From Abandoned Mines to a Labyrinth of Knowledge: a Conceptual Design for a Geoheritage Park Museum in Jordan

An abandoned phosphate site in Ruseifa, Jordan, offers a unique opportunity to tell tales of geology, mining, industry, history, built heritage, and environment during the formative days of the Kingdom. This paper aims to present a proposed project for the first geopark to be created in Jordan. This project plans to blend outdoor and indoor exhibits and activities to create a unique educational experience for visitors of various ages and backgrounds. Moreover, the project aims to create opportunities for local communities in the area, rehabilitate an urban trouble spot and replace it with a tourist attraction and a source of civic pride. Recent changes in the surrounding landscape involve building new roads and retaining walls, which have begun to endanger the character of the site. That, as well as the natural deterioration and vandalism of the old buildings, mean that continued neglect will ultimately lead to the loss of the geological and heritage value of the site. This increases the urgency of intervening and implementing the proposed project.