Amman, Jordan: After months of guarding one of the Middle East’s best kept sporting secrets, the Jordan Rally has announced a sensational ceremonial start location for its launch on May 10.
With the Kingdom boasting some of the world’s most historic tourist attractions, several of which are incorporated into its routes, rumours have abound as to which would be chosen as the backdrop to kick off the country’s biggest sporting and social event.
Last night the waiting was over as Jordan Motorsport confirmed the magnificent King Hussein Ben Talal Mosque – one of the world’s most stunning modern day religious architectural wonders – as the backdrop for welcoming the world.
“We are simply spoilt for choice in Jordan,” said Ziad Louza, Jordan Rally Clerk of the Course. “There was any one of at least a dozen locations in Amman alone that we could have chosen but we had to allow for safety first and foremost and secondly accessibility for spectators. The King Hussein Ben Talal Mosque is located in the centre of the Hussein Gardens Public Park which means we are taking our event right to the heart of the people of Amman.”
The May event is on the FIA Middle East Rally Championship but will be a full dress rehearsal for the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) visiting Jordan for the first time in 2008. Organisers will assess the feedback in May to decide its suitability for the global extravaganza next year.
The King Hussein Ben Talal Mosque took two years to construct and was completed last year. It can accommodate 3,000 worshippers at any one time and is already regarded as one of the Middle East’s finest feats of engineering.
Designed by Egyptian architect Khalid Azzam, the four-minaret mosque is built in the Islamic architectural style with vaulted ceilings and ornamentation carved in Jordanian stone. The mosque also hosts the Hashemite History Museum, which displays belongings related to the Prophet Mohammad including a letter he sent to Hercules, King of the Byzantines, in the early days of Islam.
The mosque is spectacularly lit up in the evening prompting organisers to move the ceremonial start time back to 7pm on May 10. It will undoubtedly make an immediate impact as one of the world’s most stunning sporting venues.
The location will provide a tremendous tourism boost for the city with images of the opening ceremony expected to be beamed across the world. The action will then move on for two days of rallying in and around the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. The rally headquarters is located on the banks of Dead Sea with the Service Park and five-star hotel resorts in close proximity.
The route itself features Biblical sites such as the Dead Sea, the Baptism Site (where Jesus was Baptised) and Mount Nebo (the resting place of Moses) while other world famous tourist sites including Petra are only a short drive.
