama are more complex. The consequences of the social drama in Wadi Musa
are the result of many different ingredients – political, social, economic elements entangled
with tourism and its occurrence in a tribal society such as Bani Laith in Wadi Musa.
The ethnography of Wadi Musa was a detailed description of a people that I then inter-
preted. My goal, therefore, was to understand the people of Wadi Musa’s point of view,
their relation to life – to realize their vision of their world. I also had to distinguish
clearly and objectively between my role both as a participant and as an observer in the
sense of description and analysis, which were both informed by my fluency in the in-
digenous language and not only by an elite language or academic texts. My observation
was focused on the importance of what people do, and not only on what they say they do
(actual vs. ideal structures), as well as on the importance of social practices (especially
religion) in helping the society to function. However, my fieldwork – participant obser-
vation – was evident in my involvement in the everyday life of my community.
As a researcher I participated in order to understand, but I was at the same time trying
to keep a critical distance in order to observe and record what I experienced. I wrote
down everything I could recall of my own experience, as that was purely description;
it was my raw data. In order to edit the description into a meaningful account, I had to
analyze the raw data and look for patterns, themes, motifs – whatever seemed important
to include, what could be omitted, that was ethnography. My next step, however, was
to stand back from this descriptive account and analyze my analysis – to make greater,
more detailed observations about the significance of the patterns/motifs I had observed.
Revolutionary changes have informed anthropology since colonialism and the study of
other cultures: Missionswissenschaft vs. Religionswissenschaft and Religionsgeschichtli-
che Schule, based on “saving savages” on the excuse of understanding them in order to
save them, but this was largely based on extracting anthropological data from books only.
Another advancement took the form of “verandah anthropology” and its colonial associa-
tions, based on looking down on the locals from above; for example, trying to recreate Brit-
ain in the colony. Further advancement took anthropology “off the verandah”, based on liv-
ing everyday life within the community and attempting to learn the indigenous languages.
My work on anthropology adds yet another layer, getting closer to interpreting and un-
derstanding the subject community, but the whole truth is something that still has to
be discovered. Throughout my prolonged engagement with the Bani Laith as a subject
community I gained scope, and persistent observation provided depth of knowledge. In
other words, my relationship with my subject entailed both lifelong engagement and –
perhaps more recently – persistent observation. While I recognize that it is as difficult
to “make the familiar strange” as it is to make the strange familiar, I do believe that my
fluency in the local Arabic dialects intertwined with cultural fluency in the particular
intricacies of life in an Arab Muslim village in Jordan helped me enormously to interpret
my subject. In spite of all that, there is so much between the lines of the community,
which no ethnography whatsoever can grasp. There are some inexplicable behaviours
related to culture, based on tradition, which accompany individuals and societies as they
grow and change. To understand such behaviours, it is necessary to live them and enjoy
them as they are, without wasting time trying to explain them – they simply cannot be
interpreted fully; they must be believed in and lived as a quotidian life; they must be
participated in.
The future of ethnography is being urged to study each community as a separate case.
Each community, nation, state and individual may look the same, but they are in fact
all different. Culture is different from one individual to another, from one place to
another, but through time, culture becomes the accumulative experience of the whole
society. To study a given community is to understand the fundamentals of that com-
munity – its origin, kinship structure, religion, language and semiotics and to feel at
least that you are a part of that community in some way. Ethnographers have to start,
ideally, with no presumptions, stereotypes or mental images of the subject community,
and should know something of the language so that they can detect in conversations,
or even songs, some of the heritage and historical background to help interpret and
analyse a given culture.
Potential future research
I know now that writing a dissertation is different from any other type of writing. It is
research-based writing. Scholars should bring all research tools to the table, first gather-
ing relevant data, then analysing and presenting the results in a style that everyone can
understand. During the writing of my PhD dissertation I wished that I could free myself
from the sophisticated traditional design of the PhD dissertation. I wanted to gather my
thoughts as if I were gathering beautiful flowers from every oasis and recreating them
in the way I wanted to see my work blooming. I didn’t want it to look the same as what
everyone else was doing. I wanted it to be different in the sense of modernity and lib-
erating myself from a conservative type of PhD. I wanted to escape from the familiar
to create something new that people would enjoy reading and not become bored from
reviewing the same design for every dissertation.
In my research I tried to respond to my research question, although I realised that, as my

research continued, many new questions arose. I wished that the scope of my disserta-
tion would allow further research to be carried out in order to find out more and to learn
more about such questions. It would be suitable, therefore, to argue for potential future
research on particular areas, such as the socio-cultural impacts of tourism on the local
community at Petra after the so-called “Arab Spring”. It would also be useful to know
what is happening to tourism itself as one of the most vulnerable human activities to take
place in one of the most strategic, but also most volatile places in the world due to the
surrounding political circumstances. In this context, it would be relevant to recommend
that this current research be kept up to date concerning the change in the local commu-
nity’s attitudes towards tourism in Petra.
Potential future research would be useful to answer the question of suggesting alternative
options for diversifying local economies in the event of a tourism crisis. It would be cru-
cial to find solutions to help people cope during the decline of tourism in their locations.
It would be also useful to know how future research could deal with temporary socio-
cultural impacts of tourism on local communities where government is responsible for
all tourism activities in the light of the marginalization or absence of the private sector.
It would also be interesting to conduct research on the genealogy of Bani Laith. More
research is needed on the kinship structure of traditional Arab tribes in the Middle East
and comparison of this structure with western kinship structure. It would also be useful
to conduct research on the Jordanian Bedouin tribal system as if the tribe were an inde-
pendent political party; to find out how such a strong social structure organises political
and social order within the tribe itself and how it influences the political system on the
national level. It would also be interesting to examine any tribal effort to reintegrate
Bani Laith politically under any possible metaphor or symbol in the future. Scientific
research might shed light on the consequences of the ongoing tribal conflict and provide
strategies to mitigate such conflict within the local community in Petra in anticipation
of helping the people to find their future way towards developing tourism in their area.
In terms of ethnography, this research has pre-empted western researchers in conducting

ethnographical research on a community such as that in the Petra Region. It would be
interesting to compare future research with the current research and to check the valid-
ity of a western scholar’s ethnography against an eastern ethnography conducted by an
eastern, Arab, Muslim thinker like myself.
Potential specialised future research on the local economy in Petra would provide useful
background for government, NGOs, and any other agents interested in planning for the
future of the region. The results of such research would also help decision-makers, plan-
ners and developers to work based on “thick” rather than “thin” information.
Nonetheless, continuous research is needed to follow up this current research in review-

ing the change in the social drama which was unfolding in Wadi Musa 1994–2007. It
would be useful to re-examine the “breach” period, in which “norm-governed” process-
es predominated and to recheck the relationships in the community to see if they are still
dislocated. It would also be interesting to research the disrupted relationship between
local people in Wadi Musa and government, as well as discovering any future change in
the feeling of envy which dominated the relationship between tourism and non-tourism
families in Wadi Musa. In the same vein, it would be useful to carry out research to ex-
amine any possible redressive efforts to address the breach or crisis in the Petra Region.
Potential research is also recommended to examine the consequences of the steady in-
crease in the population of Wadi Musa, with a significant population growth of three
percent, which means that within the coming 20 years, the population of Wadi Musa
will be doubled. Future research, therefore, should include examination of the youth
demographic group which constitutes almost 75 percent of the population of the Region.
Future research should also focus on the steady increase in unemployment. This affects,
in particular, the youth who are seeking to enter the workforce in the coming few years.
Last, but not least, there is potential future research in focusing on the role of the youth
in their own communities. They need to take the initiative to think and decide for them-
selves and not be over-ruled by conservative mores.
Glossary of Arabic Terms
ʻāílah, ʻyāl extended family (smaller group than ʻashīrah)

ʻabāyah loose flowing garment or robe of a shaikh, dignitaries
and mature men put on in social occasions
afkhādh (s. fakhdh) family groups
al- definite article “the”
alḥamdulillāh praise be to God
ʻashā′ir families
ʻashīrah, ʻashīrat family
bani tribe of, sons of
ḥāj obligatory Muslim pilgrimage to Makka
ḥamāyil clans
ḥamoulah clan
ḥārah neighbourhood
ḥārāt neighbourhoods
hoshah brawl
iqlīm Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA)
ʻīd al-Aḍḥa feast of Sacrifice (major holiday of Islamic year, at the
end of the pilgrimage month)
intikhābāt tamthīliyyah nomination by caucus
intikhābāt elections
jamʻiyyāt associations
jamʻiyyeh association
khirbeh, khirbet an old deserted group of old houses
majlis council
maqar campaign tent
māshā’Allāh God willing
muḥāfaẓah governorate
muāfiẓ governor
mufawwaḍiyyah PDTRA
mutaṣarrif governor
mutaṣarrifiyyah governorate
muwāṭin ʻādi a regular citizen
nā′ib member of parliament
nowāb plural of nā′ib
qabā′il tribes
qabīlah tribe
shāb young man (under 45)
shabāb young men
shaikh tribal elder, an official position, hereditary leader of a
tribe
shoyoukh plural of shaikh
Glossary of Arabic Terms 265
ʻurs waṭani national wedding

wādi seasonal wash
wāsṭa influence, and support from the government
yaʻni that means
Note: Throughout the discussion some other Arabic words were mentioned. Wherever
such words were used they were transliterated and explained in the body of the text or
in the footnotes.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Ṣuk Ṭolouʻ min al-dam document (end of blood relationship title).
Translated into English by: Ali M. Twaissi
First Party: Mālik Dhyāb Haroun Al Hasanat and his sons.

Second Party: Saṭṭām Abdel ʻazīz Dyhāb Al Hasanat and his brothers.
Third Party: Rāed Hāmed Dhyāb al-Ḥasanāt and his brothers.
Fourth Party: Muḥammad Dhyāb Hāroun al-Ḥasanāt and his brothers (Ḥussein, Aḥmad, and Qāsim).
On June the 6th 2014, End of Blood Relation agreement took place at Mr. Mālik Dhyāb Hāroun’s house as fol-
lows: As the great Grand fathers of Dhyāb begot Mālik, Mālik begot Nāyel, and Nāyel begot Mīlād. Dhyāb be-
got ʻabdel ʻazīz, ʻabdel ʻazīz begot Saṭṭām, Saṭṭām begot Muḥammad, Ḥāmid begot Rā’id, Rā’id begot Aḥmed,
Dhyāb begot Muḥammad, and Muḥammad begot ʻalā’, each of three aforesaid is now considered to be a sepa-
rate family (Himself, his brothers, and his sons. This results in them being judicially and tribally independent
in all cases. In compliance with Jordanian Social customs and traditions. Each party will be responsible for its
own matters as of previously mentioned date. A caller will announce this agreement to public at one of Wadi
Musa Masjids115.
First Party Bondsman: Mr. ʻāṭif Aḥmad Khalīl al-Ḥasanāt.

Second Party Bondsman: Mr. ʻabdallah Suleimān Muḥammad al-Ḥasanāt.
Third Party Bondsman: Mr. Aḥmad ʻīsa Khalīl al-Ḥasanāt.
Fourth Party Bondsman: Mr. Wajīd ʻabbās Muḥammad al-Ḥasanāt.
First Party Bondsman Second PartyBondsman

Third Party Bondsman Fourth Party Bondsman
First Party Second Party Third Party Fourth Party
Witness
115 Masjid: A Muslim place of worship.

Appendices 267
Continuation of the Ṣuk Ṭolouʻ min al-dam document

268 Appendices
Appendix 2: Tribal reconciliation document signed by shoyoukh, mukhtār and

other witnesses.
Translated into English by: Ali M. Twaissi.
On this day, Saturday September the 1st 2012, Tribal Jāhah composed of shoyoukh and dignitaries of Petra
Region tribes went to al- Mashāʻleh tribe’s dīwān to discuss quarrel that took place between:
First Party: Amjad Muḥammad Zaʻal al-Ḥasanāt / represented by his father, Muḥammad Zaʻal.
Second Party: Aḥmad Fakhri Musa al- Mashāʻleh / represented by his father, Fakhri Musa.
After exchanging views, tribal conciliation was agreed upon between aforesaid parties as follows:
The two parties will be committed to withdraw all of their tribal, judicial, and legal rights in front of all civil
courts and other governmental departments. The bondsman of Mr. Muḥammad Zaʻal al-Ḥasanāt and his sons
will be Mr. Muḥammad Ḍaifallah al-Falaḥāt. As for Fakhri Musa al- Mashāʻleh and his sons, the bondsman
will be Shaikh Muḥammad Hāroun al-Naṣarāt. It was also agreed that any medical reports gained by any of the
parties would have no consequences on each other.
The first party, Mr. Amjad Muḥammad Zaʻal al-Ḥasanāt is committed to pay for all the damage caused for the
van, while the second party has no commitment pertaining that.
Each of aforesaid parties is committed to assume responsibility of all medications resulted from that quarrel.
Finally, collateral agreement between parties was made, therefore, antagonism became rapport.
This tribal conciliation is signed on the 1st of June 2012.
First Party Bondsman Second Party Bondsman Third Party Bondsman Fourth Party Bondsman
Appendices 269
Continuation of the Tribal reconciliation document

270 Appendices
Appendix 3: An official document shows the Bani Laith land tenure of land close
to al-Bedoul housing.
Translated into English by: Ali M. Twaissi.
Ministry of Interior
District of Wadi Musa
Directorate of Jurisdiction
NO. 20/3/404.
Date: March 24th 1982.
His Excellency, Governorate of Maʻan Municipality,
Reference letter number 1/14/816 dated February 17th 1982. As tribal allocation and use of House Built – up
Treasury Lands extend to Baiḍa district, kindly be informed that those lands belong to villagers of Wadi Musa
who have been cultivating them since a long time ago. As no claim has been provided by them, neither those
lands have ever been used by them, al- Bedoul tribe fully recognize that Umm Ṣayḥoun lands are not theirs.
116
With respect to request provided before by al- Bedoul’s Mukhtār , it was mainly submitted to use lands
adjacent to their house units. From my perspective, issues may occur between the family of al-Ḥasanāt and al-
Bedoul tribe once the former is prevented to use those lands. My field investigation has shown that lands used
by al- Bedoul tribe only extend from three (3) to five hundred (500) meters from their inhabitance, with natural
barrier. My recommendation is prevent any house unit extension outside specified territories. Directives have
been issued by myself to Wadi Musa’s police to bring all villagers who cultivated those lands and made them
sign a commitment of no future cultivations toward house units.
My suggestion is to constitute a committee composed of representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Land
Department, and your Excellency’s delegate to delineate house unit frontiers, therefore, prevent any future
confusion.
Kind Regards
Quftān al- Majāli

Director of Wadi Musa’s Directorate of Jurisdiction
116 Mukhtār: A head of a tribe.

Appendices 271
Continuation of the official document

272 Appendices
Appendix 4: Document of support to Sharif Hussein Bin Ali, the king of Arabs
dated to 17 Muḥarram 1329 A.H (17 January 1911 A. D). The docu-
ment was signed and stamped by the shoyoukh of Maʻan and the
surrounding area including Wadi Musa.
Translated into English by: Emad Fanatsah.
The king of Arabs al-Hussein Bin Ali. May Allah sustain your reign
We are the chieftains, shoyoukh of Ḥijāzi and Shāmi tribes of Maʻan and its outskirts, on behalf of ourselves
and on behalf of all people, young and old, who have elected us as their delegate. We are authorized in all their
public and private affairs. we say that we have not been on leaps and bounds and have not redeemed our souls
and waged flames of war that have passed except for achieving the Arab independence to be free and dependent
Arab-Islamic nation under the banner of the king of Arabs who represents the Arab nation, and the honorable
Moḥammadi’s religious law that we want and content with. We even reject all foreign dominations irrevocably
and don’t accept their undertaking on us if Allah wells as His Almighty says : “O ye who believe! Choose not
disbelievers for (your) friends in place of believers. Would ye give Allah a clear warrant against you? ”
We all demand that our land to be one unite in the country of Al-Ḥijāz; and Maʻan and its outskirts are being
a part of Al-Hejaz land that is non-dispersed and under the rule of His Majesty, the beloved King of Arabs, as
well as the Codes of Allah are applied and to govern us with what Allah has revealed to His Messenger in The
Holy Qura’n and to fight for the sake of Allah to defend our holy homelands to the last drop of our blood on
issuing the Hashemite Royal Decree . And so we made this petition after being stamped. And Allah is the wit-
ness and watchful over us all.
Appendices 273
Continuation of the document pf support to Sharif Hussein Bin Ali

274 Appendices
Table 0.1: Arabic Transliteration
glottal stop ´ ‫ط‬ ṭ

‫ٲ‬ a ‫ظ‬ ẓ
‫ب‬ b ‫ع‬ ‘
‫ت‬ t ‫غ‬ gh
‫ث‬ th ‫ف‬ f
‫ج‬ j ‫ق‬ q
‫ح‬ ḥ ‫ك‬ k
‫خ‬ kh ‫ل‬ l
‫د‬ d ‫م‬ m
‫ذ‬ dh ‫ن‬ n
‫ر‬ r ‫ه‬ h
‫ز‬ z ‫و‬ w
‫س‬ s ‫ي‬ y
‫ش‬ sh long vowel aā
‫ص‬ ṣ long vowel iī
‫ض‬ ḍ long vowel uū
117
Source: Adopted from UNESCO INDEX TRANSLATIONUM
117 http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/files/32265/11619358083arabic_en.pdf/arabic_en.pdf
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List of Figures
Figure 2.1: Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC), adapted from Butler, 1980.................... 66
Figure 3.1: Respondents’ feelings about tourism in Petra.............................................. 73
Figure 3.2: Mixed feelings about tourism in Petra: Causal network graph.................... 74
Figure 3.3: No feelings towards tourism in Petra: Causal network graph..................... 77
Figure 3.4: Causal network graph of the category (no feelings).................................... 78
Figure 3.5: Local people’s feelings about tourism in Petra: Evaluation list.................. 79
Figure 3.6: Positive feeling towards tourism in Petra: Causal network graph............... 81
Figure 3.7: Causal graph of negative feelings about tourism in Petra........................... 83
Figure 3.8: Evaluation list of the surveys gathered through Facebook.......................... 92
Figure 3.9: Positive feeling about tourism in Petra, causal network.............................. 93
Figure 3.10: Negative feeling about tourism in Petra: Causal network graph................. 95
Figure 4.1: Bedouin camp [Jordan]................................................................................ 105
Figure 4.2: The ḥārāt, or neighbourhoods, of the ḥamāyil, of clans, of Bani Laith....... 107
Figure 4.3: Wadi Musa, past and present (1939 and 2014)............................................ 108
Figure 4.4: Donkey boys that live in the village of Wady Musa below the police
post [Petra, Jordan, World War II]............................................................... 110
Figure 4.5: At the police post ready to set out for Petra valley [figures forground
including a truck and horse ca. 1940–1946] [Petra Valley, Jordan]............ 110
Figure 4.6: Tribal kinship system typical of the Arab cultures of southwest Asia......... 114
Figure 4.7: Bani Laith tribal kinship structure in Wadi Musa [qabīlah, ḥamāyil and
ʻasha’ir]........................................................................................................ 114
Figure 4.8: Al-Ṭwaisāt kinship structure........................................................................ 115
Figure 4.9: Population projection in Petra Region at annual growth rate of 3 %.......... 139
Figure 6.1: Unpacking the metaphorical baggage of Bani Laith................................... 204
Figure 6.2: Bani Laith tribe and its association with elections in Wadi Musa............... 209
Figure 6.3: Bani Laith’s concern about problems (violent brawls)................................ 210
Figure 6.4: Maqar, electoral tent setting......................................................................... 223
Figure 6.5: Shabāb take the occasion to harangue their elders...................................... 223
Figure 6.6: Maqar on election nights............................................................................. 224
Figure 6.7: One of the speakers at the maqar during election nights............................. 226
Figure 6.8: Decorated car during election day............................................................... 229
Figure 6.9: Social hierarchy was flattened in communitas state.................................... 233
Figure 6.10: Cumulative sacral experience of people during the ʻurs waṭani................. 236
Figure 6.11: Bani Laith tribe members were honoured by their MP............................... 242
Figure 6.12: A banquet was prepared to honour the Bani Laith’s members.................... 242
285
List of Tables
Table 2.1: Doxey’s Irridex Model, adapted from Keyser, 2002................................... 65

Table 3.1: Evaluations overall of respondents’ feelings about tourism in Petra........... 73
Table 3.2: Variables that shaped negative feeling towards tourism in Petra................ 82
Table 3.3: Expressions used by respondents to disapprove of tourism management
in Petra......................................................................................................... 84
Table 0.1: Arabic Transliteration.................................................................................. 276
List of Maps
Map 4.1: Jordan in regional context............................................................................... 104

Map 4.2: South Jordan, area of detail............................................................................. 109
Map 4.3: Settled communities of Petra Region.............................................................. 111
Map 4.4: Modern communities of Bani Laith................................................................ 112
List of Abbreviations
DoS Department of Statistics, Jordan

EU European Union
IMF International Monetary Fund
JTB Jordan Tourism Board
MoTA Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development
OCMR Opportunistic Complete Member Researcher
PDTRA Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority
PNT Petra National Trust
PPC Petra Planning Commission
PRA Petra Regional Authority
SMP Strategic Master Plan for Petra Region
SMPD Strategic Master Plan for Petra Region / Diagnostic Report
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization
USAID United States Agency for International Development

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Tourism, Politcs and Social Change

Tourism, Politics and Social Change

in Petra Region, Jordan

Tourism Studies from the University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt

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This thesis is dedicated to my community in Wadi Musa. It is also dedicated to my fam-

I Economic, Environmental and Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism.... 37

II Methodology, and Theoretical Framework............................................ 47

III Interpretation of the local people’s perceptions about tourism in

3.3 Analysis of data gathered through Facebook............................................. 91

IV The Ethnography of Wadi Musa: A Community in Transition............ 103

V Wadi Musa as a “community in crisis” or socio-cultural tension and

VI Redress and reintegration: a community’s attempt to reconstitute

6.5.1 The youth’s desire for redress .................................................................... 213

An autoethnographical epilogue................................................................. 245

The combination of quantitative measurements and qualitative information has given

Wadi Musas zunehmende Bedeutung als Tourismusdestination führte zu soziokulturel-

I am most grateful to my family, especially to my wife Sawsan al-Twaissi and my chil-

Eichstätt, October 2015

In my research I aim to explore something I apprehend as a local person on an intuitive

When I presented my early quantitative research and outlined the trajectory of

In navigating the methodological terrain of my dissertation work I have visited a number

“[…] interpretations, or misinterpretations, like any others, arrived at in the

“Opportunistic CMRs […] may be born into a group, thrown into a group

Constructivism recognizes the researcher’s role as an interpreter of a set of observa-

“[…] clearly laid out a case for self-observation in ethnographic research. Hay-

Leon Anderson (2006: 377ff..) distinguishes between “evocative autoethnography” and

“For autoethnographers, validity means that a work seeks verisimilitude; it

From my perspective as an interpreter of my own culture it is vitally important to me

“Autoethnographers view research and writing as socially-just acts; rather than

On the contrary, I am preoccupied with accuracy. On one level, it seems to me socially

What is my ambition for this research?

I aspire to tell more than my own experience. I want to portray my community. I

Anderson advocates for what he calls “analytic autoethnography” (Anderson, 2006:

Geertz exhorted anthropologists to be “microscopic” in their reportage on concrete

I am aiming to understand something I feel is going on in my community: I see it, listen

“Frustrated by forms of domination emerging from a post-Enlightenment cul-

“I have never been impressed by the argument that, as complete objectivity is

In an effort to gain perspective on myself as a researcher, I asked someone with ethno-

I had already embarked on my doctoral work in Germany when, in September 2010, I

1.1 Review of the literature on the impacts of tourism

1.2. Economic impacts of tourism

Revenue from tourism contributes to a developing economy in many countries, creating

In a report by Intrepid Travel (2013) on the impacts of alternative types of tourism in

In Harrill’s study of residents’ attitudes toward tourism development (2004), it was

perception, however, was contradicted by the findings of Prentice (1993) by which he

1.3. Environmental impacts of tourism

1.4. Socio-cultural impacts of tourism

Research carried out by al-Ḥasanāt (2008) on the socio-cultural consequences of tour-

2.1 Research methods

In order to establish a baseline against which to measure change, it is necessary first to

2.1.1 Classical ethnography

(2006: 387). My researcher status as an “opportunistic complete member researcher”

“[…] every perceiver’s method of perceiving can be shown to contain an inher-

This research endeavours to achieve a synthesis of Anderson’s post-modern “analytical

subverting objectivity by means of “objectivity” as the Tantrist subverts the passions

2.1.2 Triangulation method: Combining quantitative and qualitative methods

The use of quantitative methods in qualitative research, particularly ethnography, is nei-

2.1.3 Qualitative Data: Surveys and interviews

In-depth, information-rich, oral history interviews were conducted in order to supple-

“[…] interpretations, or misinterpretations, like any others, arrived at in the

“Opportunistic CMRs […] may be born into a group, thrown into a group

“[…] clearly laid out a case for self-observation in ethnographic research. Hay-

“[…] every perceiver’s method of perceiving can be shown to contain an inher-

“[…] Behaviour must be attended to, and with some exactness, because it is

“[…] compar[ing] the ordering of political relations before and after […] Op-