Jordan is a sovereign Arab state in the Middle East. The capital, Amman, is Jordan's most populous city as well as the country's economic, political and cultural centre.
Major tourist attractions in Jordan include UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Petra and Umm ar-Rasas, ancient cities such as Amman, Aqaba, Madaba and Jerash, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, and locations such as Wadi Rum and the Jordanian Highlands. Other opportunities include shopping, pop-culture tourism, medical tourism, educational and cultural tourism, hiking, snorkeling and scuba diving among the coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba.
In 2017, Jordan recorded more than 3.8 million tourists. [1]
Jordan has a diverse and growing number of museums which serve Jordanian and international visitors alike. Several museums in the capital, Amman, are listed by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. [5] They include the Jordan Museum, which is a national museum focused on Jordan's archaeological and cultural heritage, the Royal Tank Museum housing over 120 tanks with a focus on Jordan's military history, and The Royal Automobile Museum and the Children's Museum Jordan which are both located in King Hussein Park in Amman. There are several art museums and institutions including Darat al Funun, the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts and the MMAG Foundation. Other smaller museums in Amman include the Jordan Archaeological Museum on the Amman Citadel, which houses many important archaeological artifacts. The Jordan Folklore Museum also known as the Jordanian Museum of Popular Traditions, is located at the Roman Theater in Amman. The Tiraz Center in Amman focuses on private collections of Palestinian, Jordanian and Arab costumes and textiles. The Museums of Archaeology and Heritage can be found at the campus of the University of Jordan, and require a prior appointment to visit. The Museum of Parliamentary Life and the Ahli Bank Numismatic Museum can also be found in Amman.
Outside of Amman, there are a number of museums focusing on art, archaeology, ethnography and natural history. Overlooking the Baqa'a Valley just north of Amman is the Sami Hindiyeh Art Gallery (opened 2017) with its extensive modern art collection from across the Arab world. In the historic city of as-Salt, there is the Abu Jaber Museum, which focuses on late Ottoman and early 20th century history and traditions, as well as an historic house containing the as-Salt Archaeological Museum. There are numerous agritourism developments in the verdant north of Jordan near Salt, such as the ones in and around the archaeologically rich village of Gilead, namely the Mountain Breeze Resort and those affiliated with BookAgri, which aims to encourage the local farmers to showcase their traditional way of life to visitors. In Madaba, south of Amman, there is the Madaba Archaeological Museum, an Interpretive Center at St. George's Church, home of the Madaba Map, as well as a small museum at nearby Mount Nebo. The Dead Sea Panorama Complex contains an informative museum focusing on the natural history and geology of the Dead Sea. Nearby in Ghor es-Safi is the Lowest Point on Earth Museum, which displays important archaeological discoveries from this region of the South Jordan Valley. The Petra Museum (opened 2019), is located at the entrance of the World Heritage Site of Petra and presents around 300 objects from the Petra region, ranging from prehistory to the present day. [6]
There are several smaller regional or site museums focused on archaeology found across Jordan including the Dar as-Saraya Museum, Irbid, the Museum of Jordanian Heritage at Yarmouk University, also in Irbid, the Karak Archaeological Museum, Karak, the Jerash Archaeological Museum and Jerash Visitor Center, as well as museums at Umm Qais, Aqaba, and Qasr al-Hallabat.
Jordan, most specifically Amman and to a lesser extent Aqaba, has emerged as one of the region's hotspots for nightlife. Alongside Ramallah, Haifa, Dubai, Beirut, Sharm el Sheikh, and Manama, Amman is a premier clubbing destination in the Arab World and the Middle East. [7] The country has seen an explosion in nightlife options ranging from high end nightclubs and bars in the capital city to world-class raves at the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum. Aqaba too has seen a proliferation in nightclubs and beach clubs as a result of the massive of foreign investment and influx of foreign labor and tourists due to the establishment of the special economic zone, ASEZA. Distant Heat held annually in Wadi Rum is considered one of the world's top raves.
Jordan has a number of natural reserves.
Most visitors arriving to Jordan were from the following countries of nationality: [8] [9]
Country | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|
Saudi Arabia | 756,989 | 883,884 | 1,057,604 |
Palestine | 693,454 | 611,601 | 542,059 |
Egypt | 244,418 | 258,366 | 249,561 |
United States | 166,441 | 161,013 | 160,766 |
Iraq | 142,044 | 158,364 | 224,596 |
Israel | 141,881 | 154,316 | 176,032 |
Syria | 136,973 | 193,966 | 421,166 |
Kuwait | 89,994 | 92,343 | 91,069 |
United Kingdom | 64,766 | 60,820 | 73,702 |
India | 57,720 | 49,755 | 54,129 |
Germany | 57,497 | 47,951 | 56,323 |
Yemen | 57,333 | 71,895 | 67,071 |
Total | 4,778,529 | 4,809,274 | 5,326,501 |
Jordan is investing heavily in its tourist infrastructure in the form of luxury hotels, spas, resorts, and massive real estate projects, as The "Abdali Urban Regeneration" Project and the "Marsa Zayed" in Aqaba. Luxury residential housing like Sanaya Amman and the Living Wall are attracting affluent Persian Gulf vacationers to buy property in Jordan.
Queen Alia International Airport is being expanded to handle 9 million passengers annually in the first phase; 12 million in the second phase.
Tourism Development Currently USAID is an active partner in the development of the tourism industry in Jordan with the continued support of the Jordan Tourism Development Project (Siyaha), currently in its second project lifecycle.
With the establishment of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, nearly twenty billion dollars have been invested in Jordan's sole coastal city. Luxurious resorts such as Saraya Aqaba and Tala Bay are being constructed with more in the pipeline like the $1 billion Ayla Oasis. [12] With Jordan becoming increasing popular as a cruising destination, a new and modern cruise ship terminal is being constructed in the Marsa Zayed project.
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.
Petra, originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu, is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved. The city is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Jerash is a city in northern Jordan. The city is the administrative center of the Jerash Governorate, and has a population of 50,745 as of 2015. It is located 30.0 miles north of the capital city Amman.
Jordan is divided into twelve historical regions, further subdivided into districts (liwa), and often into sub-districts (qada).
Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century. It consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, the Sinai Peninsula, and the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. Its capital was Petra. It was bordered on the north by Syria, on the west by Judaea and Egypt, and on the south and east by the rest of Arabia, known as Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix.
Madaba is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometres south-west of the capital Amman.
Aqaba is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south of Amman, capital of Jordan. Its capital is Aqaba. It is the fourth largest governorate in Jordan by area and is ranked 10th by population.
Amman Governorate, officially known as Muhafazat al-Asima, is one of the governorates in Jordan. The governorate's capital is the city of Amman, which is also the country's capital. The administrative center of the governorate as well as all government offices and parliament are located in the Abdali district.
Madaba is one of the governorates of Jordan. It is located southwest of Amman, the capital of Jordan, and its capital is Madaba. The governorate is ranked 8th by population and by area. It is bordered by Balqa Governorate to the north, The Capital Governorate to the east, Karak Governorate to the south and the Dead Sea to the west.
The Jordan Football Association is the governing body for football in Jordan.
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is the country's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.
The district "Liwaa" are the administrative centres in Jordan. The twelve governorates of Jordan contain fifty-two alwiya which are listed below by governorate. In many cases the name of the chief town is the same as the name of the district (liwa) or sub-district (qadaa) administered.
Wadi Musa is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra, being only 3.5 km away. Most of the locals belong to the Liyathnah tribe. It hosts many hotels and restaurants for tourists, and the important B'doul settlement of Umm Seyhoun, created after the community's forced displacement in 1985, is approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) from the town.
Articles related to Jordan include:
The first USAID funded Jordan Tourism Development Project ran for three years (2005–2008) providing technical assistance, training and other services to help Jordan implement its National Tourism Strategy designed to double tourism receipts by 2010. It promoted Jordan’s competitiveness as an international tourism destination by establishing a strong institutional and regulatory framework that promoted private-sector investment, stimulates tourism growth and preserves national tourism assets and the environment.
Ammar Khammash is a Jordanian architect, designer and artist. His work is based on the integration of building designs with nature and the surrounding environment. His projects helped revive Pella and Jordan Valley by creating two rest stops.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is a governmental body in Jordan responsible for the development, promotion, and preservation of the country's tourism and antiquities sectors. Established in 1967, the Ministry plays a critical role in managing Jordan's cultural heritage and promoting it as a global tourist destination. It is located at the third circle in Jabal Amman.