Jordan Tours and News

 Mofleh Bdoul grew up in the ancient city of Petra, scrambling up the rocky slopes along with herds of goats amid the ruins of tombs and temples.

The latest ransomware attack known as “Petya” paralyzed many organizations in Europe and the US. This is the second worldwide ransomware attack in the past two months, and we believe these attacks will only increase in frequency and become more sophisticated. The continuous string of attacks means that we need to face the reality that we are in a state of continuous compromise when it comes to cyberattacks.

 The drop in the level of the Dead Sea is causing grave concerns among environmentalists and planners in the region, with most of the drop caused by diversion in the headwaters feeding the sea, a geologist has said.

 AMMAN — “Often, we are asked a question: ‘Why should we bother with cultural heritage while there are humanitarian crises, like in Syria?’” Director of Endangered Archaeology of Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) Robert Bewley said on Sunday.

AMMAN — Modern Ghor Safi, located at the southeastern end of the Dead Sea near the lowest point on earth, has been populated for over 12,000 years, as attested to by the “rich archaeological evidence” stretching from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period to the Late Hellenistic/Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Ottoman periods, a Greek scholar explained.

Among Jordanians, the city of Jerash is famous for its high quality, fresh dairy products, which are still prepared using traditional methods. 

Visitors to Jerash often purchase Labaneh Jarashiyeh, a kind of strained yoghurt, which is a signature product of the city, 48km north of Amman. 

 AMMAN — Jordan was recently placed among the list of top countries to be visited in 2019 by Lonely Planet’s “Best in Travel” guide.

When Bom-yon Lee was working as a consul general at the Korean embassy in Japan three years ago, he came across a Korean TV drama that featured many tourist attractions in Jordan.

 A “first-of-its-kind” Hellenistic temple in the Levant region has been discovered in Umm Qais, an archaeologist said on Monday.

An archaeological excavation team from Yarmouk University has recently discovered a Hellenistic temple and network of water tunnels, Atef Sheyyab, president of the archaeology department at the university told the Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — European low-cost carriers Ryanair, EasyJet and Norwegian Airlines will start flights from several European cities to Amman and Aqaba as of November 1, an official said on Tuesday.

At 10:30 am, the light is at its best on the facade of Petra's Treasury, one of the world's most extraordinary archaeological beauties who was rendered even more famous by the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The area in front of the temple carved into sandstone cliff faces in the capital of the ancient Nabatean empire is at that time filled with tourists snapping selfies or being photographed on camels. Shortly afterwards, that same area is empty.

Jordanian archaeologists have discovered an ancient temple that was built in the Hellenistic era in the third century BC. 

The archaeologists believe that the temple, located 120 kilometres north of the capital, Amman, was dedicated to Poseidon, the Ancient Greek god of seas.

 AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Ibrahim Shahahdeh on Sunday inaugurated the 1st international date festival, organised by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and the Jordan Dates Association (JODA) in cooperation with concerned international organisations.

The relationship between tourism and sustainable growth was the focus of a regional conference that began in Amman on Monday.

 AMMAN — The 2018 World Tourism Awards will be presented to the Jordan Trail Association, alongside two other winners on November 5, as part of the opening day of World Travel Market London, according to a statement by World Tourism Awards.

Tourism revenues rose by 12.7 per cent during the first ten months of this year to around $3.9 billion, up from $2.4 billion generated during the same period in 2016, the Central Bank of Jordan said.

AMMAN — The Second Janet Abu Lughod seminar, organised by Studio-X Amman and Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture was a “wonderful opportunity to engage deeply with a diverse and bright group of participants in Amman on the singular topic of Qusayr Amra”, said Khaled Malas, a PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. 

 AMMAN — The works of 30 emerging Jordanian artists on Saturday was inaugurated at the JODAR Artistry community art space, as part of a unique creative event held under the patronage of HRH Princess Alia. 

Jordan this year witnessed an increase in the number of overnight religious tourists from countries targeted by promotion efforts, an official said on Wednesday.

Amman, northern Jordan is home to other ancient cities of the Decapolis. These include Jarash (Gerasa), Umm Qays (Gadara), Tabaqat Fahl or Fihil (Pella), Bayt Ras (Capitolias), and Quwayliba (Abila). Jarash, straddling one of the ancient world's key trade routes, offers extensive and breathtaking ruins of colonnaded streets, arches, temples, and baths in a remarkable state of preservation and completeness.

A crucial corner of the Middle East, awash with biblical heritage, ancient sites, broad swathes of desert and – in Petra – one of the most iconic landmarks on the planet, Jordan could scarcely be called an unknown quantity.But it also has its unheralded areas and its little mysteries.

AMMAN — The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) on Monday launched a campaign to promote tourism in the city of Amman, under the title “#Amman24”, which has triggered tremendous enthusiasm among a diversified audience worldwide, thanks to effective interaction by social media influencers.

Residents of Wadi Rum have complained of Tourism Ministry’s ban on tourists’ trips to their area, insisting that the area is safe for guests and unaffected by tribal protests over the Jafer case.The Ministry of Tourism on Saturday instructed tour operators not to take tourists to Wadi Rum,

New event will focus on first features from the Arab world.

The Royal Film Commission Jordan (RFC) is launching a film festival aimed at debut features from the Arab world as well as promoting the country’s burgeoning pool of professional film and TV crew.

Tourism Minister Lina Annab announced that the first regional conference on “Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA]: Competitiveness for Sustainable Growth”, will be held on November 13 and 14 at the Grand Hyatt Amman Hotel.

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) said on Sunday that the kingdom saw a rise in tourism revenues by 14.5% during the first half of the year to a total of $2.1 billion.

In a press release, the CBJ attributed the rise in the sector’s income to the growth in the number of tourists by 9.9% year-on-year.

The ‘ExtraJORDANary’ campaign will run until September 2016 with the objective of attracting visitors to Jordan and increasing arrival figures in 2016 and into 2017.

 Insulated in the desert wilderness of southern Jordan, bedouins of Wadi Rum, 330km south of Amman, still preserve customs and traditions that benefit their harsh habitat.