Jordan Tours and News

 AMMAN — The evidence gathered from Petra, the Negev Desert and Dead Sea region proved the presence of Nabataean culture long after 2nd century AD and Roman annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom.

 AMMAN — This year saw the "best" November in the history of Petra in terms of number of visitors, according to officials.

 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 — The study of antiquities and history helps remind us all that we are one, HRH Prince Hassan said on Saturday.

 AMMAN — The 19th National Olives Festival kicked off on Wednesday allowing farmers to showcase their olives and other rural products.

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

 AMMAN — Under the patronage of HRH Prince Raad, an exhibition recently launched to showcase the Jordan Trail through the photography and paintings of artists, according to a joint statement sent to The Jordan Times.

 JERASH — Having zero additives is the secret behind the “unbeatable” taste of hummus and broad bean dishes, or foul, served at the Smadi Restaurant in the northern Jordanian city of Jerash, the owner said, and customers seconded that. 

 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.

 AMMAN — The transition from the Byzantine to Early Islamic period was drastic when looks at only historical literary sources, claimed a French scholar from the University of Paris-Panthéon-Sorbonne.

 The ruined city of Jerash is Jordan s largest and most interesting Roman site, and a major tourist drawcard. Its imposing ceremonial gates, colonnaded avenues, temples and theatres all speak to the time when this was an important imperial centre. Even the most casual fan of archaeology will enjoy a half-day at the site – but take a hat and sunscreen in the warmer months, as the exposed ruins can be very hot to explore.

 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.

 AMMAN — Researchers are digging up hints of an important Ayyubid copper production site in Wadi Al Ghuwaybi, an American anthropological archaeologist said.

 DENVER — A superheated blast from the skies obliterated cities and farming settlements north of the Dead Sea around 3,700 years ago, preliminary findings suggest.

 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.

 AMMAN — Introducing cable cars in the city of Ajloun has been discussed by the Jordan Investment Committee (JIC) repeatedly since 2015, and will finally be funded and built this year, according to a report made available to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — When Aqaba-based Ayla Oasis planners perfected the concept of sustainability as an integral component of the mega development project, they foresaw every possible positive outcome of such integration, executives said. Except for one thing that came as a bonus, not only for the luxurious residential and commercial estate, but also for Aqaba and Jordan. 

 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. 

 AMMAN — A population boom that took place during a period of Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine rule must have been caused by multiple factors including surprisingly — cultivation, an associate professor from the US has recently said.

 AMMAN — Urbanisation and the formation of Arab communities during the late Roman and the Byzantine times is “a complex question” that would receive multiple responses, said an American historian.

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 — An exhibition organised for the Atharafoqa area, in the northern part of Umm Qais, was the crown jewel of seven years of cooperation between a German research team and the local community.

 AMMAN — Cultural heritage is not limited to monuments and collections of objects, but also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed onto our descendants, a Jordanian scholar said.

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.

 AMMAN — The Energy Ministry on Wednesday signed agreements, under the electricity rationalisation project, to support four hotels in Petra at a total cost of JD303,000.

 AMMAN — The northeastern part of Jordan is one of the most overlooked regions in terms of touristic offers across the country, despite the existence of many archaeological sites, a Swiss archaeologist and architect remarked, citing the lack of tour operators’ attraction towards Mafraq Governorate.

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.

 AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) new food truck project will begin operation on January 2019, with 30-50 new locations being allocated for trucks, according to GAM Spokesperson Mazen Farrajeen.

 AMMAN — Beside the renowned historical and nature destinations attracting tourists to Jordan, Wadi Araba stands as a multi-themed trail for desert running challenges.

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.

 AMMAN — Jordan’s dazzling locations have transformed it into one of the main hubs for filmmakers as the film industry’s economic contribution to the Kingdom over the last 10 years is estimated at JD238 million.

 AMMAN — The number of tourists grew by 7.1 per cent in the third quarter this year, while the increase was 7.8 per cent in the number of overnight visitors. 

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.

 AMMAN — Jordan is poised to host its first falconry training centre at the newly-designated Burqu Nature Reserve in the Kingdom’s eastern desert, according to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).

 AMMAN — Tourism revenues have increased by 15.4 per cent at the end of August 2018, reaching $3.6 billion (some JD2.6 billion), compared to around $3.1 billion registered in the same period last year, according to preliminary data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Monday.

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.

 AMMAN — Former marshes near Azraq and their "assemblages of stone tools" may offer some clues about the Paleolithic period in Jordan,  an American scholar said in an interview with The Jordan Times.

 Jerash — After years of meticulous work, a French archaeological team that has been excavating the eastern Roman baths in Jerash, unearthed several intact sculptures from the Graeco-Roman period.

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.

 AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) celebrated its 55th anniversary on Wednesday with a performance by the Jordanian Army Band and a ceremony marking the company’s establishment.

 AMMAN — A low-cost Ryanair plane flying from Rome on Tuesday landed at the King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, the first of many direct flights reaching the port city from Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Germany.

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

 AMMAN — When Natasha Twal-Tynes, a former reporter for The Jordan Times, left the country 13 years ago to live in the United States, she never put aside her “dream” of writing a novel.

 AMMAN — A varied selection of artworks created by 11 local emerging artists last week was presented to the public, as part of the Bayt Al Graphic’s first salon show held in Jacaranda Images art gallery in Jabal Amman.

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 — A fish-shaped glass vessel from the Byzantine period was just one of many significant discoveries found at Khirbet Yajuz, some 11km north of Amman.

 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.

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