sisters t


he workshop is abuzz with the clatter of looms and the chatter of women as they work, fingers flying across the threads, deftly interlacing


each strand of black and white wool then setting the row in place with a clank of the loom. Surrounded by baskets filled with threads, sunlight


streaming in through the wide windows, this handful of hijab-wearing women are busy transforming simple strands of yarn into a flawless, tightly woven rug inspired by the designs of their Bedouin forebears. One of the weavers, Amal Ajaleen (pictured,


page 20), smiles shyly and tells us through a translator how proud she is to be bringing this traditional craft to a new generation. But this is more than just breathing new energy into old ways of life. The Bani Hamida Weaving Centre, set in the small


Jordanian village of Mukawir, half an hour from the shores of the Dead Sea, isn’t just reviving the customs of a once-nomadic Bedouin tribe. It was established in 1985 as a way to offer work to local women and has gone on to employ hundreds since, not only in weaving but also marketing, design and accounts, providing a sustainable source of income in a remote rural area and generating enough money to educate


SETTING OFF


As we sat down together at the welcome meeting in our simple city hotel in central Amman, I looked around the table at the sea of faces and wondered what had prompted each of them to book a women’s expedition over other types of tour. We were quite a collection of ages and ethnicities,


hailing from Australia, Canada, the US and the UK. There were thirtysomething solo travellers taking career breaks, others on holiday while their husbands stayed at home, and a mother-and-daughter duo who regularly travel the world together. Led by guide Nuwar Jodeh, only the third woman²


travelweekly.co.uk


DESTINATIONS JORDAN | ACTIVE & ADVENTURE


As International Women’s Day approaches, Katie


McGonagle explores female culture and fascinating characters on a women-only adventure in Jordan


the children of the village – girls as well as boys. It’s one of the female-focused highlights of Intrepid


Travel’s Jordan: Women’s Expedition, part of the operator’s range of women-only tours. I’ll confess to feeling a bit sceptical beforehand – was it right to have a departure designed specifically for female travellers, and what could it reveal that a regular itinerary wouldn’t? Yet after eight days in the company of some extraordinarily interesting women – fellow travellers and locals alike – I realised the itinerary is only half the story.


4 MARCH 2021


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