WELCOME TO JORDAN
Current time in Jordan:
Jordan is the cradle of civilizations. The oldest discoveries in Jordan, according to archaeologists, date back to about 1.5 million years ago. Many civilizations have been in Jordan from the Stone Ages to the late Islamic periods, including Persian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Ages.
These civilizations left immortal evidences: architectural buildings such as theaters, temples, churches, mosques, palaces, and castles, arts and cultural objects such as statues, inscriptions, mosaics, and writings, techniques of dealing with water, agriculture, industry, and habitation.
Several kingdoms were established on the land of Jordan, including the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammonites, and the Kingdom of the Nabataeans, whose architectural buildings stand as a living model witness to the greatness of that civilization.
Many Roman Cities (The Decapolis) were in Jordan such as Jarash, Amman, Pella, Abilla and more….
Jordan land witnessed many important battles in the early Islam such as Battles of Yarmouk, Tabqat Fahl, and Mutah.
The Jordanian Badia was a haven for the northern Arab tribes, as their inscriptions, which are rich in the Badia, revealed their civilizational communication with neighboring countries and tribes.
Jordan's major tourist activities include numerous ancient places including Petra, its unique desert castles and unspoiled natural locations to its cultural and religious sites.
Jordan is home to the Dead Sea, which is considered the lowest point on earth lying - 408 meters below the Sea Level. The highest point in Jordan, in contrast, is Jebel Umm El Dami, which lies 1854 meters above sea level.
Some of Jordan's historical treasures and many major attractions are distributed in all the cities, which are:
Amman
Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a fascinating city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new, situated on a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisan workshops. Amman’s neighborhoods are diverse and range in cultural and historical context from the hustle and bustle of the downtown markets, to the art galleries of Jabal Al Lweibdeh and the modern shopping district of Abdali
Baptism
Home to several biblical cities including Sodom, Gomorrah, and Zoar, the archaeological discoveries between the Jordan River and Tal al-Kharrar have identified this area as Biblical “Bethany Beyond the Jordan.” The area is where John was living when he baptized Jesus. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Baptism Site commission welcomes pilgrims from all around the world seeking spiritual connection to biblical times, a glimpse of history or a chance to be baptized where Jesus was so many years ago.
If that’s not enough biblical history for one area, the cave where Lot and his daughters took refuge after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is located just outside an area called Safi (Biblical Zoar).
This site is one of Jordan’s UNESCO world heritage sites,
Mukawir (Machaerus)
ramatically situated in the hills south-west of Madaba, and overlooking the Dead Sea the fortress of Machaerus lies near the village of Mukawir traditionally associated with the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist.
An earlier fortress was built there by the Hasmonaean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC) to defend his eastern territory of Peraea against the Nabataeans. So impregnable was it thought to be that Jannaeus’ widow and heir, Alexandra, stored her treasure there, but the site proved not to be inviolable — in 57 BC, ten years after Alexandra’s death, when the region had descended into civil war between her two sons, the Romans asserted control and seized this strategic fortress, virtually demolishing it in the process.
The Dead Sea
A spectacular natural wonder the Dead Sea that is located 427 meters below sea level is perfect for wellness and religious tourism, fun in the sun with the family. With its mix of beach living and religious history you can soak up the sun while Biblical scholars can get their daily dose of religious history. The leading attraction at the Dead Sea is the warm, soothing, super salty water itself – some ten times saltier than sea water, and rich in chloride salts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, bromine and several others. The unusually warm, incredibly buoyant and mineral-rich waters have attracted visitors since ancient times, including King Herod the Great and the beautiful Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra. All of whom have luxuriated in the Dead Sea's rich, black, stimulating mud and floated effortlessly on their backs while soaking up the water's healthy minerals along with the gently diffused rays of the Jordanian sun.
