ABSTRACT
Place is an important albeit overlooked notion in Middle Eastern social life, and Jordan presents an ideal setting for its investigation both in ancient and modern times. Beginning with the earliest nomadic communities and continuing up to today’s modern cosmopolitans, Middle Easterners regularly return to the same locales, each time undertaking vastly different experiments in community. Whether it is the construction of terraces and cisterns, mosques and churches, or today, Internet cafés and hospitals, the attachment these communities forge with these places to manage local challenges create the conditions for social life.
