Amman – Time brings countless changes to details, appearances and surroundings, yet certain hidden memories continue to connect the past with the present. These are not simply old habits that people refuse to abandon. Rather, they reflect loyalty to people who once had a presence in those places, allowing children to become an extension of their parents as they follow in their footsteps and preserve the routines they grew up with.
اضافة اعلان
These are simple daily rituals that may appear to be nothing more than old habits, but at their core, they reflect children’s connection to their parents and their desire to keep their memory alive.
In older neighborhoods, it is not uncommon to see a man in his forties or fifties still visiting the same barber he went to as a child with his father or grandfather. Others continue to visit the tailor their fathers used or insist on buying vegetables from the same vendor despite the dozens of modern shopping centers available today.
What happens is not simply nostalgia for the past. It reflects loyalty to people and places and the continuation of habits passed down from parents to their children, remaining present despite the passage of time.
Tailor Abu Ahmad, who has spent more than 50 years behind his sewing machine, says he frequently witnesses such scenes.
“Today, I see men who have reached prominent positions in society and have become fathers and grandfathers entering my shop just as they did when they were children accompanying their late fathers. I remember one of them, who is now a well-known surgeon. He visited me last week to have the buttons on his old jacket adjusted and told me: ‘Uncle Abu Ahmad, I didn’t come today for the jacket. I came because the smell of this place alone is enough to bring back my father and all those beautiful memories and details from here.’”
Abu Ahmad says he was particularly happy when he welcomed a customer who has been visiting him for 35 years and who arrived with his young son, Taim.
Taim sat beside his father, listening to their conversation. He admired Abu Ahmad’s work and the way he tailored formal suits, saying that he wanted to have a suit made similar to the one his father was wearing.
In another story, Umm Abdullah, a woman who regularly visits a household goods store in one of the old markets in downtown Amman, has known the shop since childhood, when she used to accompany her mother there to buy household necessities.
Despite the passing of many years and the spread of newer and more conveniently located stores near her home, the shop remains a destination she refuses to replace and continues to visit whenever she has the opportunity.
Her visits are not necessarily about the household items she needs to purchase as much as they are about the memories and details she experienced with her mother over many years.
Every time she enters the store and walks through its aisles, she recalls those earlier visits when she would accompany her mother and walk alongside her between the shelves.
Now that she has become a mother herself, Umm Abdullah takes her daughters to the same place, as if passing on some of her memories and experiences to them.
“There may be nicer and bigger stores with a wider and better selection, but this store has a special place in my heart. I used to visit it with my mother when I was a child, and today I bring my daughters with me. Every time I enter, I remember my mother and the days when we used to come here together,” she says.
Just a few steps away, Abu Mahmoud, a fruit and vegetable vendor who inherited his shop from his father, says:
“The customers here are not just numbers in an account book; they are companions throughout life. It is beautiful to see a man who has grown older and moved to a modern neighborhood in the city yet still insists on traveling a long distance every Friday to buy his vegetables from me, just as his father used to do. When I ask him why, he tells me: ‘My father told me before he died not to cut off this family’s livelihood, and I have kept my promise.’”
On the other hand, Abu Laith Al-Azzam says his 20-year-old son disagrees with him and believes that every era has its own style.
Abu Laith has continued to visit the same barber for 35 years, while his son, Laith, prefers to go to a different barber because he believes his father’s barber does not know modern hairstyles or keep up with current trends.
From a social perspective, sociologist Dr. Fayez Al-Majali says these habits contribute to preserving social values.
“In a consumer-driven world that is changing rapidly, these inherited habits reflect the continuation of values such as loyalty and giving back. When children continue dealing with the vendors and craftsmen their parents used to rely on, they reinforce the meanings of social solidarity and compassion. These are not merely routine visits; they show that generations may change while values of loyalty and appreciation for others remain present,” he says.
Al-Majali stresses that these habits create a connection between parents, children and the places they used to frequent, reflecting the strength of social bonds within Jordanian society, across its diverse backgrounds and origins.
This attachment to places and people also has an explanation from a psychological perspective.
Psychologist Dr. Samir Al-Rawi explains that people naturally seek places that provide them with a sense of safety and stability, particularly amid the changes brought by the passage of time.
“When a man returns to the same barber or tailor he used to visit with his father, he is not simply seeking a service. He is also recovering the sense of security he experienced during childhood, when his father’s presence gave him reassurance. These habits give people a sense of continuity and belonging and keep their connection to their memories alive,” he says.
Dr. Al-Rawi adds that these practices have moved beyond being simple habits and have become connected to nostalgia and longing for the past, reflecting the idea that a person without a past cannot have a present.
“When children follow in their parents’ footsteps, seeing them as role models, and visit the places their parents used to frequent, they preserve part of their parents’ memories and their own connection to the past,” he says.
As time continues to bring changes to appearances and surroundings, something remains connecting yesterday with today. These are not merely old habits that people refuse to abandon; they reflect loyalty to places and memories, allowing children to become an extension of their parents as they follow in their footsteps and preserve the traditions they grew up with.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Moatasem Al-Raqad
