Destination: Jordan Takes You Beyond

Having been through a quantum leap in terms of development in recent years, Jordan’s tourism industry is vying for the international recognition it deserves. Jordan is fast emerging as a tourism powerhouse in the Middle East, according to managing director, Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), Nayef Al-Fayez, who told TTG: “It is the host of world-class facilities and some of the most amazing tourism attractions, in addition to being the host of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, t...

Widening its appeal According to Euromonitor International, tourism in Jordan had a successful last five years period, and appears to have totally recovered from the bomb attacks of 2005. The country’s tourism strategy has focused on developing niche areas of tourism, ranging from archaeological attractions, religious tours, MICE and sports to adventure as well as eco-tourism. These activities have encouraged a wider range of nationalities to visit the country, and as such Jordan is slo...

Amman is the modern, as well as the ancient capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, spreading over 19 hills, or jebels. Known as Rabbath-Ammon during prehistoric periods and later as Philadelphia, the ancient city that was once part of the Decapolis league, the city now boasts a population of around 2 million. Often referred to as the white city due to its low size canvas of stone houses, Amman offers a variety of historic sites and modern facilities that is complemented by wonderfully gr...

Stunning in its natural beauty, Wadi Rum epitomizes the romance of the desert. With its "moonscape" of ancient valleys and towering sandstone mountains rising out of the sand, Wadi Rum is also home to several Bedouin tribes who live in scattered camps throughout the area. Climbers are especially attracted to Wadi Rum because of its sheer granite and sandstone cliffs, while hikers enjoy its vast empty spaces. Wadi Rum is probably best known because of its connection with the enigmatic British o...

Umm el-Jimal is both a modern town and archaeological site of unknown name, located about 70km northeast of Amman and just south of the Syrian border. Umm al-Jimal is now known as the Black Oasis because of the black basalt rock from which many of its houses, churches, barracks and forts were built. In ancient times the site was occupied from roughly the 1st to 8th centuries CE. After its decline, Umm el-Jimal’s dark basalt architecture lay silent for a thousand years, until the Druze re...