Ammon News - By Muath Freij

AMMAN - "I believe that all old houses are open books for people who want to know the stories of their owners," Maan Hayek, the owner of one of Jabal Amman's oldest houses, told The Jordan Times.

Built in the 1950s, Hayek's house, according to its owner, was one of the first two houses in Jabal Amman built near what is known today as Rainbow Street.

"Jabal Amman was deserted during the 1950s," Hayek said, adding that his father Shafiq, who built the house, was one of Amman's prominent tradesmen a half-century ago.

Originally from Syria, the Hayek family settled in Jerash, where Shafiq Hayek set up his first business.

"When my father finished school in Jerash, the director of the school was so impressed with his intelligence, he advised him to complete his education in Salt," Hayek told The Jordan Times.

However, Maan's grandfather refused to send his son so far away to study, so instead he established a small grocery in Jerash and appointed Shafiq to run it.

The 52-year-old Hayek explained that as his business grew, his father moved to the capital and rented a house in Jabal Amman, where he played a key role in the neighbourhood's early development.

"My father's fabric trade went well when he moved to Amman," Hayek said, noting that his father's philanthropy included helping finance the establishment of the Islamic Scientific School.

According to Hayek, after his father's trade started flourishing, he decided to set up his own house.

"When my father decided to build the house, he let an Italian architect design it. Now, when anyone sees the house, they think it was built recently," Hayek explained, adding that the house's design blends Syrian and Jordanian styles.

According to Hayek, there were only two houses in the neighbourhood in the 1950s: The family's house and a house belonging to the Bilbeisi family. These houses, he claimed, played a key role in asserting Jabal Amman as a culturally important part of the capital.

"When official delegations or renowned persons visited Amman, our house and the Bilbeisi house hosted them," he said, pointing out that at the time, there were no five-star hotels in Amman.

According to Hayek, the house's furnishings are among its most extraordinary features, as they have unique historical value in addition to their beauty.

"My father brought the furniture from Damascus and carpets from Iran. The furniture in the office was Sharif Hussein's, which was a present from King Abdullah I," Hayek said, noting that his father hired a skilled gardener to tend to his diverse garden.

Since becoming the owner of the house after his father's passing, Hayek said he has not made a single change, fearful of altering an integral part of the history of Jabal Amman, the capital and his family.

"The house is the centre of the family's history," he said.

(Jordan TImes)

** The Hayek house in Jabal Amman is an important chapter in the history of the storied neighbourhood (Photo by Muath Freij)