Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
»
»Penalties for drug use of any kind are stiff.
»
»Criticising the king is illegal.
»
»Excessive speeding, drunk driving and seatbelt avoidance are not tolerated.
»
»If you break the law, your embassy can only contact your relatives and recommend
local lawyers.
Maps
The Jordan Tourism Board's free
Map of Jordan
is a handy driving map. The Royal Geo-
graphic Centre of Jordan also publishes good maps, including a hiking map of Petra.
Several detailed maps are available outside Jordan: ITMB's 1:700,000 map
Jordan
is
probably the easiest map to find,
Jordan
by Kümmerly and Frey is the best driving map,
and the latest edition of GEO Project's
Jordan
(1:730,000) has an excellent map of Am-
man.
Money
Known as the 'jay-dee' among hip young locals, the currency in Jordan is the dinar (JD)
and it is made up of 1000 fils. You will sometimes hear the terms
piastre
or
qirsh:
this
refers to 10 fils (10 qirsh equals 100 fils). Often when a price is quoted the unit will be
omitted, so if you're told that something is 25, it's a matter of working out whether it's 25
fils, 25 piastre or 25 dinars! Although it sounds confusing, most Jordanians wouldn't
dream of ripping off a foreigner, with the possible exception of taxi drivers (
Click here
)
.
Coins come in denominations of 10, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 fils, and one dinar. Notes
come in denominations of JD1, 5, 10, 20 and 50. Try to change larger notes as often as
possible - when paying for petrol, for example, or for your hotel bill - as it can be hard to
pay with large notes in small establishments.
IRAQI MONEY
If you are a collector of notes and coins, you may be interested in old Iraqi money, bearing the portrait of Saddam
Hussein, for sale on street corners in downtown Amman. Even if they're fake, they're good as a conversational
gambit with the Iraqi refugees who are selling them.
