At 10:30 am, the light is at its best on the facade of Petra s Treasury, one of the world s most extraordinary archaeological beauties who was rendered even more famous by the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The area in front of the temple carved into sandstone cliff faces in the capital of the ancient Nabatean empire is at that time filled with tourists snapping selfies or being photographed on camels. Shortly afterwards, that same area is empty.
Amman, northern Jordan is home to other ancient cities of the Decapolis. These include Jarash (Gerasa), Umm Qays (Gadara), Tabaqat Fahl or Fihil (Pella), Bayt Ras (Capitolias), and Quwayliba (Abila). Jarash, straddling one of the ancient world s key trade routes, offers extensive and breathtaking ruins of colonnaded streets, arches, temples, and baths in a remarkable state of preservation and completeness.
AMMAN —The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Tuesday announced that Al Hussein Park will close during the Amman Summer Festival from July 6 until July 15, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The decision is intended to facilitate the movement of vehicles and pedestrians inside the park, except for visitors to the Royal Automobile Museum.
The relationship between tourism and sustainable growth was the focus of a regional conference that began in Amman on Monday.
Residents of Wadi Rum have complained of Tourism Ministry’s ban on tourists’ trips to their area, insisting that the area is safe for guests and unaffected by tribal protests over the Jafer case.
The Ministry of Tourism on Saturday instructed tour operators not to take tourists to Wadi Rum, according to a ministry document obtained by The Jordan Times on Monday.
AMMAN — The Amman Summer Festival is expected to start on Thursday night at the main stage of Al Hussein Park, The 10-day festival will be held for the 11th year, in four locations inside the park.
Tourism revenues rose by 12.7 per cent during the first ten months of this year to around $3.9 billion, up from $2.4 billion generated during the same period in 2016, the Central Bank of Jordan said.
The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) said on Sunday that the kingdom saw a rise in tourism revenues by 14.5% during the first half of the year to a total of $2.1 billion.
In a press release, the CBJ attributed the rise in the sector’s income to the growth in the number of tourists by 9.9% year-on-year.
AMMAN — The Children Museum Jordan on Wednesday announced that it reached the final round of the 2017 Children Museums Award, for its project titled “Mobile Museum of Children”.
The announcement came after a jury meeting of the Children in Museums Award in Amsterdam in late June, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Jordan this year witnessed an increase in the number of overnight religious tourists from countries targeted by promotion efforts, an official said on Wednesday.
AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the 23rd Shabib Festival at the Roman Theatre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The festival’s Higher Executive Committee President Sharifa Budur Bint Asem, said that the festival has succeeded in delivering its message of diversity in arts and culture.
AMMAN — The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) on Monday launched a campaign to promote tourism in the city of Amman, under the title “#Amman24”, which has triggered tremendous enthusiasm among a diversified audience worldwide, thanks to effective interaction by social media influencers.
Tourism Minister Lina Annab announced that Amman will host the first regional conference on tourism in MENA cities, held under the title “Competitiveness for Sustainable Development”, a statement from Lawrence Conferences & Hussieni Consult said.
The event, scheduled between November 13 and 14, will be organised in cooperation with the Tourism Ministry, the Greater Amman Municipality, the Tourism Board, Lawrence Conferences & Hussieni Consult, with the support of the World Tourism Organisation, the statement said.
AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the 23rd Shabib Festival at the Roman Theatre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The festival’s Higher Executive Committee President Sharifa Budur Bint Asem, said that the festival has succeeded in delivering its message of diversity in arts and culture.
Tourism Minister Lina Annab announced that the first regional conference on “Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa [MENA]: Competitiveness for Sustainable Growth”, will be held on November 13 and 14 at the Grand Hyatt Amman Hotel.
AMMAN — The Irbid Department of Antiquities has found 19 Roman ruins in Beit Al Ras town that narrate the stories of the former inhabitants of the area, department director, Musa Malkawi, said on Thursday.
The ruins are part of the Decapolis, Malkawi said, along with Jerash, Um Qais and other historical areas across the Kingdom.
AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the 23rd Shabib Festival at the Roman Theatre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The festival’s Higher Executive Committee President Sharifa Budur Bint Asem, said that the festival has succeeded in delivering its message of diversity in arts and culture.
Insulated in the desert wilderness of southern Jordan, bedouins of Wadi Rum, 330km south of Amman, still preserve customs and traditions that benefit their harsh habitat.
AMMAN — “’La Traviata’ is a work of heart that will touch everybody’s soul,” Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum said at a press conference on Thursday.
Held under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna, the performance will include over 150 musicians and dancers from over 10 countries.
AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the 23rd Shabib Festival at the Roman Theatre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The festival’s Higher Executive Committee President Sharifa Budur Bint Asem, said that the festival has succeeded in delivering its message of diversity in arts and culture.
The drop in the level of the Dead Sea is causing grave concerns among environmentalists and planners in the region, with most of the drop caused by diversion in the headwaters feeding the sea, a geologist has said.
AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to remove Kenyans from the restricted-nationality list, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The decision came in line with government’s plans to increase investment and to open up to the African market.
AMMAN — HRH Princess Sanaa Asem on Wednesday attended the opening ceremony of the 23rd Shabib Festival at the Roman Theatre in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The festival’s Higher Executive Committee President Sharifa Budur Bint Asem, said that the festival has succeeded in delivering its message of diversity in arts and culture.
Among Jordanians, the city of Jerash is famous for its high quality, fresh dairy products, which are still prepared using traditional methods.
Visitors to Jerash often purchase Labaneh Jarashiyeh, a kind of strained yoghurt, which is a signature product of the city, 48km north of Amman.
AMMAN — A total of 2,152 people visited the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions in the Southern Mazar last June.
Mohammad Sarairah, the supervisor of the shrines, said that 1,285 of the visitors were Muslims from Turkey, the US, Pakistan, China, India, Malaysia and several African and European countries, while 485 visitors were Arabs and 362 were Jordanians. In May, some 2,609 people visited the Islamic shrines.
Dating back to the second century, Roman Amphitheater speaks to the period of Roman rule over Amman, when the city was known as Philadelphia. The construction of the 6,000-seat amphitheater into the hillside at a steep angle kept the sun off spectators and created excellent acoustics, which enabled audience members even at the top seat to hear people in the arena.
A “first-of-its-kind” Hellenistic temple in the Levant region has been discovered in Umm Qais, an archaeologist said on Monday.
An archaeological excavation team from Yarmouk University has recently discovered a Hellenistic temple and network of water tunnels, Atef Sheyyab, president of the archaeology department at the university told the Jordan Times.
The Tourism Ministry on Saturday allowed some 300 restaurants and cafés to serve hookah without issuing fines against them provided that they rectify their status by December 31.
In case of exceeding the given period, legal actions will be taken against the establishments in accordance with the law, the ministry noted.
Dating back to the second century, Roman Amphitheater speaks to the period of Roman rule over Amman, when the city was known as Philadelphia. The construction of the 6,000-seat amphitheater into the hillside at a steep angle kept the sun off spectators and created excellent acoustics, which enabled audience members even at the top seat to hear people in the arena.
Jordanian archaeologists have discovered an ancient temple that was built in the Hellenistic era in the third century BC.
The archaeologists believe that the temple, located 120 kilometres north of the capital, Amman, was dedicated to Poseidon, the Ancient Greek god of seas.
AMMAN — Tourism Minister Lina Annab is scheduled to head Jordan’s delegation to the 41st session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.
Annab said that the session’s agenda includes nominating Salt’s historical town, 35km northwest of Amman, to be listed as a world heritage site.
Dating back to the second century, Roman Amphitheater speaks to the period of Roman rule over Amman, when the city was known as Philadelphia. The construction of the 6,000-seat amphitheater into the hillside at a steep angle kept the sun off spectators and created excellent acoustics, which enabled audience members even at the top seat to hear people in the arena.
Jordan has advanced on the World Tourism Index and moved from the 77th place (2015) to the 75th place, according to the World Economic Forum s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.
AMMAN — Tourism Minister Lina Annab is scheduled to head Jordan’s delegation to the 41st session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.
Annab said that the session’s agenda includes nominating Salt’s historical town, 35km northwest of Amman, to be listed as a world heritage site.
Dating back to the second century, Roman Amphitheater speaks to the period of Roman rule over Amman, when the city was known as Philadelphia. The construction of the 6,000-seat amphitheater into the hillside at a steep angle kept the sun off spectators and created excellent acoustics, which enabled audience members even at the top seat to hear people in the arena.
Jordan s tourism revenues rose by 13.5 percent to $2.5 billion (JD1.8 billion) at the end of July, 2017 compared to $2.2 billion in the same period of 2016, according to Director General of Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Abdul Razzaq Arabiyat.
AMMAN — Tourism Minister Lina Annab is scheduled to head Jordan’s delegation to the 41st session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.
Annab said that the session’s agenda includes nominating Salt’s historical town, 35km northwest of Amman, to be listed as a world heritage site.
Dating back to the second century, Roman Amphitheater speaks to the period of Roman rule over Amman, when the city was known as Philadelphia. The construction of the 6,000-seat amphitheater into the hillside at a steep angle kept the sun off spectators and created excellent acoustics, which enabled audience members even at the top seat to hear people in the arena.
AMMAN — Tourism Minister Lina Annab is scheduled to head Jordan’s delegation to the 41st session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.
Annab said that the session’s agenda includes nominating Salt’s historical town, 35km northwest of Amman, to be listed as a world heritage site.
Jordan s capital city, Amman spreads across 19 hills and includes many distinct districts, each with their own historical and cultural marvels. The topography of the city adds to the sense of eclecticism and discovery, with hidden areas and surprises lying out of sight and ready to be explored.
AMMAN — The Second Janet Abu Lughod seminar, organised by Studio-X Amman and Sijal Institute for Arabic Language and Culture was a “wonderful opportunity to engage deeply with a diverse and bright group of participants in Amman on the singular topic of Qusayr Amra”, said Khaled Malas, a PhD candidate at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
AMMAN — Tourism Minister Lina Annab is scheduled to head Jordan’s delegation to the 41st session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.
Annab said that the session’s agenda includes nominating Salt’s historical town, 35km northwest of Amman, to be listed as a world heritage site.
A close second to Petra on the list of favourite destinations in Jordan is the ancient city of Jerash, which boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years.
Jerash lies on a plain surrounded by hilly wooded areas and fertile basins. Conquered by General Pompey in 63 BC, it came under Roman rule and was one of the ten great Roman cities of the Decapolis League.
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is planning to provide the Dead Sea area with more healthcare emergency services Tourism Minister Lina Annab said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times.
Annab said this is an “important” issue for the ministry, pointing out the increasing number of hotels and other tourism facilities in the area.
AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Water and Irrigation Minister Hazem Nasser on Wednesday opened the Jordan Food Exhibition 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The five-day fair, which is held at the Expo Land near airport, is organised by the International Promoters Company (IPCO), in cooperation with Amman Chamber of Industry, the Islamic International Arab Bank and Giant Industrial Group.
