Jordan: Tweeps Celebrate their Country · Global Voices
Ebtihal Mahadeen

In an initiative that was adopted by tweeps from other Arab countries, Jordanian users of micro-blogging site Twitter created and maintained a hashtag that celebrates the top 50 things they love about their country. #Top50Jo  soon attracted tens, if not hundreds, of participants from across Jordan, eager to express their big or small Jordanian love in 140 characters or less.
Farah from Observations of a Jordanian listed some of her favourite things on her blog:
- How everyone you meet knows someone you know
- How everyone has an “uncle” who's high up in the government
- That our Queen has YouTube and Twitter. and actually contributed her #Top50Jo
- That you can complain to the mayor @MayorOfAmman on Twitter
- How everyone gets together in happy as well as sad occasions
Naseem Tarawnah over at The Black Iris linked up to #Top50Jo on his blog as “a mental break from all the cynicism and the daily realities that can make you forget how great Jordan really is,” while Roba Al-Assi from And Far Away borrowed some from other tweeps and classified them into different categories:
- The Jordanian National Anthem at the end of broadcast day on Jordan TV
- The serene call for prayers resonating across Amman.. and definitely the weather..second to none!
- Mansaf :-) That’s simple
- Watching the excitement of kids on first day of Eid, dressed up, in streets, sizing the other, hustling over gifts & play plans.
Even Queen Rania took part in the tweet-a-thon, posting her picture with Abu Ahmad, an Ammani symbol who used to sell peanuts in downtown Amman and who has just recently passed away. To take the initiative even further, two Jordanian tweeps are planning to film what people love about Jordan:
“We have started #Top50Jo. Now let's document it on Video. Come on and join us to film what we love most about Jordan.”
What started out as a pastime for a Jordanian Twitter user (some say @shusmo,) turned into a trend that was passed on to Egyptian and Lebanese users who created their own hashtags, was endorsed by bloggers and royalty, and is now going offline quite creatively. Twitter sure works in mysterious ways!