Bible
stories,
lost
cities,
Lawrence
of
Arabia
-
Jordan
has
romantic
associations
up
to
its
eyeballs.
It's
a
country
that
ought
to
be
awash
with
tourists,
but
the
Middle
East's
bad
reputation
has
kept
them
away
in
droves.
Don't
be
fooled:
Jordan
is,
on
the
whole,
peaceful.
More
than
that,
it's
one
of
the
most
welcoming,
hospitable
countries
in
the
world,
and
doesn't
even
have
that
unsettlingly
male-oriented
feel
so
prevalent
elsewhere
in
the
region.
Where
else
could
you
leave
your
belongings
on
the
street
for
hours
at
a
time,
safe
in
the
knowledge
they'll
be
there
when
you
get
back?
Where
else
do
total
strangers
invite
you
into
their
homes
despite
the
fact
they
don't
own
a
carpet
shop?
Jordan
isn't
just
a
friendly
cup
of
tea
with
the
locals,
though.
It's
also
home
to
two
of
the
most
spectacular
sights
in
the
Middle
East.
Petra,
the
ancient
city
of
the
Nabateans,
may
be
overrun
with
snap-happy
day-trippers,
but
that
doesn't
change
the
fact
that
it's
one
of
the
world's
most
atmospheric
ruins.
For
a
slightly
more
contemplative
experience,
the
startling
desert
scenery
of
Wadi
Rum
enraptured
Lawrence
of
Arabia
and
has
caused
more
than
one
traveller
to
don
a
kaffiyeh
and
gaze
defiantly
into
the
middle
distance.
Although
generally
considered
safe
and
secure,
visitors
to
Jordan
should
keep
abreast
of
world
events
that
might
have
repercussions
in
Jordan,
and
avoid
political
gatherings
and
demonstrations
wherever
possible.
When
to Go
The
best
time
to
visit
Jordan
is
in
spring
or
autumn,
when
you
can
dodge
the
baking
sun
of
summer
and
the
freezing
winds
of
winter.
Although
winter
can
be
bitterly
cold
in
most
of
the
country,
the
Red
Sea
area
and
Aqaba
are
still
very
pleasant.
If
you're
planning
to
travel
through
the
rest
of
the
Middle
East,
try
heading
north
into
Turkey
around
spring,
or
south
into
Egypt
by
autumn.
Environment
Jordan
is
bounded
to
the
north
by
Syria,
to
the
north-east
by
Iraq,
to
the
east
and
south
by
Saudi
Arabia
and
to
the
west
by
Israel.
Jordan
has
three
distinct
geographic
zones:
the
fertile
Jordan
Valley
which
runs
down
the
western
side
of
the
country;
the
East
Bank
plateau,
where
most
of
the
main
towns
are;
and
the
East
Bank,
a
desert
which
stretches
east
into
Syria,
Iraq
and
Saudi
Arabia.
Jordan
is
a
smallish
country
with
a
strange
shape.
An
apocryphal
story
holds
that
the
lumpy
eastern
border
was
created
by
Winston
Churchill
after
a
very
liquid
lunch.
The
pine
forests
of
the
north
give
way
to
the
cultivated
slopes
of
the
Jordan
Valley,
covered
in
cedar,
olive
and
eucalypt.
Further
south,
towards
the
Dead
Sea,
vegetation
can't
survive
and
the
landscape
is
dominated
by
mud
and
salt
flats.
The
desert
regions
of
the
country
support
the
usual
desert
fauna
-
camels,
desert
fox,
sand
rats,
hares
and
jerboas
-
while
the
hills
to
the
north-east
of
the
Dead
Sea
are
home
to
boars,
badgers
and
goats.
Jordan
is
particularly
noted
for
its
aquatic
life,
and
the
Gulf
of
Aqaba
has
a
huge
variety
of
tropical
fish
and
coral.
The
country's
biggest
sanctuary
is
the
Shaumari
Wildlife
Reserve
in
the
east,
where
gazelle
and
oryx,
once
common
throughout
Jordan,
have
been
reintroduced.
Climate
varies
dramatically
from
one
end
of
the
country
to
the
other.
The
Jordan
Valley
can
be
incredibly
hot
in
summer
(usually
around
40°C),
while
Amman
and
Petra
occasionally
get
snow
in
winter.
The
Plateau
area
is
usually
warm
and
dry,
fluctuating
between
the
low
20s
and
high
30s,
while
the
desert
suffers
extremes
of
temperature
-
baking
dry
heat
interspersed
with
freezing
winds
from
Central
Asia.
