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Men at Work in Jordan
Little Petra, IV.2004; pict. Vanacker & Kesteleyn Amman, 26.XII.2000;
pict. Baeten & De Dier
 
Men at work in Jordan are a diverse lot. We have seen many of them around Amman and near tourist hot spots. I think they are part of a project to attract more visitors to this small country squeezed between nervous neighbours. How do you put (non arabic) tourists at ease in an environment where they need a dictionary to decipher their room numbers? Small things can count. It's therefore a good idea to confront them with road signs they are familiar with. Tourists will instantly feel less alienated, more comfortable. Our first find with the rich detail is a copy of the worker in Sweden. The detail is in fact a bit too rich, because the cut-out in the heap is not really credible. It's a weak point in many designs. Look at the improbable heaps in Tanzania, Hawaii, New Zealand and several other countries.

The next men-at-work-sign belongs to the widespread UK-group. Visit Great Britain to learn more.
 
Amman (M15), 11.IV.2004 Dead Sea region, IV.2004;
pict. Vanacker & Kesteleyn		 Wadi Mujib, IV.2004;
pict. Vanacker & Kesteleyn
 
The first sign on this row is also the Swedish drawing, but the action is frozen a bit earlier, just before the worker will scoop the first bite. Very nice sign. Notice the head-gear. The same type was supplied to his colleague in Denmark. We have other hard-heads in Belgium, Japan, Mexico, and Vietnam.
The poor guy flipped his spade. It won't do any good to his productivity. Is nobody listening to Bartolomeo's advice?
 
Well, it's here in full force: cost reduction. In a novel approach to trafic calming warnings for road humps are removed. It becomes impossible to speed from hump to hump and people therefore will now drive slowly everywhere.

The same panels are now recycled as man-at-work signs. We recognize the design from Lebanon and countries from the Mediterranean region.

They should have whitened out the old drawing. But at today's price of white paint ...
Aqaba, 24.XI.2008; pict. M. Tailly
 
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More road signs in Jordan: Children crossing - Falling rocks