The Ottoman building sits dominantly atop a hill overlooking the Roman archaeological site of Jerash in Jordan. It was built initially as a police station and later used as accommodation by archaeology directors in the 1900’s before being handed over to the Department of Antiquities.  The building has a quaint and charming character. The design calls for the renovation of the building with minimum interventions, introduction of a small café on the upper floor and dedicating the lower level to interpretation of the rarely told story of the Ottoman era in Jordan and the region.

Schematic design was done by Zaid Masannat during tenure at USAID/BEST and was commissioned by Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan and the Department of Archaeology.  Implementation is set to commence in 2020.

Telling the story of the rarely told Ottoman era is very fitting in this last remaining Ottoman police station in Jerash. This building sits strategically on top of the highest hill in this Roman archaeological site, right next to the temple of Artemis. The design calls for minimum interventions with utmost sensitivity to its historic context while preserving the authenticity of the building and telling the story of the place.