Aqaba’s greatest

With its wealth of other attractions, Jordan’s splendid Red Sea resort is often overlooked by modern-day visitors. But apart from being a delightful place for discerning holidaymakers, this is actually a great base from which to explore various places of interest in southern Jordan.Aqaba is a fun place. It is a microcosm of all the good things Jordan has to offer, including a fascinating history with some outstanding sites, excellent hotels and activities, superb visitor facilities, good shopping, and welcoming, friendly people, who enjoy nothing more than making sure their visitors have a good time.
Aqaba is a great place to stay if you are planning to visit Wadi Rum. Day trips can easily be organized and, because the distance is short, you will have more time to spend at the site.

But perhaps Aqaba’s greatest asset is the Red Sea itself. Here you can experience some of the best snorkelling and diving in the world. The temperate climate and gentle water currents have created a perfect environment for the growth of corals and a teeming plethora of marine life. Here you can swim with friendly sea turtles and dolphins as they dart amongst the schools of multicoloured fish. Night dives reveal the nocturnal sea creatures, crabs, lobsters and shrimp, as they search for a midnight snack.There are several dive centres in Aqaba. All offer well-maintained diving equipment, professional instructors, and transport by boat to a variety of dive sites.
Glass-bottom boats are a great way to see the undersea wonders of the Red Sea for those who would prefer to stay dry.For those who prefer to keep their feet dry, all the deep sea wonders can be viewed through a glass-bottomed boat or by submarine, or you can just relax under the sun on the resort’s sandy beaches. Plus, of course, there are plenty of other water-sport activities available, as well as an extensive and interesting Marine Park. From as far back as five and half thousand years ago Aqaba has played an important role in the economy of the region. It was a prime junction for land and sea routes from Asia, Africa and Europe, a role it still plays today. Because of this vital function, there are many historic sites to be explored within the area, including what is believed to be the oldest purpose-built church in the world.Aqaba International Airport is situated just a 20-minute drive from the town centre and services regular flights from Amman as well as from several European cities. From the town centre, the borders of Israel, Egypt’s Sinai and Saudi Arabia are no more than a 30-minute drive.

Ajloun Forest

Ajloun Forest Reserve covers an area of 13 km2 located in the Ajloun highlands north of Amman. It consists of Mediterranean-like hill country, ranging from 600 - 1100 m above sea level, with a series of small and medium winding valleys.
Ajloun forest was first proposed as a protected area in the 1978 survey. Its ecological importance is represented by the Evergreen Oak vegetation type, which is typical of the northern highlands of Jordan. As part of the Mediterranean bio-geographical region of the country, it is dominated by open woodlands that account for a significant part of Jordan’s forested area, which does not exceed 1% of the country’s entire land area.
Along with stretches of Evergreen Oak Quercus calliprinos, the thriving woodlands of Ajloun are dominated by Carob Ceratonia siliqua, wild Pistachio Pistacia palaestina and Strawberry tree Arbutus andrachne. Throughout the years, these trees have been important to local people for their wood and quite often for their medicinal and nutritional value or simply as a food source. These woodlands also support a wide range of plant and animal biodiversity, including herds of wild boar Sus scrofa, the Stone Marten Martes foina, which is a carnivore that is known to be restricted to forest habitats, and the golden Jackal Canis aureus, which can still be found in good numbers in and around the reserve, as well as the Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena, Persian Squirrel Sciurus anomalus, Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix indica, and wolf Canis lupus. A wide variety of wild flowers thrive in Ajloun forest, including the Black Iris, several orchids and wild tulips, several of which can be found in CITES appendices. In 2000, Ajloun Forest Reserve was announced, by BirdLife International and RSCN, as an Important Bird Area in Jordan.
After the reserves establishment, RSCN initiated a captive breeding program aiming to reintroduce the locally extinct Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus. The Roe Deer is adapted to forest habitats, and feeds on a variety of trees, shrubs and grasses. The rich forests that covered the Ajloun area once provided an ideal habitat for this noble creature, but deforestation over the past 200 years led to the extinction of the Roe Deer in Jordan. Since launching its captive breeding program at Ajloun Forest Reserve in 1988, RSCN has managed to release a number of Roe Deer into the reserve, where they have continued to grow within their natural habitat.
Ajloun Forest Reserve still faces several threats, as the shape of the reserve and its borders have been negatively affected by the presence of private lands around it. Presently, this has led to several problems in managing the reserve, due to the existence of many unofficial access points into the reserve, allowing people to enter the reserve for the illegal purpose of woodcutting, grazing or hunting.
Nonetheless, Ajloun Forest Reserve has one of the most effective outreach and public awareness programs among Jordan’s nature reserves. This has led to the raised awareness of the local communities inhabiting the area, emphasizing the importance of the reserve and its maintenance. For this reason, RSCN has managed to establish several initiatives of cooperation between the reserve and the people living around the reserve.

Archaeological Jarash

Archaeological Jarash
Jarash (also Jerash, Classical Gerasa) is one of Jordan’s most famous archaeological and tourist sites, situated some 35 kms north of the capital Amman and visited by thousands of sightseers every year (click here for a map). Founded in the Hellenistic period (332-63 BCE), probably on the site of an earlier Iron Age settlement, the city was transformed in the Roman period (first to third centuries CE) by the construction of an urban grid featuring paved and colonnaded streets and major monuments. Included among these are huge temples, theatres, and open public spaces, especially the famous ‘Oval Piazza’ in front of the Zeus temple. In the Byzantine period Jarash was endowed with many churches, often decorated with brilliantly coloured mosaics. It was placed on roads northwest to Pella (Tabaqat Fahl), northeast to Adraa (Dara’â), and south to Philadelphia (Amman) (map).
At the time of the Islamic expansion into Syria-Palestine (635–640 CE), Jarash conceded to Islamic leaders without any destruction being inflicted on the city. Social and economic life continued unabated, and a large mosque was built in the centre of the city, as recently discovered by this project. The eventual abandonment of west Jarash is not understood, and this is a major research goal of the Islamic Jarash Project.
New Excavations in central Jarash
The area being investigated by the IJP is located to the southwest of the south tetrapylon plaza (Fig. 1). Two long stone-built walls and a corner tower were partially exposed in this area by the Yale/British School/American School mission in the late 1920s. The structure was interpreted as a fortress, probably because of the tower, at the time. Early in 2002 a close inspection of an aerial photograph dating to around 1928, followed by ground inspection in May, identified a sizeable rectangular courtyard building set at an angle to the Roman-period urban grid. Because of this shifted orientation, which would not make any sense if the structure was a fort, and the general plan of the building apparent in the aerial photograph, it was concluded that this could only be the main Umayyad mosque of Jarash. This building has been the focus of our investigations since the summer of 2002, supported by The Faculty of Humanities of the University of Copenhagen, The David Collection and Foundation of Copenhagen, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and especially Dr Fawwaz al-Khraysheh, and with the logistic backing of the British Institute in Amman (CBRL).
Figure 1: view southwards towards the mosque, southwest of the south tetrapylon (© University of Copenhagen).

Major excavations in the summer of 2002 and 2004, with a smaller season in autumn 2003, have confirmed the presence of a sizable mosque datable to the early Islamic period at Jarash (Fig. 2). The mosque was probably built in the reign of the active Umayyad caliph Hisham b. Abd al-Malik (r. 724–43 CE), under whose reign other towns in the region were renovated, notably Baysan. In plan, the mosque fits comfortably in the Arab (Courtyard) style typical of the first Islamic centuries, in which porticoes surrounded a central open court (sahn). On the side facing the Holy city of Makkah (Mecca – the qiblah) the portico was deeper, thereby creating a hypostyle (columned) hall. At Jarash, the main enclosure wall of the mosque is constructed from stone blocks, many of them reused, and measures ca. 38.9 metres E-W by 44.5 metres N-S. Its dimensions and plan match very closely other mosques attributable to Hisham, especially the congregational mosque at Rusafah, his chosen capital. The tower in the northeast corner is the base of an early type of minaret, the precise function of which is early mosques is still disputed.

For the interesting work on Umayyad Rusafah by Dorothée Sack (Technische Universität Berlin) and the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Damascus, please click here.

rose red sity

The giant red mountains and vast mausoleums of a departed race have nothing in common with modern civilization, and ask nothing of it except to be appreciated at their true value - as one of the greatest wonders ever wrought by Nature and Man.Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed. Often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world, it is without doubt Jordan’s most valuable treasure and greatest tourist attraction. It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.
The Treasury or 'Al-Khazneh'.
Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1 kilometre in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80 metres high cliffs. Just walking through the Siq is an experience in itself. The colours and formations of the rocks are dazzling. As you reach the end of the Siq you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (Treasury).This is an awe-inspiring experience. A massive façade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.

Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat to protect you from the sun, and always carry plenty of drinking water.

The Ad-Deir Monastery, high above the siteof Petra. Well worth the climb.
The Treasury is just the first of the many wonders that make up Petra. You will need at least four or five days to really explore everything here. As you enter the Petra valley you will be overwhelmed by the natural beauty of this place and its outstanding architectural achievements. There are hundreds of elaborate rock-cut tombs with intricate carvings - unlike the houses, which were destroyed mostly by earthquakes, the tombs were carved to last throughout the afterlife and 500 have survived, empty but bewitching as you file past their dark openings. Here also is a massive Nabataean-built,
The place of the high sacrifice.
Roman-style theatre, which could seat 3,000 people. There are obelisks, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, and high above, overlooking the valley, is the impressive Ad-Deir Monastery – a flight of 800 rock cut steps takes you there.Within the site there are also two excellent museums; the Petra Archaeological Museum and the Petra Nabataean Museum both of which represent finds from excavations in the Petra region and an insight into Petra's colourful past.A 13th century shrine, built by the Mameluk Sultan Al Nasir Mohammad to commemorate the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses, can be seen on top of Mount Aaron in the Sharah range.Inside the site, several artisans from the town of Wadi Musa and a nearby Bedouin settlement have set up small stalls selling local handicrafts, such as pottery and Bedouin jewellery and bottles of striated multi-coloured sands from the area.

Horse-drawn carriages are a great way to get around if you don't feel up to walking.
It is not permitted for motorized vehicles to enter the site. But if you don’t want to walk, you can hire a horse or a horse-drawn carriage to take you through the one kilometre Siq. For the elderly and/or handicapped, the Visitors' Centre, close to the entrance of the Siq, will issue a special permit (at an extra fee), for the carriage to go inside Petra to visit the main attractions. Once inside the site, you can hire a donkey, or for the more adventurous, a camel - both come with handlers and take designated routes throughout the site.
The best time to see Petra, especially if you’re planning to take photographs, is either early to mid-morning or late afternoon, when the angled sun highlights and enhances the amazing natural colours of the rocks.

Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria.
Rock striations inside some tombs.
Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman empire moved its focus east to Constantinople, but declined in importance thereafter. The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the early 19th century, when it was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.The Petra Marathon 2009The petra marathon is a new magnificent race that takes place in the storied city of Petra in Jordan. This ancient city carved in the sandstone mountains is a UNESCO World Heritage site and was elected as one of the ''new 7 wonders of the world'' in 2007. The route of the Petra marathon starts by passing the incredible tombs, treasuries and monasteries carved into the mountainsides before it turns out of Petra and goes through the beautiful mountain scenery. Runners can look forward to sights that will blow their mind away and a challenging course through unique landscape.Website : http://www.petra-marathon.com/