Jerash is one of the best-preserved Roman-era cities in the world. Located only 40 kilometers north of Amman, visitors today can trace the chariot ruts on the Cardo, admire the mosaics which were laid contemporaneously to those found in Madaba, and test the acoustics of the North and South Theatres. Inhabited since Neolithic times, Jerash came of age when Pompey swept through the region in 63 BC Jerash became one of the largest cities in the Decapolis federation.

The modern village of Mukawer is located 30 km to the southwest of Madaba on the south bank of Wadi Zarqa Ma in (see Appendix _The Waters of Callirhoe and Baarou/Baaras, below). It preserves the name of the Hnsmonean-Hcrodian fortress of Machaerus built on the southern border of Jewish Peraea against the Nabataeans. It also has remains from the Roman-Byzantine period.

Sitting on a high promontory overlooking Lake Tiberias (The Sea of Galilee), the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley, Umm Qais is the most dramatically situated of Jordan s Roman era towns. It also is perhaps the most dramatic to look at, as its location in the northwest corner of the kingdom provided both white stone and black basalt as natural building materials.

The enormous Crusader castle of Karak looms about 1000 meters above the Dead Sea Valley, a strategic link in the vital communication and protection system of castles that spread from Aqaba to Turkey. Karak was on the trading route between Egypt and Syria during biblical times, and later civilizations also recognized the advantages of the location.

Part of the great beacon chain of Crusader fortresses, Shobak Castle is by far the most lonely. Built in 1115 AD by Baldwin I, who later built Karak, it was originally known as Mont Realis (Montreal) and was the first outpost of the kingdom of Jerusalem in the Crusader district of Outrejordainx.

Dead Sea Panoramic Complex is Perched at the edge of the Zara mountain range, between Ma’in hot springs and the Dead Sea basin, the Dead Sea Panoramic Complex offers some of the most spectacular views in the Kingdom. From the observation terrace you can absorb breathtaking vistas over the Jordan Rift Valley and Dead Sea basin and you can dine in style watching sunrise or sunset over the mountains of the Holy Land.

Jordan is blessed with an incredible natural diversity. Nowhere is this more visible than in the seven nature reserves of The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN). From the desert oasis of the Azraq Wetland Reserve to the dramatic gorges and rivers of the Wadi Mujib Reserve, this system of reserves protects much of Jordan s most dramatic topography,

The fabled seven hills of Amman have given way to about twenty, and the magic of the city has grown as well. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world and has seen most of the many civilizations that have come through the area. While most visitors only see the modern Amman, one of the enchanting aspects of the city is how a visitor can turn a corner and find a Byzantine church ruin in a busy shopping district, or see the ruins of an Ammonite fortress tower from the windows of a hotel. Like its jebels, or hills, the fortunes of Amman have risen, fallen, and risen again.

Located in the Jordan Valley, part of the Great Rift Valley that runs from East Africa to Turkey, the Dead Sea is the remains of a giant inland lake. Lake Lisan was 200 kilometers long and approximately 200 meters deeper than the current level of the Dead Sea. As it contracted, it left Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, which at 408 meters below sea level is the lowest point on earth.

The third most holy site for Christians in the world, after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Nativity, is the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ, known in Arabic as al-Maghtas. Excavations at Wadi Kharrar carried out after the 1994 peace treaty found evidence of a complex of churches, hermit cells and other buildings described in the writings of many pilgrims who have visited the site since the 2nd century AD. Now preserved as a tourist destination, al-Maghtas attracts tourists year-round.

Perhaps there is no other site in Jordan with the same span of history as Pella. Located at sea level about five kilometers from the Jordan Valley, the ruins of Pella portray a dramatic sweep of history, from the Bronze and Iron Ages through to the Umayyads and Mamluks. Evidence has been unearthed which indicates that while Pella has clearly been inhabited for at least the last 6000 years, the remains of a nearby Paleolithic community have been found which date back about 20,000 years. Not only is the sweep of history breathtaking, on a clear day it is possible to see all the way to Jerusalem and the hills of Haifa from some parts of the site.

Petra, originally known to the Nabataeans as Raqmu, is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved. Petra is one of the New7Wonders of the World.