PUBLIC SECTOR CONCEPTION OF THE HISTORICAL CHARACTER OF TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS OF SALT, JORDAN

Salt is an ancient town located 28 km northwest of Amman, the capital of Jordan. Salt became the first capital of Jordan for a short period in the early 20th century. Nablus traders and builders settled and expanded their business network there. These two events brought to Salt professional Nablus craftsmen, who used the yellow stone material to build most of the ordinary Salt buildings, including those which are designated as historically significant now. In the late 20th century, the public sector began to conserve the historical Salt character. These yellow stone buildings are important resources portraying the historical context of old Salt. This study aims to clarify the criteria used by the public sector in their evaluation of the yellow stone buildings in order to understand the established historic character of the significant and traditional buildings such as landmarks. These yellow stone buildings landmarks are one important part of conserving the historic townscape, but a public sector's concept of conservation is lacking in appraisal of ordinary yellow stone buildings from the view point of Salt townscape generating local character. Some criteria that the public sector established to evaluate the importance of historical buildings, such as vertical openings, curved arch windows and door, and I-beam balconies are applicable as research guidelines for evaluating ordinary yellow stone buildings.