AMMAN, JORDAN
Chicago’s Sister City Since 2004

Committee Chair: Geda Maso Condit [ Bio ]
Committee Co–Chair: Susan Leonis [ Bio ]

Since the Sister Cities signing in June, 2004, Amman and Chicago have continued to develop a growing relationship to improve the quality of life of the citizens of each city and foster a meaningful relationship. The committee is works on a diverse array of projects relating to urban affairs, education, culture, economic development, social services and fundraising. In 2006, Mayor Daley traveled to Amman to visit with King Abdullah II and the Mayor of Amman, Omar Maani – who has since visited Chicago three times. Most recently, Mayor Maani visited Chicago to co-chair the U.S.-Arab Cities Forum, which brought together more than 50 Mayors from the Arab world in Chicago to discuss education, environment and economic development initiatives on a municipal level. Through the years, The Amman Committee has fostered meaningful social service and humanitarian exchanges that have had a lasting impact here in Chicago and in Amman. In 2007 alone, the Amman Committee of Chicago Sister Cities donated more than $200,000 worth of hearing aids to the King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan, as well as a donation of five ambulances to the City of Amman. As part of the hearing aid donation, their Royal Highnesses, Princess Ghida Talal and Princess Dina Mired, accepted the gifts at a Sister City press conference in October, 2007.

Mayor: His Excellency Omar Maani
Country:   Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan  
Country Location:   Middle East  
Country Population:  Over 5 million  
City Population:  Over 1 million  
Geography: Amman the capital of Jordan is a city that geographically straddles seven hills.  
History:  Amman has served as the modern and ancient capital of Jordan. It is dotted with a number of historic sites from the Stone Age to the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras. During the Early Islamic Era Amman held some of its importance through its location on trade routes and for its strategic military position. In 1921 the Emir Abdullah bin Hussein moved his capital to Amman, where it remains.
Industry:  Phosphate mining, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, light manufacturing, tourism.  
Flag Description: The points of the star represent the first seven verses of the Koran. Red, black, white, and green became the pan-Arab colors.  

2009
March

"The Arab/Israeli Cookbook" performance was at the storefront theater.

June

Focus: Fundraiser
During the Chicago Sister Cities 4th Annual International Festical on Daley Plaza, the committee sold Wild Garden hummus as a fundraiser for the Amman Committee.

Focus: Government
Mayor Richard M. Daley traveled to Amman, Jordan to co host the 2nd U.S. Arab Mayor's Forum with HE Mayor Maani. Mrs. Daley and Amman committee members accompanied him and visited the King Hussein Cancer Center. The committee met to discuss upcoming collaborations.

Jordan's relationship with the area known as the “West Bank” makes defining Chicago Jordanians a complicated task.
Wrested from the newly formed state of Israel by Jordan in the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948, the West Bank returned to Israel as an occupied territory in the Six Day War of 1967. Jordan, however, has continued to allow Palestinian refugees and workers across its borders, granting them Jordanian passports. Most people migrating to Chicago with Jordanian passports in the second half of the twentieth century have actually been Palestinians from the West Bank, generally identifying as Palestinians, not as native Jordanians.