Destination : JORDAN

The least that can be said about Jordan is that its landscape is varied and fascinating : romantic valleys, softly rolling green hills, bizarre salt deposits from the Dead Sea and the crystal clear water of the Red Sea with its fascinating coral reefs and its animal life that makes the heart of every diver beat faster. 

Jordan largely thanks its historical and cultural importance to its situation on the crossroads of two areas : on the hand there is the Mediterranean hilly region in the west, on the other hand there is the desert area which has a mountainous center and which changes into a plain that consists partly of volcanic rock and partly of granite. Also on the cultural level, Jordan is separated since ancient times in two spheres : the western fertile areas have always been home to farmers, whereas the plains in the east were mainly inhabited by Bedouins. Both regions are separated by the Jordan valley with its remarkable topographic situation. It belongs to a large tectonic fault line which stretches from the Lebanese Bekaa-valley to Eastern Africa. In the central Jordanian part lies the Dead Sea, 392 meters under sea level, deeper than any other dry area on earth. South of this extremely salty interior sea ( with 30% salt) the rift of the Jordan continues into the Wadi Araba, a dry valley that lies nested in-between the Negev plateau (in the west) and the mountain range of Moab (in the east). South of Petra the Djebel Mubrak, rises to an altitude of 1727 meters. 

The length of Jordan from north to south is 380 km and the width from east to west is about 400 km. Jordan borders Syria in the north, Iraq in the northeast, Saudi Arabia in the south and the east, and Israel in the west.

The capital of Jordan is the city of Amman. Other important cities (which are very often tourist sites) : Aqaba, Petra, Um Quais.

(Information courtesy of the Jordan Tourist Board).

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