Salt, Sept. 13 (Petra) -- Balqa Governorate hosted a series of cultural events on Saturday, ranging from children's activities and heritage performances to discussions on religious history and the representation of place in Jordanian literature.

The Balqa Culture Directorate, in cooperation with the Salt branch of the Moderation Forum for Thought and Culture and the Arab Child Forum, organized a kite festival in the Maghareeb area, drawing wide participation from children in the local community.

The festival combined recreational and cultural activities aimed at encouraging children to engage with their surroundings and providing interactive opportunities for creative expression.

The directorate also held a cultural heritage evening featuring a lecture titled "Jordan: Land of Prophets and Companions," delivered by former Salt Mufti Dr. Hani Al-Abed.

Al-Abed explored the Kingdom’s religious and historical significance, highlighting locations associated with prophets and companions and the cultural and spiritual heritage they represent within the national memory.

The program also featured a folklore performance by the Arab Child Forum girls’ troupe, a poetry reading by Rania Abu Huweileh and a rebab performance by musician Ghaleb Al-Sahloul.

The activities form part of the directorate’s efforts to expand access to cultural programs across the community and offer initiatives combining education, arts and recreation, particularly for children.

In a separate event, the preparatory committee of the Jordanian Writers Association’s Salt branch held a panel examining the presence and absence of local geography in Jordanian fiction, with Balqa serving as a case study.

The discussion, titled "Is the Jordanian Novel Afraid of Its Geography? The Unspoken Place Between Presence and Absence in Jordanian Narrative: Balqa as a Model," was held at Al-Jadour Café in downtown Salt in the presence of Balqa Culture Director Dr. Mona Saud.

Short-story writer Samia Al-Atout, novelist Dr. Mukhled Barakat and journalist and writer Kamel Al-Nsour discussed the relationship between place and Jordanian narrative, while short-story writer Hadeel Al-Rahamneh moderated the session.

The panel was organized as part of Salt’s cultural and literary activities and the Jordanian Writers Association’s efforts to broaden discussion on Jordanian literature and narrative.

//Petra// RZ