The "Lost City" still has secrets to reveal: Thousands of years ago, the now-abandoned city of Petra was thriving.

 AMMAN — Cave dwelling was practised on a large scale in Sahab, located 12 kilometres southeast of Amman, during the Chalcolithic period and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (4000 BC-3300 BC), noted a Jordanian archaeologist.

 AMMAN — The Late Petra Project focuses on a settlement in the Petra region occupied after the Byzantine period, ca. 350-650AD,  and revises the common idea that the rose-red city was abandoned after this time, according to an Italian archaeologist.

 Global travel authority Lonely Planet has unveiled a radical reimagining of its much-anticipated Best in Travel picks for 2021, reflecting an unprecedented year of disruption in the travel industry, and Amman, Jordan has been singled out as one of the destinations which are helping transform travel experiences. 

COVID-19 Travel Update - January 14th 2021

 AMMAN — Inscriptions found in Yemen and Oman dating back to the Nabataean period point to the prevalence of frankincense trade between southern Arabian centres and the Levant, according to a Greek archaeologist. 

 AMMAN — Ancient fossil remains have revealed that Jordan once hosted one of the largest flying reptiles in the world, known as Arambourgiania Philadelphia, according to a Jordanian scholar.

 AMMAN — Tourism Minister Majd Shweikeh on Wednesday announced the first Arab Forum for Tourism Investment, which will be held on March 14, 2020 under the patronage of Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, with the aim of promoting investments in the sector, increasing growth and attracting more tourists.

 AMMAN — Petra is expected to celebrate 1 million visitors this year to its captivating attractions in early December, Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) said on Wednesday.

 AMMAN — Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Majd Shweikeh, along with Véronique Vouland-Aneini, French ambassador to Jordan, and Akel Biltaji, president of the Franco-Jordanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, launched the 5th edition of the French Week in Jordan on Saturday during a press conference at the Amman Rotana Hotel.

 AMMAN — International agreements to protect and promote intangible cultural heritage (ICH) have only recently become an incentive for Jordan, according to a Jordanian expert.

 AMMAN — In the Mamluk period, some of the most politically dangerous persons went to Karak Castle, said an American scholar.

 AMMAN — The remnants of 14,000-year-old bread were found at an archaeological site called Shubayqa 1 site in north-eastern Jordan.

 AMMAN — Iron Age imports from Egypt, Cyprus, Phoenicia, Syria and Assyria indicate complex economic and political relations between Moab and the major powers in the region, according to a Canadian scholar.

 AMMAN — A Nubian Nightjar bird was spotted late last month nesting for the first time in Fifa Nature Reserve (FNR), the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) said on Wednesday.

 AMMAN — Excavations take time, money, planning, cooperation, conservation and publishing, said Director of the American Centre of Oriental Research (ACOR) Barbara Porter at a presentation on the Petra Church and the Temple of the Winged Lions on Monday.

 AMMAN — The number of visitors arriving in Jordan during June rose by 26.5 per cent to some 455,383 people, whereas the number of overnight visitors reached 393,761 people, rising by 26.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

 AMMAN — The Jerash Tourism Directorate has picked the locations of three new tourism trails planned to open this summer, according to the head of the directorate.

 AMMAN — New finds at Tell Deir Alla in the Jordan Valley contradict previously published results that the north side of the site was used for cultic purposes, according to a Jordanian archaeologist.

 AMMAN — Aqaba welcomed over 72,000 visitors from all around the Kingdom during the Eid Al Fitr holiday, Sharhabeel Madi, commissioner for economic development and investment affairs at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), said on Sunday.

 AMMAN — Direct flights that will be operated between Aqaba and Egypt and will contribute to increasing the number of visitors to Aqaba, an official said on Sunday.

 AMMAN — In a recent conference held at Brooklyn University, New York, Jordanian architect Salam Adayleh discussed her project of “bringing old cities back to life”.

 AMMAN — Just as he walked into Wadi Rum, actor Will Smith envisioned how to infuse his awe-inspiring experience into the character he is playing in Disney’s live action remake of “Aladdin”.

 AMMAN — At the age of 12, Jacir Eid received an opportunity to take up a role in the Jordanian movie “Theeb”. At the time, he did not have any clue how this movie would later shape the course of his future.

 AMMAN — A rescue excavation by the Department of Antiquities (DoA) of Jordan has uncovered a basalt statue in the forum area near the Roman Theatre in the downtown of Amman, described by an expert as “a unique and important archaeological discovery”.

 AMMAN – A total of 138,110 people visited Petra during April of this year, the highest number ever in the history of the ancient city as a tourist attraction, according to the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA).

 AMMAN — The Australian embassy in Jordan on Thursday hosted an early morning service at the Amman Citadel to commemorate ANZAC Day.

 AMMAN — Before large-scale development and air travel, the Hajj pilgrimage routes comprised mostly of dirt roads, but according researchers, the routes began to flourish due to Ottoman construction works and a network of protective forts.

 AMMAN — HRH Princess Dana Firas, chairperson of the International Council on Monuments and Sites-Jordan, and Salt Mayor Khalid Khashman on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in the field of training for the preservation, maintenance and administration of historical and archaeological monuments and sites.

 AMMAN — Displayed at the World Economic Forum is an interactive map of Jordan, one comprised of three different digital layers highlighting Jordan’s tourist attractions, innovation hubs and investment opportunities.

 AMMAN — The AdventureNEXT Near East 2019 conference kicked off in Aqaba on Sunday, according to a joint statement sent to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — Acting secretary general of the Ministry of Environment Issa Shboul on Tuesday inaugurated the regional workshop on black carbon emissions and its impact on health and climate change, according to an Environment Ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — The removal and modification of skulls in the Levant was documented for the first time during the Natufian period around 11,000 years ago, and it continued for another 500-3,000 years into the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, a Jordanian scholar recently told The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — Daftar Asfar, a collaborative and travelling sketchbook created by three women with roots in Jordan and Palestine has transcended geographical and cultural borders to make its way to Dubai, where its pages will be showcased for the first time at Art Dubai.