10,000 Years of Art and Culture from Jordan
Faces of the Orient

Jordan lies at the meeting point of the oldest high cultures of the world. It is in this area that the three great religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam originated and the ancient incense and kings way trade routes crossed, and where the most fundamental developments in the history of civilization as well as the major roots of Western culture are to be found. Archaeological research of the past 15 years has radically changed our conception of this region’s history. This exhibition presents aspects of daily life of the various cultures inhabiting this region from the early Neolithic (8th century B.C.) to the early Islamic period (8th century A.D.), a time spanning almost 10,000 years. More than 700 exceptional loans from Jordan’s museums provide a view to the high cultures and their interaction with each other. Some of the high points of this exhibition are represented by monuments from the most important events in the history of humanity, such as the spectacular and earliest known life-size portrait sculptures from Ain Ghazal (8th century B.C.) as well as exhibits from the legendary Nabataean city of Petra.
An exhibition organized by the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in cooperation with the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Staatliche
Museen zu Berlin