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:: J O R D A N ::

Wadi Rum is a must for nature-lovers and rock climbers. Jakob is on the cliff in the foreground looking towards Saudi Arabia

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is cramped in between Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Syria, and Israel & the Palestinian territories. Tiny Jordan is sort of a peacekeeper in the Middle East being officially friendly-minded towards all of its great neighbours. Maybe this considerate and wise spirit is attributable to the tribal identity; although almost fifty percent of the Arabs in Jordan originate from Palestine, the Jordanian people descend from Bedouin tribes. When travelling to Jordan it is obvious that kindness and hospitality is all-pervading. This can be felt in all corners of the country, including the arid and mountain-jagged desert in the South, the fertile Jordan Rift Valley bordering Israel and the beautiful and desert-coloured capital Amman. As a consequence, it is hard not to be exceptionally open-minded and cheerful when visiting all of its magnificent and picturesque natural, cultural and historical sites.

Regions visited

Jakob has traveled in Southern, Western and Northern Jordan for 5 days during Christmas 2007. The travel pace was at its highest level, as he had to experience the country fast in order to return to bigger-sized Syria for another rapid roundtrip - all this in only two weeks, including an epic new-years eve in Beirut, Lebanon.

Highlights were SCUBA-diving in the coral-carpeted Red Sea, a Bedouin wedding in the Southern desert and the exceptional and pompous Petra rock landscape, a city carved in the mountainous valleys at the mouth of the Jordan Rift Valley bordering Israel. In many areas buses were infrequent or non-existent, so he mostly traveled expensively by hired car or at no cost by hitching.

:: THE SOUTH ::

The Red Sea and the Rocky Desert

Rum – Small Bedouin village at the outset of a magnificent rock desert

Wadi Rum – Breathtaking rock and sand desert at the Saudi border

Aqaba – Breezy retreat for moneyed Arabs and divers at the Northern Red Sea

:: THE WEST ::

A religious melting pot; mountains, old cities & empires, fortresses and the Dead Sea

Petra – Huge and ancient city carved in towering rose-red mountains

Dana – old medieval-style mountain village bordering a large nature reserve

Kerak – Medieval crusader castle in the mountainous desert

The Kings Highway – Historical route trough vast and empty mountain sceneries

Dead Sea – Thick and salty ocean with beautiful views towards Israel

Madaba – The ‘city of mosaics’ with Byzantine and Roman churches

Mount Nebo – The mountain from where Moses spotted the Holy Land

:: THE NORTH ::

The awesome and sand-colored capital Amman

Amman – Authentic city build on the slopes of a rift in the desert

Fast facts and hints about Jordan

Daily budget: On the cheap: 20-30$; More activities and transport: 50-70$; Accommodation is expensive.

Pros: Cheap and delicious food; Bedouin hospitality; trouble-free and easy travelling; the addictive sheesa

Cons: Petra can be a bit crowded; Aqaba is like ‘the Canary Islands for Arabs’; the Saudi Border is no-go

In a nutshell: A great introduction to the Middle East and less crowded than Egypt.

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