To say Little Petra is a long way off the tourist trail is an understatement. To get there we drive past the tourist police’s outpost, turn left and off-road alongside ancient, dried riverbeds and finally up a sand dune into the lee of a red sandstone cliff.
The only other people sleeping out under the stars are a few shepherds
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
AMMAN — The Aqaba Marine Park (AMP) is scheduled to join Jordan s network of nature reserves this year, becoming the country s first marine nature reserve, according to a consultant on coastal management and protection.
The park, located 15 kilometres from downtown Aqaba, was declared a nature reserve by the government in 1997 with the aim of protecting the marine environment from rising pollution resulting from the rapid growth of Aqaba’s population and the expansion of its industrial activities.
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.
AMMAN — The Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum Project (MRAMP) was officially launched on May 17 under an international consortium of experts from Jordan, the US and Italy, seeking to establish a new archaeological museum in Madaba in order to preserve and protect the rich heritage of Madaba and the surrounding region, while fostering a greater sense of ownership and engagement by the local community, a statement from the organisers said.
FLOAT IN A GIANT SALT LAKE
The Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories, is actually a lake, and quite a salty one at that—around 34 percent saline, almost ten times that of seawater. The bright-blue waters attract many swimmers who want the odd feeling of floating without any effort at all. The Dead Sea s extreme saltiness means that once you wade in, your body instantly bobs to the surface—leaving you free to lie back, relax, and enjoy a soak at the planet s lowest point.
AMMAN —Tourism Minister Lina Annab said that the number of tourists to the Kingdom in the first five months of the year increased by 10.5 per cent, compared with the same period of last year.
A total of 2.6 million tourists visited Jordan until the end of this year’s May, compared with 1.864 million visitors to the country in the same period of 2016.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki on Sunday joined a session, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, that was dedicated to re-launch the southern port city of Aqaba as a major destination for investments and tourism in addition to announcing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone s strategic objectives for 2025.
The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Al Hussein Parks has been receiving around 2,000 visitors every day since the fasting month of Ramadan started, while King Abdullah II Park in Muqabalein has been receiving around 1,000 visitors daily, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki on Sunday joined a session, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, that was dedicated to re-launch the southern port city of Aqaba as a major destination for investments and tourism in addition to announcing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone s strategic objectives for 2025.
Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Tuesday said that the Tourism Ministry’s instructions allow tourist facilities to work during Ramadan and provide services without violating the “sanctity” of the fasting month.
Muslims abstain from food and drink during Ramadan from dawn until after sunset.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki on Sunday joined a session, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, that was dedicated to re-launch the southern port city of Aqaba as a major destination for investments and tourism in addition to announcing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone s strategic objectives for 2025.
Jordan’s tourism sector has witnessed a “considerable and promising” increase in the number of visitors since the beginning of the year, particularly from Asian countries, an official said in a recent interview.
The number of overall tourists reached 1.639 million visitors during the first four months of this year, compared to nearly 1.457 million over the same period last year, registering a 12.5 per cent growth, said Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki on Sunday joined a session, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, that was dedicated to re-launch the southern port city of Aqaba as a major destination for investments and tourism in addition to announcing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone s strategic objectives for 2025.
Last year marked another successful year for Jordanian tourism, with UK visitor numbers rising by seven per cent, compared to 2015, with Britain remaining the largest European source market for the Hashemite Kingdom.
The launch of the ExtraJORDANary campaign, in spring 2016, contributed to the positive arrival figures as travellers where able to book holidays through several new tour operators.
JERASH — Preparations for Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts 2017 have begun, triggering criticism from local tour guides over alleged disruption to tourist movements in some parts of the Greco-Roman city.
A local tourist guide in Jerash, who preferred to remain anonymous, told The Jordan Times on Monday that the preparations are “too early” and that the festival’s facilities would hinder the movement of visitors and block the view of some monuments.
Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki on Sunday joined a session, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, that was dedicated to re-launch the southern port city of Aqaba as a major destination for investments and tourism in addition to announcing the Aqaba Special Economic Zone s strategic objectives for 2025.
AMMAN — The pumping of water from three new wells in Petra District in Maan Governorate has begun at a capacity of 600 cubic metres per hour, in a bid to improve supply at the desert town, an official said on Monday.
The three new wells are part of a project which seeks to provide additional water to the residents of Petra District, according to Omar Salameh, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
The project also entailed the construction of water reservoirs, operation rooms and the installation of 12 kilometres of pipelines, according to Salameh.
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
This July, archaeologists in Jordan will begin an underwater search for remains of an early Islamic city.
Located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, modern-day Aqaba is Jordan s only port. In the Middle Ages, the city was known as Ayla. Archaeologists uncovered the ruins of Ayla only in the last 30 years, and now, they want to know if there s more to be found off the coast.
AMMAN — A total of 2,609 people visited the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions in the Southern Mazar in May, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.
Mohammad Sarairah, the supervisor of the shrines, said that 1,553 of the visitors came from Muslim countries, 373 visitors were Arabs and 683 were Jordanians. The shrines house the tombs of Jafar Bin Abi Taleb, Zaid Bin Haretha and Abdullah Bin Rawaha.
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
AMMAN — The recent discovery of a hidden monument in Petra could help solve some of the mysteries of the Nabataean city, experts said on Monday.
The large platform measures around 56 by 49 metres, and encloses a smaller platform once paved with flagstones, according to a report about the discovery published in the National Geographic magazine.
AMMAN — Illuminated decorations, crescents and stars have lit up downtown Amman in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan.
The illuminated decorations have turned the city centre into the main hub for Jordanians, who flock to downtown Amman right after the end of the fast-breaking iftar meal, often staying until the start of suhoor before dawn.
Initiated by the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC), the illuminations are part of a campaign implemented in cooperation with the Greater Amman Municpality and the Arab Bank, according to an ACC statement.
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
AMMAN — Despite the harsh desert climate, the Nabataean inhabitants of ancient Petra were capable of growing different kinds of agricultural products, and even making wine, according to researcher and archaeologist Ulrich Bellwald.
In a lecture late last week at the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology in Amman on agriculture and wine making in the area, Bellwald presented a winery located in a valley west of “Little Petra” as a model for the Nabataeans’ agricultural production units.
AMMAN — The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) recently floated tenders for investment projects in Petra city worth JD100 million, PDTRA President Mohammad Nawafleh said on Wednesday.
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
AMMAN — The infrastructure of Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabateans, still remains a mystery to most people who visit this heritage site. The focus of tourists when they arrive to Petra is to find splendid monuments, temples, shrines, churches and market places, but the water infrastructure and the way Nabateans preserved water for irrigation and drinking is relatively unknown, noted Ulrich Bellwald, a Swiss archaeologist, conservator and architect.
AMMAN — The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) on Thursday released its eleventh edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI), ranking Jordan 95th out of 163 countries.
Published annually, the report ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their level of peacefulness, based on a comprehensive data-driven analysis on trends in peace, its economic value and ways to develop peaceful societies
AMMAN — Ramadan evenings kicked off in downtown Amman on Monday with the participation of a number of Islamic troupes from all over the world.
The event is held as a celebration for Amman’s selection as the Islamic cultural capital, Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) Culture Executive Director Samer Khair Ahmed said.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and North Africa is scheduled to kick off today at the Dead Sea, in Jordan and it will host more than 1000 business and political leaders and representatives from civil society, international organizations, youth and the media from over 50 countries, organizers said today.
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
Speaking of his group’s recent partnership signed with Jordan’s government, Chief Executive Officer of Airport International Group PSC Kjeld Binger said that it ranked among the top 40 deals reached by both the private and public sectors worldwide.
The partnership exemplifies what is achievable when both sectors come together for a project that would benefit the whole local community.
AMMAN — Nature inspectors recorded 280 cases of illegal hunting, possession and trade of wild birds and animals last year, according to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Foxes constituted the majority of the seized and confiscated animals found with violators, according to the RSCN, which said it has seized and confiscated 10 foxes over the past year.
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
Frescoes at Beit Ras in Jordan
An ancient tomb has been discovered in Jordan in the northern town of Beit Ras during an excavation project to expand a local waste-water sanitation network.
The tomb includes a cave with two burial chambers.
The larger chamber contains a basalt stone rock-cut tomb decorated with raised etchings of two lion heads and with several human bones enclosed.
AMMAN — Nature inspectors recorded 280 cases of illegal hunting, possession and trade of wild birds and animals last year, according to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Foxes constituted the majority of the seized and confiscated animals found with violators, according to the RSCN, which said it has seized and confiscated 10 foxes over the past year.
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
The Jordan Tourism Board has announced 2016 Indian arrival figures for the destination, recording an unprecedented decline in the same day visitor arrivals.
Daily visitors declined by 4.5 per cent, which indicates that visitors are now spending more time in the country.
AMMAN — Nature inspectors recorded 280 cases of illegal hunting, possession and trade of wild birds and animals last year, according to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Foxes constituted the majority of the seized and confiscated animals found with violators, according to the RSCN, which said it has seized and confiscated 10 foxes over the past year.
AMMAN — Royal Jordan Airlines on Wednesday announced plans to operate two weekly direct flights between Aqaba and Dubai as of June 8, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the flights will enhance tourism, as the UAE is the biggest investor in Aqaba, 330km south of Amman, with a value of $10 billion.
The number of tourist arrivals in Jordan rose 3.7 percent year-on-year to 588.1 thousand in March of 2017, following a 6.7 percent increase in the previous month. The number of visitors increased the most from: Indonesia (117.8 percent); the United States (11.4 percent) and Saudi Arabia (0.3 percent).
AMMAN — Nature inspectors recorded 280 cases of illegal hunting, possession and trade of wild birds and animals last year, according to the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).
Foxes constituted the majority of the seized and confiscated animals found with violators, according to the RSCN, which said it has seized and confiscated 10 foxes over the past year.
