“I run an emergency room for the mind.”: The healing power of books

At his bookstore in Amman, Hamzeh AlMaaytah administers life-affirming literature. Hamzeh AlMaaytah rarely sleeps, but when he does, it’s usually on the mattress hidden behind a screen in the back of his bookshop. Hamzeh, 36, is one of Amman’s most dedicated bookshop owners, and certainly its most eccentric. He tends to leap instead of walk, is prone to poetic pronouncements, and speaks most often in Fusha, the literary form of Arabic, rather than the Jordanian dialect typically used for daily speech. He reveres the written word. In response to text messages or Facebook posts he will send back a picture of his handwritten answer. “There is so much intimacy and knowledge in the handwriting of a friend,” he says, bemoaning that his practice has yet to catch on.

A fourth-generation book owner, Hamzeh describes his work as a calling. “I run an emergency room for the mind,” he explains, while sipping coffee near the entrance of the shop late one morning. He wants to ensure there is always a place in Jordan where one can access the healing power of books, no matter the hour or the price. Hamzeh wants his bookstore to be an oasis away from some of the hateful opinions he sees accepted too often in broader Jordanian society. For this reason, Hamzeh censors his book collection, and adamantly refuses to sell the type of literature that makes the surrounding bookstores so profitable. This is a story to fuel your mind:

A Jordan Bookseller's 24-Hour 'Emergency Room for the Mind' - Atlas Obscura - Pocket

Hamzeh AlMaaytah rarely sleeps, but when he does, it's usually on the mattress hidden behind a screen in the back of his bookshop. Hamzeh, 36, is one of Amman's most dedicated bookshop owners, and certainly its most eccentric.

This Article: A Jordan Bookseller’s 24-Hour ‘Emergency Room for the Mind’ originally appeared on Atlas Obscura and was published April 10, 2017.
Attribution: Shira Telushkin via Atlas Obscura/Pocket