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Amman
 Amman
is the modern and ancient capital of Jordan, formerly the
Ammonite capital city of Rabbath-Roman city called
Philadelphia. Originally spread over seven hills like Rome,
Amman now covers at least nineteen hills. It is a city of
contrasts, a mixture of ancient and modern.
Often referred to as ‘the white city’ Amman’s houses are
built in many hillsides, and form a great canvas of
overlapping beiges, ochres and whites. The outstanding
whiteness is the result of the white stones of the country
used in construction-rough hewn, smooth or lightly veined,
and even polished white marble. The city, with its
population of over one million, is crowned by the Citadel, a
hill with the ruins of the Temple of Hercules, and a museum
with artifacts dating back to the earliest settlement in the
region some 7,000 years ago. At the foot of the Citadel is
the 5,000 seat Roman theatre.
Still rapidly growing, Amman is a busy commercial and
administrative center with many fine hotels, night clubs and
discos as well as modern facilities for sporting events,
conventions and conferences. There is a wide range of
restaurants to meet every taste, offering choices of food
ranging from Arabic through a variety of international
specialties and fast food.
Jerash
 Only
a short hour’s drive north of Amman is the Graeco-Roman city
of Jerash (Gerasa in ancient times,) known as the Pompeii of
the east for its extraordinary state of preservation. As
they approach the city, visitors are greeted by the imposing
triple-arched gateway built to honour the Emperor Hardpan’s
arrival to Jerash in A.D 129.
Jerash is considered the best preserved and most complete
city of the Decapolis, a confederation of ten Roman cities
dating from the 1st Century B.C.
Nestled in a green and ell-watered valley in the remains of
the ancient city have long attracted tourists, scholars and
students from all over the world.
Today’s visitors may wander among the original temples,
theatres, plazas, baths and colonnaded streets, all enclosed
within the remaining city walls. Within these walls have
been found the remains of settlements dating from the Bronze
Age, the Iron Age, the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine,
Umayyad & Abbasid periods, indicating human occupation at
this location for more than 2,500 years. Nightly sound and
light show through the summer months, and the annual Jerash
Festival of Culture and Arts held each July, bring the
ancient community to life for today’s visitors.
Ajloun
 A
short journey west from Jerash, through pine forest and
olive roves, brings you to the town of Ajloun. Here is
Qala'at Ar-Rabad, the Castle of Ajloun, which was built in
1184 by Usama Ibn Munqich, a nephew of Saladin, who defeated
the Crusaders in 1189.
A fine example of Islamic architecture, the fortress
dominated a wide stretch of the north Jordan Valley and
passages to it. From its hill-top position, Castle of Ajloun
protected the communication routes between south Jordan and
Syria, and was one of a chain of forts which lit beacons at
night to pass signals from the Euphrates as far as Cairo.
Aqaba
 When
fantasy, sun and sea meet the charms and atmosphere of
antiquity, the visitor can find himself, at any time of
year, at the Red Sea resort of Aqaba. For water sports and
winter warmth, Aqaba is warm, sunny and inviting, fringed
with palm trees, lapped by the crystal clear waters of the
Gulf of Aqaba, cooled by a steady northerly breeze, and
ringed by mountains. That change in color with the change of
the hours.
A dazzling undersea world of coral, fish and other marine
life is just meters off the sandy beaches. Snorkeling, water
skiing, wind surfing, fishing and a variety of other water
spots, including unsurpassed scuba diving are popular.
For the history enthusiast are sites reflecting human
habitation for at least 5,500 years resulting from Aqab’s
strategic location at the junction of land and sea routes
from Asia, Africa and Europe. Of special interest among the
ancient and medieval archaeological sites are the early
Islamic city called Ayla, Aqaba Fort, built by the Mamluk
Sultan Qansaqh el Ghawri at the beginning of the 16th
Century, and a very fine museum at the house of Sharif
Hussein bin Ali, great grandfather of late King Hussein.
Whatever the visitor’s interest, a wide range of hotels
provide excellent accommodations, facilities for all water
sport, and restaurants that cater to the most selective
tastes.
Petra
 The
most famous attraction in Jordan is the Nabataean City of
Petra, some 262 kilometers or 160 miles south of Amman. The
Victorian traveler and poet, Dean Burgeon, gave Petra a
description which holds to this day – “Match me such a
marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as
time”.
More than 2,000 years ago Petra was used as a temporary
refuge by nomadic Nabataean Arabs, Bedouins who came north
out of Arabia. From a few caves in a rocky outcrop, easy to
defend, the Nabataeans created Petra as a fortress city.
Petra still forms part of the domain of the Bedouin. The
visitor finds them waiting with their horses and camels for
the unforgettable trip into the rose-red city.
To reach the city the visitor travels on foot or by
horse-drawn carriage, for elderly and handicapped people,
through the awesome “Siq“; an immense crack in the Nubian
sandstone. It is a winding, one-kilometer-long fissure
between overhanging cliffs that seem to meet more than 300
feet overhead.
Near the end of the passage, the Siq, with great style,
makes one last turn and out of the gloom in the towering
brightness appears Petra’s most impressive monument, el
Khazneh -The Treasury. This, one of the most elegant remains
of antiquity, carved out of the solid rock from the side of
the mountain, is nearly 140 feet high and 90 feet wide.
Beyond el Khazneh the visitor is surrounded on both sides by
hundreds of Petra’s carved and built structures, soaring
temples, elaborate royal tombs, a carved Roman theatre
(seating 3,000), large and small houses, burial chambers,
banquet halls, water channels and reservoirs, bathes,
monumental staircases, cultic installations, markets, arched
gates, public buildings and paved streets.
But Petra is not only about the Nabtaeans. Within a
fifteen-minute drive of Petra the visitor can walk through
8,000-year-old excavated Stone Age villages at Beidha and
Basta, wander among the ruins of settlements of the biblical
Edomites, or explore the sprawling remains of the Roman
legionary fortress at Udruh.
Madaba & Mount Nebo
 The
Medaba of the Bible is today the small town of Madaba, only
30 kilometres south of Amman. Remains of the Roman road and
road and civic architecture can still be seen in the midst
of the modern town, but it is the Byzantine and Umayyad
mosaics for which Madaba is best known. At the Greek
Orthodox Church of St. George visitors may view the earliest
surviving original map of the Holy Land, which was made
around AD 560. In addition, there are other mosaic floors
preserved throughout the town, as well as a fine local
museum.
Mount Nebo lies on the western edge of the plateau with a
spectacular view across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea.
On a clear day, the spires of the churches of Jerusalem are
visible, and at night the lights of the city.
Mount Nebo is believed to be the tomb of Moses. It is a
lonely, windswept hill. Protecting the ruins of a 4th and
6th Century church whose floor is still covered with
marvelous mosaics, is a building constructed by the
Franciscans who started excavating the site in 1933.
Wadi Rum
 Feel the
romance of the Arabian Desert in the spring-time … or
anytime; at Wadi Rum in Jordan. Let the fabled T.E. Lawrence
come alive, whether through memories stirred from the screen
version or from the pages of history and the actual exploits
of the legendary British officer.
Wadi Rum
is like a moonscape of ancient valleys and towering
weathered Sandstone Mountains rising out of the white and
pink collared sands. Much of David Lean’s “Lawrence of
Arabia” was filmed there and it was also the location where
T.E. Lawrence himself was based during the Arab Revolt.
A desert police fort is located at the entrance to Wadi Rum,
where the police are not mounted on horse or jeep, but on
camels-ship of the desert.
Today Wadi Rum challenges climbers to scale its sheer
granite and sandstone cliffs, to hike along mountain trails
and valleys, to trek deep into the enchanting landscape in
four-wheel-drive vehicles, or to join two or three day
desert safaris on camel-back or 4x4 vehicles.
Stunning in its natural beauty, Wadi Rum epitomizes the
romance of the desert. Now the home of several Bedouin
tribes, Wadi Rum has been inhabited for generations.
These hospitable and friendly desert people are settled
around the Beau Geste’ camel Corps Fort in Wadi Rum, and in
scattered nomadic camps throughout the area. You may be
invited to share mint tea or cardamom coffee in their black
tents, perhaps sitting by the fire under a starry desert sky
–it is an experience you will never forget.
The Dead Sea
 The
sunset touching distant hills with ribbons of fire across
the waters of the Dead Sea brings a sense of unreality to
culminate a day’s visit to the lowest point on the earth,
some 400 meters below sea level.
To reach this unique spot the visitor enjoys a short,
55-kilometre drive from Amman surrounded by a landscape,
which could be from another planet. En route a stone marker
indicates ‘Sea Level “, but the Dead Sea itself is not
reached before descending another 400 meters below this
sign.
As the name suggests, the sea is devoid of life due to an
extremely high content of salts and minerals. But it is
these natural elements which give the waters their curative
powers, recognized since the days of Herod the Great, more
than 2,000 years ago. They also provide the raw materials
for the renowned Jordanian Dead Sea Bath Salts and cosmetic
products, which are marketed worldwide.
The Dead Sea is normally as calm as a millpond, with barely
a ripple disturbing its surface, but it can become
turbulent. During most days, however, the water shimmers
under a beating sun. Where rocks meet its lapping edges,
they become snow-like, covered with a thick, gleaming white
deposit that gives the area a strange, surreal sense like
that of another world.
The Tourist facilities provide accommodations for changing
into swimming attire so the visitor can wade into the warm,
soothing water. Try as one may, it is impossible to sink in
the thick brine which is four times as salty as regular
seawater. One can, however, recline on the water to read a
newspaper.
Seaside facilities include a modern hotel with a therapeutic
clinic and a restaurant/bathing sports complex, meeting the
needs of day visitors or parties wishing to spend the night
amidst one of the most dramatic and moving landscapes in the
world. Not far away, over the hills to the east, is another
special water adventure: the zarqa Ma’n hot springs, now
developed as a comprehensive spa, with a four-star hotel,
leisure, bathing and therapeutic facilities.
Desert Castles
 Dotted
throughout the semi-arid, steppe-like terrain of eastern
Jordan and the central hills are numerous historic ruins
including castles, forts, towers, baths, farming estates,
caravan inns and fortified palaces which have traditionally
been known as desert castles.
The medieval castles at Kerak and Shobak, along the King’s
high way, are authentic 12th Century Crusader hilltop
fortresses whose galleries, towers, chapels and ramparts
recall the gallantry of the Crusaders themselves. The ruins
of two other Crusader castles, Habees and Wu’eira, are
located at the Nabataean city of Petra.
Desert castles offer the fresco art and zodiac dome of Qasr
Amra baths; fortress-like enigmatic Qasr Kharanah; the Roman
fort turned Umayyad residential palace at Qasr el Hallabat;
sprawling, brick vaulted Qasr Mushatta (so large it was
never completed); the black basalt Roman/Medieval Islamic
fort at Azraq; and the massive, unfinished, fire-baked brick
Qasr Taba.
Umm Qais
 Umm
Qais, the ancient Roman Gadara, lies some fifty kilometers
north of Jerash. From its location on a fertile hillside,
the ancient city overlooks Lake Tiberias, the Yarmouk River
and the hot springs of Hammeh. Umm Qais, site of the famous
Gadarene swine, was renowned in its time as a cultural
center and home to several classical poets and philosophers
and was often called "a new Athens." The Umm Qais of today
offers the visitor a stroll through history while walking
along its colonnaded street and enjoying a rest at the West
Theatre which is constructed entirely of black basalt and
commands a great view over the Jordan Valley. The North
Mausoleum is almost entirely intact and contains a stone
inscription by the great crypt which reads: "To you 1 say
passer: As you are, 1 was, as I am, you will be. Use life as
a mortal."
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