Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Jordan spans the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba, sharing bor-
ders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Israel and the disputed Palestinian territ-
ories to the west and Saudi Arabia to the east and south.
Although Jordan is covered by desert, particularly the Arabian Desert, the north-western
area is part of the so-called 'Fertile Crescent', comprising over 400,000 square kilometres
of fertility that forms a bridge between Africa and Eurasia, stretching across parts of Jordan,
Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, southeast Turkey and western Iran.
Located in the centre of the Middle East, Jordan has been a crossroads for numerous civil-
isations. Christianity was the primary religion, when the Romans adopted it in 326 AD, and
since the 7
th
Century, with the exception of several short periods, the Muslim and Arab cul-
tures have dominated the country.
This is the Hashemite Kingdom, which is said to trace its ancestry from the great-grandfather
of the prophet Muhammad, but mainly refers to the descendants of Fatima, the prophet's
daughter. The early history of the Hashemite saw them in a continuous struggle against the
Umayyads for control over who would be the successor to Muhammad. The Umayyads were
of the same tribe as the Hashemites but a different clan. This rivalry would eventually con-
tribute to the split between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam.
From the aircraft, the inhospitable desert of Saudi Arabia progressively changed from sand
to a rocky desert landscape. It was then stony hills and valleys interspersed with large irrig-
ated circles of green that increased in frequency the further north we travelled.
The airport at Amman, the Jordanian capital, is not high on the rating scale. It was run down
and the baggage handlers were obviously operating on a different time cycle, but it eventu-
ally sorted itself out.
From the airport the countryside was sparse, punctuated by run down buildings and litter,
interspersed by the occasional modern structure.
The designated hotel was modern and still under construction and although the allocated
room was adjacent to the building works, this didn't create a problem. But it later emerged
