Tourist Attractions in Jordan

Tourism has a special place in the economy of Jordan. Some of the tourist hot spots in Jordan include Petra, a historical site, Mount Nebo, the Jordan River, Madaba and the desert of Wadi Rum. There are also several churches and mosques which were built during the medieval period, as well as natural locations that have hardly changed in thousands of years.

Jordan's tourism also comprises health tourism, which is concentrated towards the Dead Sea region, pop-culture tourism, education tourism and shopping tourism. The country is a suitable location for those who are interested in hiking, diving and long desert drives, and distances between the main sights are short enough to see a great deal in a single week.

Petra

The ancient site of Petra is carved inside a mountain, and the rocks are huge and colourful, cut into the rose-red sandstone that gives the city its nickname. Al Khazneh, otherwise called the Treasury, holds a prominent position in the list of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". It is reached by walking through the Siq, a narrow gorge that runs for more than a kilometre between walls of rock more than eighty metres high.

There are many interesting things in Petra besides the Treasury, such as the Roman theatre, the Monastery, the High Place of Sacrifice and the Royal Tombs. Most visitors see only a fraction of the site in one day, and the Monastery in particular rewards the long climb up more than eight hundred rock-cut steps.

Jerash

Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman provincial cities anywhere, popular for its Roman architecture, the Oval Plaza and the Corinthian arches of Hadrian's Gate. A colonnaded street, temples, a theatre and a hippodrome survive almost intact, and every summer the city holds a festival of music and dance performed among the ruins.

Religious sites

There are numerous religious sites present in Jordan. The Jordan River is religiously significant because it is believed that the baptism of Jesus Christ took place here in the presence of John the Baptist, and the site at Al-Maghtas receives pilgrims from all over the world. Madaba is quite famous for its mosaics as well as the Madaba Map, in which the Holy Land is depicted in coloured stone — Jerusalem is particularly included in this map, and the original panel is still in the floor of the Church of St George.

Mount Nebo is another religious site, believed to have been visited by Moses to see the Promised Land. On a clear day the view from the ridge takes in the Jordan Valley, Jericho and, far away, the rooftops of Jerusalem. Its rich cultural heritage is not only attracting tourists from worldwide but also researchers who come to study the Byzantine mosaics preserved there.

Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum is a valley cut into sandstone and granite in the south of the country. Jeep tours run between rock bridges, canyons and inscriptions left by Nabataean traders, and the camps in the middle of the desert offer night skies with very little light pollution. It is the quietest part of any itinerary in Jordan and often the part travellers remember longest.

Aqaba

There are numerous seaside sites, including Aqaba, a town situated close by the Gulf of Aqaba. It has many hotels and shopping centres, and it provides direct access to marine life and coral reefs only a few metres from the beach. Diving schools in Aqaba run courses for beginners as well as trips to wrecks and gardens of soft coral. Moreover, the ruins of the medieval town Ayla are preserved here. The nightlife of Aqaba is quite vibrant, particularly at the weekends.

In short, Jordan is considered a tourist hot spot, and it manages to combine all of this within a country that can be crossed in a few hours.