Lonely Planet Jordan , livre ebook

Jordan

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Jordan
Jordan’s Top 15
Need to Know
If You Like…
Month by Month
Itineraries
Red Sea Diving & Snorkelling
Outdoor Activities
Travel with Children
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

AMMAN
Around Amman
Wadi As Seer & Iraq Al Amir
Cave of the Seven Sleepers
Amman in Colour
JERASH, IRBID & THE JORDAN VALLEY
Jerash & Around
Jerash
Dibeen Forest Reserve
Ajloun
Ajloun Forest Reserve
Irbid & Around
Irbid
Abila (Quwayliba)
Yarmouk Battleground
The Jordan Valley
Mukheiba
Umm Qais (Gadara)
Pella (Taqabat Fahl)
Salt
DEAD SEA HIGHWAY
Dead Sea Highway
Dead Sea
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
Dead Sea Panoramic Complex
Wadi Zarqa Ma’in
Mujib Biosphere Reserve
Lisan Peninsula
MADABA & THE KING’S HIGHWAY
Central Jordan
Madaba
Mt Nebo
Around Mt Nebo
Mukawir (Machaerus)
Umm Ar Rasas
Wadi Mujib
Ar Rabba
Karak
Khirbet Tannour
Dana
Shobak
PETRA
The Ancient City
Wadi Musa
Siq Al Barid (Little Petra)
Petra in Colour
AQABA, WADI RUM & THE DESERT HIGHWAY
Aqaba & Around
Aqaba
Red Sea Coast
Wadi Rum & Around
Wadi Rum
Diseh
The Desert Highway
Humaiyma
Ma’an
Qatrana
AZRAQ & THE EASTERN DESERT HIGHWAY
Azraq & Around
Zarqa
Hallabat
Azraq
Qusayr Amra
Qasr Kharana
Eastern Desert Highway
Umm Al Jimal
Qasr Deir Al Kahf
Safawi
Burqu

UNDERSTAND

Jordan Today
History
Amateur Archaeology
Biblical Sites of Jordan
People & Society
Islam
Traditional Crafts
Flavours of Jordan
The Natural Environment
Green Jordan & Ecotourism

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Safe Travel
Women Travellers
Directory A–Z
Accommodation
Climate
Customs Regulations
Electricity
Embassies & Consulates
Food
Gay & Lesbian Travellers
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
Maps
Money
Opening Hours
Photography
Post
Public Holidays
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Travellers with Disabilities
Visas
Volunteering
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Health
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers
Welcome to Jordan

A safe haven in a region of conflict, Jordan has delighted visitors for centuries with its World Heritage Sites, friendly towns and inspiring desert landscapes.

Ancient Hospitality
Jordan has a tradition of welcoming visitors: camel caravans plied the legendary King’s Highway transporting frankincense in exchange for spices while Nabataean tradesmen, Roman legionnaires, Muslim armies and zealous Crusaders all passed through the land, leaving behind impressive monuments. These monuments, including Roman amphitheatres, Crusader castles and Christian mosaics, have fascinated subsequent travellers in search of antiquity and the origins of faith. The tradition of hospitality to visitors remains to this day.

Desert Landscapes
Take a ride through Wadi Rum at sunset, and it’s easy to see why TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) was so drawn to this land of weathered sandstone and reddened dunes. But Jordan’s desert landscapes are not confined to the southeast: they encompass a salt sea at the lowest point on earth, canyons flowing with seasonal water, oases of palm trees and explosions of springtime flowers scattered across arid hills. Minimal planning and only a modest budget is required for an adventure.

Petra: A World Wonder
Petra, the ancient Nabataean city locked in the heart of Jordan’s sandstone escarpments, is the jewel in the crown of the country’s many antiquities. Ever since explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt brought news of the pink-hued necropolis back to Europe in the 19th century, the walk through the Siq to the Treasury (Petra’s defining monument) has impressed even the most travel weary of visitors. With sites flung over a vast rocky landscape and a mood that changes with the shifting light of dawn and dusk, this is a highlight that rewards a longer visit.

Safe Haven
It takes tolerance to host endless waves of incomers, and Jordan has displayed that virtue amply, absorbing thousands of refugees from the Palestinian Territories, Iraq and most recently Syria. Despite contending with this and with large numbers of tourists who are often insensitive to conservative Jordanian values, rural life in particular has managed to keep continuity with the traditions of the past. While Jordan faces the challenges of modernisation and growing urbanisation, it remains one of the safest countries in which to gain an impression of the quintessential Middle East.

Sharif Al Hussein Bin Ali Mosque , Aqaba | SERGEI25/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Why I Love Jordan
By Jenny Walker, Writer
From the first ‘ahlan wa sahlan’ said in welcome, I knew that Jordan was to become a lifelong friend. After going in search of TE Lawrence as a student, I have returned many times to the low-slung tents of the Bedouin, sipped tea with rug-makers and walked in the wake of shepherds. Beautiful though it is, and blessed with a disproportionate number of wonders, Jordan inspires this loyalty primarily because of its spirit of generous optimism – opening its arms to strangers and sharing its meagre wealth with neighbours in need.
For more, see Our Writers
Jordan’s Top 15

Amman
In a country strewn with the ruins of former civilisations, it can be difficult to remember that Jordan isn’t just a relic of the past, it’s very much a forward-thinking nation with a vibrant contemporary culture. There’s no better place to feel the pulse of modern Jordan than in Amman with its international restaurants, trendsetting nightlife and fashionable shopping districts. For those who can’t let history sleep, however, the capital boasts its own treasures, including fine Roman ruins and the excellent Jordan Museum .

View of Amman from Cantaloupe | SUNNY FITZGERALD/LONELY PLANET ©

Top Experiences
Biblical History
For many people Jordan is more than just a traveller’s destination: it’s a place of Christian pilgrimage. Sites resonating with spiritual significance abound in a country delineated by the Jordan Valley. This is where John is believed to have baptised Jesus at Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan , and where, according to the Bible, the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah attracted the wrath of God. It is at Mt Nebo, however, with its view of the Promised Land, that one most senses that for many people this is ‘hallowed, holy ground’.

Fresco of Jesus Christ, Bethany-Beyondthe-Jordan | BILL PERRY/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Community Tourism
For many years, the northwestern part of Jordan has been at the forefront of community-based tourism with creative initiatives arising out of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature’s commitment to working with local villages. At Ajloun Forest Reserve (pictured), promotion of cottage industries ensures local people benefit from tourism in their backyard. Opportunities for sustainable tourism include following the Al Ayoun Trail, a community-run trail with village homestays. In Umm Qais, classes are offered in foraging, cooking, beekeeping and basket weaving.

OMARDAJANI/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Diving the Red Sea
It’s no secret that the Red Sea is home to some of the most beautiful underwater seascapes in the world. Jordan’s Red Sea shoreline along the Gulf of Aqaba is admittedly short, but this comparatively unexploited stretch of water encompasses pristine reefs, crumbling wrecks and kaleidoscopic coral gardens. Snorkelling and diving among damsel fish, turtles and seahorses is a memorable experience easily arranged through dive centres in and around the lively seaside city of Aqaba . Access is both from the beach and by short boat-ride.

Lionfish | RICH CAREY/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Crusader Castles
As a frontier in the battle for the soul between Muslim and Christian forces, the Levant is dotted with castles. In Jordan, there are well-preserved examples at Ajloun and Shobak, but Karak Castle (pictured), commanding the semi-arid hills above the King’s Highway, is the most atmospheric. You don’t need to be military-minded to be impressed by the enormous ramparts, but imagination helps to hear the dying howls of those pitched from the parapet by sadistic Renauld de Châtillon.

ANTON_IVANOV/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Wadi Rum
It wasn’t just the dramatic vistas of Wadi Rum , with its burnished sandstone cliffs and vivid-coloured dunes, that impressed Lawrence of Arabia as he paced on camelback through the land of the Bedouin. He was also impressed by the stoicism of the people who endured the hardships of desert life. Today, it’s possible to get a glimpse of that traditional way of life (albeit with a few more creature comforts) by staying in one of the Bedouin camps scattered across this desert wilderness.

A Bedouin guide leading camels, Wadi Rum | TOM MACKIE/LONELY PLANET ©

Top Experiences
King’s Highway
It may not be a literal path of kings, but the King’s Highway follows some big footsteps. These include those of the Nabataeans, whose fabled city of Petra lies at the south end of the highway; the Romans, whose military outpost at Umm Ar Rasas is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the Crusaders who built Karak and Shobak Castles. Smaller footsteps belonged to Salome in her ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’ at the desolate hilltop of Mukawir (pictured). Only a four-hour direct drive today, the highway is better appreciated over two days.

JAN WILLEM VAN HOFWEGEN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
Petra
Ever since the Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt rediscovered this site in 1812, the ancient Nabataean city of Petra has been drawing the crowds – and with good reason. This is without doubt Jordan’s most treasured attraction and when the sun sets over the honeycombed landscape of tombs, carved facades, pillars and sandstone cliffs, its magic is irresistible. At least two days is needed to do the site justice and visit the ma