Mapping Shabsogh | Amman Design Week

All my life, I’ve had a passion and excitement for discovering the pulse and soul of every city I visit or live in. I love walking in its streets, trying its foods, and getting to know the different cultures that live in it.

I was commissioned by Amman Design week to create and offer a themed and thoughtful walking tour of the city. This drew me to 'Shabsogh' street, which I was interested in for a variety of reasons.

I had worked very close to this street and become acquainted with its diverse pockets of happenings. Though originally named after its first settlers, the street has since grown to become a hub for other subcultures that exist within the city. I wanted to share how one small quaint street can hold so many stories that have become a part of our history.

Culinary and Social Aesthetics

My first walk through tour of ‘Shabsogh’ street highlighted how it houses a number of industries like silk screen paint, pigment shops, and an assortment of fabric shops with endless prints and patterns. We visited a falafel restaurant with ornate ceilings, sub-continental restaurants that cater food supplies to Jordan’s domestic and factory workers, her mother’s spice cabinet, and more. Each destination was recommended by the stop before –- allowing a map to form organically.

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Urban Greens

My second tour returned to ‘Shabsogh’ street, but took in the surroundings are a much slow pace, encouraging mindfulness, and a closer look at the green, urban pockets, flora and fauna that were growing in pavements, pipes, window sills and walls, inviting participants to become more aware of the urban ecosystems that surround them.

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These immersive, sensory experiences culminated in a creative mapping exercise at the Duke’s Design Center further up the road, over a cup of coffee and knafeh. Participants brought along tools for documentation: cameras, sketchbooks, an openness to the stories and people they encounter along the way, and an appetite.