Jordan is an Arab country and the Jordanian culture is a blend of the Arabian, Islamic and Modern influences. The capital city Amman is a famous and ancient historic city.  The majority people of Jordan belong to Islam and they speak the Arabic language. English and French are also the official languages and the small geography of Jordan still possesses variation in the clothing and traditions due to various life styles of the Jordanians.

The traditional Jordanian dresses worn by the dancers - Image courtesy : mejourneys.com

The rural population mostly consists of Bedouin and Palestinian communities who have nomadic way of life. The Jordanian Arabians depends upon the agricultural farming and cattle breeding while the greater number of the settled urban Jordanians are educated and perform businesses and other official jobs.

A Jordanian man wearing the traditional dress - sarah g-love's Image

The traditional dress of Jordan is also very unique and fantastic as the traditional clothing for men consists of tunic shirts, trousers and an elaborate over garment with a belt or cummerbund. They also cover their head with the typical Arabian Scarf which is like a turban.

A Jordanian man wearing his traditional Arabic Scarf - Edward Wachtman's Image

The traditional dress for women is very decorative and full of superb craftsmanship and embroidery. This dexterity is full of amazing color patterns and fascinating patchworks. Apart from the heavy load of the tiresome household tasks, the Jordanian women love to wear delicate and embellished dresses.

A beautiful Jordanian girl in her Ttaditional dress - Colin McLurgjpg's Image

The most common part of a Jordanian women’s costume is a long rectangular cleavage which is decorated with tremendous embroidery and it is adjusted in the front of the dress.

A wonderful image of a Jordanian urban girl - Kaaa Teee's Image

In the Northern part, one of the traditional dresses of Jordan is Shirsh which is a long outfit with tight sleeves and a decorated neckline and embroidered sides.

An image of the Jordanian city girls wearing the modern costumes and scarves - Mr. Littlehand's Image

Often, the dresses of central and southern Jordanians are of double length with long pointed sleeves.

Traditional Jordanian Costumes ( Image Courtesy: Wikimedia )

The traditional dress of Jordan represents the unique and ancient culture of this small Arabian country. It also reflects the colors of the ancient Bilad el Sham; the greater Syrian Kingdom.

A Jordanian belly dancer dancing in her traditional costume - Sarah Ackerman's Image

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Their Morning doesn’t start, unless they listen to their favorite _______!

Check out their cassette and CD boxes, it would be filed with the records of _______!

She is the Cuckoo of Arabia! She is Ambassador to the Stars! She is Neighbor to the Moon!

Hey Folks..you would be right if you filled in the blanks with Fairuz.. as we are talking about Fairuz.

Fairuz : The Cuckoo of Arabia

Nouhad Wadi Haddad who is famous as Fairouz or Fairuz which is also spelled as Fayrouz.  She was born on November 21, 1935 in Jabal al Arz (Lebanon). Her family belonged to the lower middle class and they moved to Beirut, the Lebanese capital for better earning. Fairuz was a shy child and she was very sensitive.  Fairuz had a fantastic talent of music since her childhood. At the age of 10, Fairuz started her career as chorus singer at the Lebanese Radio Station. This happened when Fairouz grabbed the attention of Mohammad Fleyfel, who was a well known musician of those times at the Lebanese Conservatory. Their Fairoz sang a number of songs that were composed by Halim el Roumi, who also chose for her the stage name Fairuz, which is the Arabic word for turquoise. In 1950’s, Fairouz’s talent was acknowledged by the top contemporary musicians of Lebanon and she got fame in the whole of Lebanon for her amazing voice. Soon Fairuz met with Assi, who composed a number of songs for her including Itab, which proved to be a super hit number in the whole Arab world. Assi and Fairouz were married on 23 January 1955.

Lebanese Singer Fairuz

The first huge concert performance of Fairuz was taken place in 1957 in the famous Baalbeck International Festival. During the 1960s, Fairuz was known as the “First Lady of Lebanese singing”, as Halim Roumi dubbed her. During this period the Rahbani brothers wrote and composed for her hundreds of famous songs, most of their operettas, and 3 motion pictures. In 1969, when Fairuz was banned from the Lebanese radio stations because of her refusal to sing in the honor of the Algerian President Houari Boumedienne, she got immense popularity. The 1970s were the best era for Fairuz fame when her talent was recognized at world level because of her major North American tour, which was received with much excitement by the Arab-American and American community.

The magnificent singing career of Fairuz is also a result of the equal contribution by a three-member team which included the two Rahbani brothers. Most of the times, the lyrics of Fairouz were written by Mansour Rahbani, and the tunes were composed and arranged by her former husband ‘Assi. Actually, the delicacy and genius in the music and poetry of these two Lebanese artists played the vital role in the success of Fairouz.

During the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), Fairuz never left Lebanon to live abroad and did not hold any concerts there with the exception of the stage performance of the operetta “Petra”, which was performed in both the Western and Eastern parts of the then-divided Beirut in 1978. However, during that time period, Fairuz held many very successful and record-breaking concerts and tours in numerous countries around the world.

During the 1980’s Fairouz carried on her career with the composing talent of her son, Ziad Rahbani. In addition, her son established a new team including his friend the lyricist Joseph Harb, and the composer Philemon Wehbe. Musical plays or operettas were the cornerstone works of the Rahbani Trio, Fairuz, Assi and Mansour. The Rahbani Brothers produced 25 popular musical plays (20 with Fairuz) over a period of more than 30 years. They were possibly the first to produce world-class Arabic musical theatre.

During the last two decades, Fairouz had successfully conducted the live musical concert performance in many parts of the world. Fairoz’s performance of 2008 in Damascus resulted into a big controversy in Lebanon causing the tense relationship between Lebanon and Syria.

Apart from such controversies, Fairuz, the cuckoo of Arabia has been declared as the “Jewel of Lebanon”. Fairuz is the most phenomenal artist of the Arab region. According to this legendary artist, music is the way of life. Fairuz has not only remained a perfectionist in her singing but also is very influential in the political and social segments of Lebanon.