Land of promise

The late King Hussein married not one, but two Westerners: his second wife, the mother of the present king, was English, and his fourth wife, Lisa Halaby, Arab-American.

The present King, Abdullah bin Al-Hussein, who has his mother's blue eyes and fair skin, is married to a Kuwaiti-born Jordanian of Palestinian origin who was educated at the American University of Cairo.

As well as being cosmopolitan, the royal women of Jordan have also come to symbolise beauty, elegance and glamour - all of which are highly prized here, and closely linked to foreigners' perception of the Jordanians.

Critics might say there is too much concern with image, at the expense of more significant or urgent matters. And yet, there are signs that Jordanians' aesthetic sensibilities are developing in exciting and dynamic ways.

As a new generation of well-travelled, foreign-educated Jordanians are growing up, there is less concern with blindly following the latest trends and striving to keep up appearances; in their mid-20s to mid-30s, these young people work hard, play hard, and yes, like to dress well.

One such example is that of Fadi Kawar, the son of one of the richest families in the land, who, as well as being Deputy Liner Manager at Manara Shipping, has carved out a reputation for throwing some pretty cool parties.

So much so that he was contacted by Fashion TV's president Michael Adams, who wanted something a bit different - they had had events in Eilat before, and were now in search of a place that was a bit more exclusive, and a local partner that could bring in the right kind of crowd.

The port of Aqaba and i-vents, the banner under which Fadi Kawar holds his parties, seemed to fit the bill perfectly. "I-vents is all about combining exclusivity with creativity: I put a lot of thought into the aesthetics of my events: the décor, the lighting, the sound system and, of course, the music - so it is only right that we should have the right kind of crowd.

"If you want to buy a ticket, and you haven't been invited, then you must know someone who has; one degree of separation, and that is it. And, of course, we have to be careful with the male to female ratio, too - if it isn't 50:50, then the whole event is a disaster," he says.

So yes, there is some form of discrimination - but it is based on aesthetics and lifestyle, rather than race, ethnicity or religion. Jordanian society, more generally, is wide open to religious and ethnic diversity.

An estimated 60 percent of the country's population is made up of Palestinians who fled, mostly from the West Bank, during the wars of 1948 and 1967 and after the Gulf War of 1990-1991.

While maintaining hope that they will one day return to an independent Palestine, they have also become an integral part of Jordanian economic, social and cultural life, often occupying high positions in government and business.

Similarily, Jordan has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees who have fled Iraq for fear of religious or political persecution, or simply in order to build a new life.

Whilst many of the Iraqis in Jordan have been registered as United Nations refugees, there are also those who are too rich, and too well-connected to see the need for protection by the UN.

This latest wave of immigration has provided a much needed boost to the Jordanian economy, which has suffered due to the decline in tourism after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Jordan has been able to assimilate successive generations of neighbouring peoples, offering them a safe haven - and newcomers, far from being second class citizens, are welcomed into an environment where they can thrive, and the country as a whole is able to benefit from their presence.

There are, of course, those who say that Jordan has gone too far, that it is has developed ties with nations that are traditionally seen as enemies of the Arabs, especially the US - it allowed US warships to dock in its port, and is one of the few countries in the world that has a free-trade agreement with the US.

Some might say that Jordan is forced to adopt a more conciliatory stance as it has neither the petrodollars of its Gulf neighbours, nor the human capital and highly skilled workforce of Lebanon.

But there are also those who see conciliation rather than conflict as the way forward, not only for the country, but for the region as a whole - and that Jordan has a key role to play in the international arena.

With peace in the Middle East being at the top of the global political agenda, the role of the mediator will be crucial.

A small but notable indication of this is the fact that the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman, the prime venue for top-level political meetings in the region, has hosted more heads of state than any other Four Seasons in the world.

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