Murder in Amman
The BBC’s web site carries the news that a gunman has opened fire on a group of foreign tourists in the Jordanian capital Amman, killing one Briton. Five other tourists, from New Zealand, the Netherlands and two Britons, were wounded before the gunman was arrested. The shooting happened at the Roman amphitheatre in central Amman, a popular tourist attraction.
I was on holiday in Jordan a year ago. We visited this amphitheatre in Amman which was built in the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD) when the city was known as Philadelphia. You can read an account of our trip including this visit here.
I texted my concern about today’s shooting to the man who was our guide on the holiday. He is understandably fearful that this latest incident could hit the tourist industry hard. Of course, more unemployment in this region only increases the risk of people being attracted to fundamentalism.