Amman - Following the success of the English and French editions of her book "Jordan: Images from the Air", renowned British writer and photographer Jane Taylor has come up with three new versions of the same volume in German, Italian and Spanish.
Identical to the original editions, the new versions take the reader to all the Kingdom's major sites, and also through the changing colours of the seasons, "from spring green to the rich browns and ochres of summer, autumn and winter", according to Taylor, who has been living in Amman for the last 20 years.
"Having noticed that German, Italian and Spanish-speaking visitors represented a major market with increasing numbers of them coming to Jordan, my distributor and I decided to launch the three new editions," Taylor told The Jordan Times.
"Jordan: Images from the Air", which first appeared in September 2005 in English and French versions, has already established itself as one of the most popular books about Jordan.
The photographs in the volume were taken by the author herself from a Royal Jordanian Air Force helicopter.
His Majesty King Abdullah, who wrote the foreword of the volume, described the images as "extraordinary photographs which are more than works of art. They are a testament to the author's deep understanding of Jordan and the many dimensions of our society... an exceptional opportunity to meet the people, heritage and spirit of our land".
A review in the academic journal "Palestine Exploration Quarterly", called the book "a magnificent aerial photographic portrayal of Jordan's multilayered history, an almost irresistible invitation for visitors to come and see it all for themselves... by the end, the reader has a comprehensive understanding of the major forces which have shaped Jordan's identity".
The German, Italian and Spanish versions of the book were unveiled during a ceremony held at the Jordan National Gallery on Wednesday evening.
HRH Princess Muna, Jordan's Ambassador to Italy Princess Wijdan, Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts Director Khalid Khreis and the ambassadors of Germany, Italy and Spain in Amman attended the event.
Social component
Copies of the hardcover editions in all five languages were on sale at the launch, with 50 per cent of the proceeds from that day's sales, some JD1,260, going to Al Amal Centre, a small school for mentally and physically challenged children near Madaba.
Fixing the playground, painting and decorating the classrooms as well as the outside of the school, and purchasing diesel to power the boilers in the building for heating in the winter are some of the major areas that need to be addressed, Taylor explained.
Proceeds from the sales of the English and French editions during the 2005 launch at the Royal Automobile Museum, which amounted to JD1,520, went to the Wadi Seer Women's Society, to help them run a crèche for children of working mothers.
The five editions of "Jordan: Images from the Air", both hardcover and paperback versions, will be available in bookshops in Jordan.
As for Taylor's new editorial projects, they include a book based on the accounts of Egeria, a woman who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land during the 4th century AD, and a translation into Russian of "Petra", an illustrated history of the Nabataean capital, first published in 1993 and revised in 1996 and 2005.
By María Font de Matas
© Jordan Times 2008
