Adventure World

Jordan

Officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, you will be amazed at the great diversity of sights from desert castles, wadis, forgotten cities, ancient Greco-Roman ruins to azure Red Sea coast resorts.

Aqaba and the Jordan Valley are ideal winter resorts. Handmade traditional pottery and ceramics, embroidery, jewellery, blown glass and more crafts can be found throughout the country.

Top Highlights

Amman: Amman spreads across 19 jebels (hills), many of which are over 800m above sea level (winters can therefore by cold and snow is not uncommon). Downtown Amman is the area around the King Hussein mosque, and is the lowest level of the city.

Highlights include the Citadel, Roman Theatre, Forum, Odeon, Nymphaeum, Hashemite Square, National Archaeological Museum and King Hussein Mosque.

As many sights in Jordan are close to Amman, the capital is the ideal base for day trips to places like Jerash, Umm Qais and Madaba.

Petra: Located on the edge of Wadi Araba, Petra is hewn from a towering rock wall, and the imposing facades of the great buildings and tombs are a ‘must see’.

The sheer and rugged sandstone hills form a deep canyon; and the easiest access is through the Siq, a narrow winding cleft in the rock anything from 2m wide to 200m deep.

Wadi Mousa (Moses River), is a village that has sprung up around Petra and offers hotels, restaurants and shops.

Wadi Rum: The region known as ‘Wadi Rum’ is a series of valleys about 2km wide, stretching north to south for about 130km. Among the valleys is a desert landscape of sand and rocks, and sprinkled with jebels which have eroded into soft sandstone. Sunrises and sunsets, are best observed from one of the jebels (mountains) - the colour changes are dramatic and rapid.

Jerash: One of Jordan’s major attractions, are the ruins at Jerash - they are easily accessible and compact. Jerash is one of the best examples in the Middle East of a Roman provincial city.

Highlights:- Hadrian’s Arch, Hippodrome, South Gate, Temple of Zeus, South Theatre, Oval Plaza (forum), colonnaded street, cathedral, nymphaeum (ornamental fountain), Temple of Artemis and churches.

Eastern Jordan - Desert Castles: The main attractions are the castles and forts collectively known as the ‘desert castles’.

Umm al-Jimal (Mother of Camels) - a large site of over 150 simple buildings including houses and churches.

Qasr al-Azraq - the most accessible, and one of the more interesting and famous because TE Lawrence and the Sherif Hussein bin Ali based themselves here in the winter of 1917, during the Arab Revolt against the Turks.

Qusayr Amra (Little Castle) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the best preserved desert castles (rooms plastered with frescoes).

King's Highway (Amman to Aqaba): Known in Arabic as At-Tariq as-Sultani (Sultan’s Rd) the Highway is of great historical and religious significance. The highway passes through or near the attractions of Madaba, Karak, Dana Nature Reserve, Shobak and Petra.

Madaba - this town is best known for its Byzantine-era mosaics.

Nearby is Mt Nebo where Moses apparently saw the forbidden Promised Land, and later died and was buried.

Hammamat Ma’in is where about 60 thermal springs have been discovered.

Wadi Mujib Valley a vast valley stretching across Jordan from the Desert Highway to the Dead Sea.

Karak lies on the routes of ancient caravans and is situated 900m above sea level. The old Crusader city is dominated by a fortified castle - one in a long line built by the Crusaders.

Fact Sheet

• Country Dialling Code: + 962
• When to Go: The best time to visit Jordan is Mar-May (spring) and Sep-Nov (autumn). Jordan has a range of climates, eg weather in the Jordan Valley is extremely oppressive in summer - daily temps exceed 36°C. In Amman average daytime temp is 12.6°C in January to 32.4°C in August. In the desert, the extreme summer temperatures can reach into the high 40s.
• Capital: Amman
• Official Language: Arabic
• Religion: Islam is the predominant religion
• Currency: Jordanian Dinar (JD), known by the locals and visitors as the gee-dee - is made up of 1000 fils. The terms piastre or qirsh are also used, both are 10 fils - 10 qirsh equals 100 fils.
• Electricity: 2220V, 50AC. European two-pronged. In Aqaba, plugs are British three-pronged ones.
• Tipping: Generally 10% in restaurants. Elsewhere rounding up the bill to the nearest 250 fils is appreciated by underpaid staff.
• Bargaining: Essential, but shopkeepers are less likely to shift a long way from their original asking price.
• Credit cards: No local charges on cash advances, but the maximum daily withdrawal amount is JD500. All banks display signs indicating which credit cards they accept.
• Geography: Jordan is a small country (91,860 sq km), slightly smaller than Portugal. Jordan can be divided into three major regions: the Jordan Valley, the East Bank plateau, and the desert. The diistances between towns are short, only 430km from Ramtha, on the Syrian border in the north, to Aqaba, in the south.
• Air: Royal Jordanian Airlines has flights to/from most major cities in Europe and the Middle East. The only domestic flight is operated by Royal Wings, a subsidiary of Royal Jordanian, between Amman and Aqaba.
• Bus: Public buses and public minibuses are the normal form of transport for locals and visitors. Private buses are available on some routes and are more comfortable and air-conditioned.