Ammon News - Transforming ancient archeological sites of the Mediterranean into board games, to remind visitors of these places, is the idea behind Med Games, a project of the European Union which stimulated a 24-year-old Jordanian woman, Sondos Al Rqibat, who planned and obtained funding for the game "Gadara spinner", dedicated to the ancient city, today known as Umm Qais, which is part of Jordan's archeological heritage.

The young woman told the site of the EU project that "it looked like tourists remembered almost nothing about what they visited". A feeling of memory loss that the young Jordanian is convinced must be preserved and promoted after a tour. So she created a board game that "can preserve in a fun way the memory of a place in the people who visit and who decide to buy it", she said. The game was conceived together with young programmer Rand Agha and, thanks to EU funding, became a reality.

Gadara Spinner offers players an ample card collection talking about the history of single archaeological and historic spots, also with 3D models of the sites. "It is fun - explained Sondos Al Rqibat - it is necessary to concentrate and have some luck". The game is for 10 players and, with a lot of information available, their curiosity is stimulated. "The objective is to educate while people have fun together", said Al Rqibat.

Gadara was an ancient city located in northern Jordan, which was occupied by the Greeks, Romans and Ottomans, among others.

The project Med Games is a three-year program funded with 2.3 million euros by the European Union as part of the ENI CBC Med Programme, and vies to contribute to tourism in Italy, Lebanon, Jordan and Spain, using the game concept to encourage tourists to get to know little-known places in these countries.

*ansamed