There are currently wars in two of Jordan's neighbouring countries. The kingdom has a long history of absorbing trouble from its orders and has its origins in the settlement after World War One. Lina Attel is Director General of the King Hussein Foundation, National Centre for Culture and Arts. In this essay, recorded with partners the British Council at the Haya Cultural Centre, Amman, she explains how Jordan's strong cultural identity has sustained it through the turbulent century since the First World War. She says it is a knowledge of the stories of its cultural heroes that will keep the country together as it faces further threats.