Month: November 2022

Visitors wishing to view some of Jordan’s natural scenery should drive to Ajloun, just 20 kilometres northwest of Jerash. The Ajloun Forest Reserve, a 13-square-kilometre area of beautiful, open woodlands, is a great place to spend a day trekking. The region is covered in spring wildflowers, providing fantastic photo opportunities. Keep an eye out for the neighborhood’s striped hyenas and crested porcupines.

Be sure to stop by Ajloun Castle on Mount Auf’s summit. In ruins of an even older Byzantine monastery, it was constructed in the 12th century to defend against Crusader assaults. The Jordan Valley may be seen in all its glory from the mountaintop viewpoint.

Mount Nebo

The jewel in the crown of Jordan’s biblical landmarks is Mount Nebo. The Old Testament claims that Moses claimed to have seen the Promised Land on this mountain before his death. With some of the best-preserved 6th-century mosaics in the nation, a Serpentine Cross, and the well-known Moses Memorial Church, it is now a popular spiritual destination. Your ticket to the church includes access to Memorial Viewpoint, which has a small museum and views of the Dead Sea and Jerusalem on a clear day. But for more privacy with similar vistas, take a 100-meter walk on the road downhill from Mount Nebo and make a left toward the hilltop. It’s the perfect spot for a picnic lunch.…

Wadi Mujib, Jordan’s Grand Canyon, stretches around 70 kilometres from the Desert Highway to the Dead Sea. The river canyon, four kilometres wide and one kilometre deep, allows wildlife enthusiasts to view various animals, including Egyptian vultures, Nubian ibex, striped hyenas, and Syrian wolves, as well as explore unusual landscapes.

If you don’t mind getting a little wet, the Wadi Mujib gorge offers fantastic hiking opportunities. Just an hour and a half from Amman, you may also travel to the Mujib Reserve Biosphere to enjoy picturesque hot springs.

Dessert Castles

The Desert Castles are a collection of archaeological structures in the Zarqa Governorate, stretching from Amman to the Saudi Arabian border. Around the beginning of the seventh century, the Umayyads constructed these ancient Islamic structures. The buildings, which aren’t precisely castles in the conventional sense, also include hunting lodges, forts, military citadels, bathhouses, and rest areas for caravans.

Hire a car and drive the Desert Castle Loop to see the sites. Quseir Al-Kharanah is a fort-like building with dozens of rooms whose original use has been lost to history. Quseir Hallabat, a Roman fort with volcanic basalt rock and a well-preserved mosaic, and Azraq Castle, an old walled fortress famous for being the site where T.E. All of the sights Lawrence sought refuge from in 1917–1918, will be available for you to view.…

While many destinations require you to look up while visiting, Madaba, a former trading city, does not. The “biggest number of mosaics unearthed in their original position world” found in the town, many of which are located on the flooring of churches and other structures.

The Madaba Mosaic Map, one of Jordan’s most notable mosaics, may be found inside the modest St. George’s Church. The 6th-century map displays cartography from the Biblical age and shows the Holy Land during the Byzantine era. Even though some of the two million original tiles are missing, the remaining portions of the map provide a fascinating view of the Middle East’s past.

The two archaeological parks in Madaba have more mosaics. A magnificent geometric mosaic from the Church of the Virgin Mary, a site from the sixth century that was discovered in someone’s cellar in 1887, may be found in the outdoor exhibit at Archaeological Park I. In addition, a stunning carpet-like tile work depicting the four seasons and nature initially in a Byzantine villa can be found together with the earliest mosaic in Jordan, which dates to the first century BC.

At Archaeological Park II, housed among the ruins of an opulent home from the early 6th century, visitors may view other striking mosaics.…

Think you can’t have a seaside vacation in the hot, dry Middle East? Think again. Aqaba, a beach town on the southern tip of Jordan, treats tourists to holidays on the breathtaking coastline of the Red Sea.

Float, swim, snorkel, or dive – you can do it all from Aqaba. You can also get out on the turquoise water on one of the daily cruises offered by local hotels. Enhance your beach vacation in Jordan with a soak in one of the lovely hammams around the resort town.

When you’re feeling peckish, dig into the local specialty of Aqaba: sayadieh, a dish of fish on flavorful rice with onion, tomato, and chili pepper.

Roman Ruins in Amman

You don’t have to go all the way to Petra to see fantastic archeological sites in Jordan. In fact, the capital Amman (where you’ll probably arrive from abroad) is home to a variety of fascinating ruins, many of which are within short walking distance from one another.

Head downtown to see one of the most celebrated ruins: the Amman Citadel. Archeologists have found artifacts around the Citadel that suggest it has been occupied since at least the Bronze Age. Here, you can see the few columns that remain of the amazing Temple of Hercules, a significant Roman structure that was never completed. Look for the stone sculpture of several fingers, which were once part of a Hercules statue that may have been more than 12 meters tall. It hints at just how majestic this attraction was during its height.…