Al-Jahith's Treasury
Al-Jahith's Treasury or Khizanat al-Jahith (Arabic: خزانة الجاحظ) is the collective name for three bookstores in downtown Amman, Jordan, owned by three brothers of the al-Maaytah (Arabic: المعايطة) family of Karak. Four successive generations of this family have operated the bookstore nearly continuously from the last decade of the nineteenth century to the present day, migrating between Karak, Jerusalem, and Amman. The archives of the bookstore are notable for their Arabic religious, scientific and literary manuscripts, the oldest of which dates back to the thirteenth century. In addition, there are newspaper and journal editions from the early 1900s, as well as thousands of rare books that the family obtained at auction from the offices of the British Mandate in Palestine in 1947.Al-Jahith's Treasury was the first bookstore established by a decree of Abdullah I, issued in Qatraneh in 1921 in the course of his consolidation of power leading to his assumption of the Emirate of Transjordan later that year. When Al-Jahith's Treasury moved from Jerusalem to Amman after the 1947–48 war, it became the first lending library in the burgeoning capital city. It remains unique among the bookstores of Amman with its philanthropic mission of accessibility to the poor and lower classes: any book can be exchanged for any other, or rented for one month for one Jordanian dinar.
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Basman Street, Amman منطقة المدينة
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Geographical coordinates (GPS)
Latitude | Longitude |
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N 31.952047 ° | E 35.931502 ° |
Address
Basman Street
11110 Amman, منطقة المدينة
Amman, Jordan
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