Jordan

From Imakoopedia

Jordan is a country in the Middle East. Almost completely land-locked (save for a small outlet on the Red Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba and a frontage on the Dead Sea), Jordan is bordered by Israel to the west, by Syria to the north, by Iraq to the east and by Saudi Arabia to the south.

Table of contents

1 Cities 2 Other destinations 3 Understand 4 Get in 4.1 By plane 4.2 By train 4.3 By car 4.4 By bus 4.5 By boat 5 Get around 5.1 By plane 5.2 By bus 5.3 By service taxi 5.4 By car 6 Talk 7 Buy 7.1 Costs 8 Eat 9 Drink 10 Sleep 11 Learn 12 Work 13 Cope 13.1 Embassies 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 External links

Cities

• Amman — capital of the kingdom
• Irbid — largest city in the north of the kingdom
• Aqaba - located on the Gulf of Aqaba / Eilat, with links to the Sinai and the Red Sea

Other destinations

• Jerash — one of the largest Roman ruins in the Middle East
• Kerak — site of a once-mighty Crusader castle
• Madaba — known for its mosaic map of Jerusalem
• Petra — Jordan's top attraction, an ancient city carved out of sandstone
• Wadi Rum — barren, isolated and beautiful, granite cliffs contrasting with desert sand

Understand

For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King Hussein (1953-99). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, through several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he resumed parliamentary elections and gradually permitted political liberalization; in 1994 a formal peace treaty was signed with Israel. King Abdullah II - the eldest son of King Hussein and Princess Muna - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and established his domestic priorities, including an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in January 2000, and signed free trade agreements with the United States in 2000, and with the European Free Trade Association in 2001.

Get in

Most visitors to Jordan (except those from other Arab countries) will need a visa, but it is possible to obtain a visa on arrival at most border points. Previously notoriously complex (and expensive), visa prices have finally been standardized at JD 10 for single entry, JD 20 for multiple entry. Check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://www.mfa.gov.jo/pages.php?menu_id=85) for the latest situation.

By plane

Jordan posseses its own international airline - Royal Jordanian Airlines (http://www.rja.com.jo) - and an major international airport outside the capital Amman (Queen Alia International Airport).

Two other international airports exist in Aqaba (King Hussein International Airport) and Amman (Marka International Airport).

A large number of foreign carriers also fly into Amman, including British Airways and Egyptair.

By train

There are trains twice a week from Damascus (Syria) to Amman. The trip takes about 9 hours, and there is both 1st and 2nd class available.

By car

You can cross into Jordan by car from Israel, but the border formalities are time-consuming and expensive as Jordanian insurance is required and you will even have to change your license plates. The main crossings are at King Hussein Bridge (if coming from Jerusalem or Tel Aviv) and Aqaba (if coming from Eilat).

By bus

By boat

Jordan can be entered at the port of Aqaba by ferry from Egypt.

Get around

By plane

The only domestic air route is between Amman and Aqaba.

By bus

The JETT bus company has services connecting Amman to Aqaba, the King Hussein Bridge (to cross into Israel), Petra and Hammamat Ma'in. Private buses run from Amman to Irbid and Aqaba. Minibus services connect smaller towns on a much more irregular service basis - usually they leave once they're full.

By service taxi

Service taxis (servees) cover much the same routes as buses. Service taxis are definitely more expensive than minibuses, but a lot faster and more convenient.

By car

Jordan's highways are generally in very good shape, but the same cannot be said about its drivers. The main route is the Desert Highway, which connects Aqaba, Ma'an, Amman and continues all the way to Damascus in neighboring Syria. One particular stretch of this, where the road rapidly descends from the highlands of Amman to the valley that leads into Aqaba through a series of steep hairpin curves, is infamous for the number of dodgy oil trucks that lose their brakes and careen off the road into the ravine, plowing through all in their path.

The other route of interest to travelers is the King's Highway, a meandering track to the west of the Desert Highway that starts south of Amman and links Kerak, Madaba, Wadi Mujib and Petra before joining the Desert Highway south of Ma'an.

Talk

The national language of Jordan is Arabic. Some English is also spoken.

Buy

The currency is the Jordanian dinar (JD), divided into 1000 fils. The currency rate is effectively fixed at 0.71 JD per dollar, an unnaturally high rate that makes Jordan poorer value than it would otherwise be.

Costs

A subsistence budget would be around JD 10 per day, but this means you'll be eating falafel every day. JD 20 will allow slightly better accommodations, restaurant meals and even the occasional beer.

Eat

Jordanian cuisine is quite similar to fare served elsewhere in the region. The daily staple being khobz, a large, flat bread sold in bakeries across the country for a few hundred fils. Delicious when freshly baked, it very quickly loses all flavour as it dries. It's worth looking out for the national dish mansaf, a spiced stew of lamb in yoghurt, but as it is quite time-consuming to prepare it is not available very often and may be fairly expensive when it is.

Drink

While Jordan is Muslim country, locally brewed Amstel beer is available at better restaurants throughout the country.

Sleep

Learn

Work

Cope

Embassies

• Australian - 3 Youssef Abu Shahhout, Deir Ghbar, Amman (PO Box 35201, Amman 11180), tel (06) 580 7000, fax (06) 580 7001, [1] (http://www.jordan.embassy.gov.au/)
• British - (PO Box 87), Abdoun, Amman 11118, tel (06) 592 3100, [2] (http://www.britain.org.jo)
• American - [3] (http://www.usembassy-amman.org.jo/)

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Respect

Standing in Lines : Jordanians have a notable issue with standing in line-ups for service. Often those near the rear of a line will try to sidle forwards and pass those in front of them. The line members being passed, rather than object to this tactic, will often instead start to employ this same trick themselves, on the line members in front of them. The end result is often a raucous crowd jostling for service at the kiosk in question.

No one, including the person manning the kiosk, is happy when this situation develops and often tensions in the jostling crowd seem high enough that violent disagreements feel moments away. However, this commentator never witnessed any violence and the sense was that Jordanians recognized common distinct limits as to what was reasonable in line jostling.

Nonetheless, due to this common Jordanian phenomenon, several strategies are suggested.

1. Arrive early, allow for time, and be patient. Since a degenerate line-up is rarely an efficient line-up, allow in your travel plans for the fact that it will invariable take longer than expected to deal with any service booth arrangements, whether that means Customs, buying tickets, waiting to get on a bus, etc.
2. Don't get upset about the line-up yourself, or get caught up in the emotions of the crowd. You will keep moving forward, even if a few people sneak in front of you. No one in the 'line crowd' is entirely unreasonable, and you won't keep getting pushed back indefinitely. Often, at most, you will end up being served at the kiosk 3 or 4 turns later than expected. Just try to relax and take it in stride.
3. Avoid the line-up entirely when possible. Often kiosks handle groups in bursts, such as a Customs kiosk that deals with a bus load of people at a time. In these cases, if you don't start already at the front of the line, find a comfortable spot away from the crowd and just wait for the rest of the group to make their fractious way through before you. Then make your way up to the kiosk once it's clear. The advantage of being last is that often the kiosk attendant will appreciate your patience and be happy to deal with you, now that they don't have a clamoring crowd jostling for their attention.

Contact

External links

• See Jordan.com - Jordan Tourist Board (http://www.see-jordan.com/)