With the exception of a railway system, Jordan has a developed public and private transportation system. There are three international airports in Jordan. The Hedjaz Jordan Railway runs one passenger train a day each way.
The Hejaz railway was a narrow-gauge railway that ran from Damascus to Medina, through the Hejaz region of modern day Saudi Arabia, with a branch line to Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea. The project was ordered by the Ottoman sultan in March 1900.
Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi was an Arab leader from the Banu Qatadah branch of the Banu Hashim clan who was the Sharif and Emir of Mecca from 1908 and, after proclaiming the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, King of the Hejaz, even if he refused this title, from 1916 to 1924. He proclaimed himself Caliph after the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 and stayed in power until 1925 when Hejaz was invaded by the Saudis. His Caliphate was opposed by the British and French empires, the Zionists and the Wahhabis alike. However, he received support from a large part of the Muslim population of that time and from Mehmed VI. He is usually considered as the father of modern pan-Arabism.
The Arab Revolt, also known as the Great Arab Revolt, was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I.
Ma'an is a city in southern Jordan, 218 kilometres (135 mi) southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existed at least since the Nabatean period—the modern city is just northwest of the ancient town. The city is an important transport hub situated on the ancient King's Highway and also on the modern Desert Highway.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz was a state in the Hejaz region of Western Asia that included the western portion of the Arabian Peninsula that was ruled by the Hashemite dynasty. It was self-proclaimed as a kingdom in June 1916 during the First World War, to be independent from the Ottoman Empire, on the basis of an alliance with the British Empire to drive the Ottoman Army from the Arabian Peninsula during the Arab Revolt.
The Battle of Aqaba was fought for the Red Sea port of Aqaba during the Arab Revolt of World War I. The attacking forces, led by Sherif Nasir and Auda abu Tayi and advised by T. E. Lawrence, were victorious over the Ottoman Empire defenders.
Mafraq is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate in Jordan, located 80 km to the north of the national capital, Amman. It is located at a crossroads, with a road north going to Syria and another road to the east going to Iraq. It had 56,340 inhabitants in 2004.
Zarqa Governorate is the third largest governorate in Jordan by population. The capital of Zarqa governorate is Zarqa City, which is the largest city in the governorate. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the Jordanian capital Amman. The second largest city in the governorate is Russeifa.
The Jezreel Valley railway, or the Valley Train was a railroad that existed in Ottoman and British Palestine, reconstituted as a modern railway in Israel in the 21st century. It runs from the Mediterranean coast inland along the length of the Jezreel Valley. The historical line was a segment of the longer Haifa–Dera'a Line, which was itself a branch of the larger Hejaz railway.
General Establishment of Syrian Railways is the national railway operator for the state of Syria, subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation. It was established in 1956 and was headquartered in Aleppo. Syria's rail infrastructure has been severely compromised as a result of the ongoing conflict in the country.
Jordan has a total of 507 km of narrow gauge railways as of 2008.
Hejaz railway station is a former main railway station in central Damascus, Syria, close to the Marjeh Square. It was built as part of the Hejaz railway project.
The Aqaba Railway Corporation (ARC) was a railway company operating in southern Jordan. The railway was formed in 1979 to transport phosphate to the port in Aqaba. It used the tracks of the Hejaz Railway partly. It was closed in 2018
The Damascus–Amman train or Damascus–Amman railway is an international train service operating on the former Hedjaz Railway from Damascus, Syria to Amman, Jordan. It is currently the only passenger train operating in Jordan. The train operates on narrow gauge tracks of 1,050 mm.
This is a timeline of major events in the history of the modern state of Jordan.
Heinrich August Meissner was a German engineer who was largely responsible for the railway network in the Ottoman Empire, and later helped manage the network in Turkey. He attained the high-ranking honorary title of pasha in the empire.
Mudawwara is the most southerly settlement in Jordan. It is administratively part of the Ma'an Governorate. The village had a population of 691 in the 2015 census.
The Occupation of Ma'an was the post-World War I occupation of the Sanjak of Ma'an, which straddled the regions of Syria and Arabia, by members of the Hashemite family, who came to power in various regions of the Near East and Arabia; they were King Hussein in the Kingdom of Hejaz, Emir Faisal representing the Arab government in Damascus and Abdullah, who was to become Emir of Transjordan. The region includes the governorates of Ma'an and Aqaba, today in Jordan, as well as the area which was to become a large part of the Israeli Southern District, including the city of Eilat.
The Jordan–Saudi Arabia border is 731 km (454 mi) in length and runs from the Gulf of Aqaba in the south-west to the tripoint with Iraq in the north-east.
