As-Salt Folklore Museum

The As-Salt Folklore Museum is located within the As-Salt Cultural Centre. The museum was opened in 1987.

The museum was established for the conservation and display of the popular heritage of al-Balqa’. It is comprised of two sections representing Bedouin and village life.

In the Bedouin section there is a goat hair tent consisting of two parts: ash-Shaq where the man of the household and his male guests sit and al-Mahram where women sit. In ash-shaq the coffee ritual takes place with the coffee pot (Dallah), the coffee roasting pan (Mehmas) and mortar for grinding coffee (Mehbash). On display there are the weapons used for the defense of the tribe, such as the sword and gun.

The village house is built with reeds and re-used archaeological stone blocks. In it is the folded up bedding (Wahd) and the special chest for keeping the family heirlooms. Household activities are demonstrated by models of women baking bread and grinding wheat.

The collections of the museum illustrate the culture of Jordanian Society. How people faced the challenge of nature and how they adapted to their environment.