Travel Blog » Middle East » Jordan

Jordan Travel Blogs

Background: For most of its history since independence from British administration in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King HUSSEIN (1953-99). A pragmatic ruler, he successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, USSR, and UK), various Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Palestinian population, despite several wars and coup attempts. In 1989 he reinstituted parliamentary elections and gradual political liberalization; in 1994 he signed a formal peace treaty with Israel. King ABDALLAH II - the eldest son of King HUSSEIN and Princess MUNA - assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. Since then, he has consolidated his power and undertaken an aggressive economic reform program. Jordan acceded to the World Trade Organization in 2000, and began to participate in the European Free Trade Association in 2001. After a two-year delay, parliamentary and municipal elections took place in the summer of 2003. The Prime Minister and government appointed in April 2005 declared they would build upon the previous government's achievements to respect political and human rights and improve living standards.

Jordan

Map of Jordan

Jordan's Flag

Hostels in Jordan
Latest Jordan Blog Entries
Jordan Photos

By WillW
September 18th 2009

Desert Castles Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

Qasr Azraq
Used by T.E. Lawrence during the Arab revolt.

Since it was a Friday during Ramadan I opted to hire a driver today rather then try to explore on my own. I wanted to get out of Amman for part of the day so decided on heading out East to the "Desert Castle's" and to call them castle's is a bit of stretch. You head out of Amman through the more industrial side of town and then along a well maintained, but pretty busy with a good bit of traffic and lots of police and check points along the route. I would have to give this excursion pretty low marks. [View Full Entry]

By chavofraser
September 18th 2009

Welcome to Jordan! Middle East » Jordan

Shalom! Yes, I made it to Jerusalem (or as I've heard a few people call it - J-town!). But I'm not going to touch upon Israel/the Palestinian Territories right now. I still have to discuss Jordan. Since the last post, I've visited Aqaba, Wadi Rum, Petra, Amman, and now Jerusalem (though I haven't really done much here yet). Here are some pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8870546@N03/sets/ Jordan is the most expensive country I've visited on my trip. That said, I found it to be a very easy place to travel......and hence [View Full Entry]

By crumblybum21
September 17th 2009

On the eve of eid Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

I guess this is my first just-because entry. I just feel like I awkwardly have so much free time on my hands. I hardly have any homework, especially when I compare it to my workload at Georgetown. Clubs and activities haven't started and so many shops and places in Amman are closed because of Ramadan. Hence, Van's at home with her laptop. Although I can't wait for the trip to Cairo! Three of my roommates and I will be flying over tomorrow morning and seeing all that we can until next Tuesday. They should be announcing the end of Ramadan and [View Full Entry]

By WillW
September 14th 2009

Class is in Session Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

P9130216
Fruit Suk

The first two days of classes are in the books now and I certainly have a much better feel for the lay of the land in the Downtown and Jabal Amman areas of the city. The days are broken down into three hours of MSA or standard Arabic and one hour of colloquial Arabic. While they are definite similarities it is almost like learning two different languages at the same time. I think in retrospect I would have opted to pass on the colloquial for now until I had a stronger grasp on the language. That being said I have learned [View Full Entry]

By WillW
September 12th 2009

Finally in Amman Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

P9110205
View from my hotel room.

After about 24 hours of traveling I finally made it into Jordan. The worst part of the flight was the nine hour lay over in Frankfurt waiting for the flight into Amman. Getting through the visa and customs stuff was much easier then I thought it would be and was stamped and on my way in less than ten minutes. My ride was waiting for me outside of customs and we quickly set a speed record to my hotel near the 3rd Circle. I didn't get checked in until about 3:15 AM so decided to hit the streets to see what [View Full Entry]

By crumblybum21
September 12th 2009

The adventure of my life Middle East » Jordan » South

Exodus of camels
It was quite noisy.

I don't quite know where to start, only to say that I have never had so big of an adventure in my life. CIEE doesn't like us to get bored apparently. We've barely been in Jordan for two weeks and they pack all 80 of us into two gigantic charter buses and whip us down south, down to God's country. And I don't mean the Bible Belt! On the ride home and on various occasions during this three-day trip, I've wondered how to explain in words what the desert is like. I've come to the conclusion that if God ever wanted [View Full Entry]

By crumblybum21
September 8th 2009

Another bus misadventure and a re-declaration of purpose Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

I've been doing a lot of thinking today. I've been reflecting on the adventures I've been having, trying to figure out if I was alone in my want to be alone. Well, a better way of saying it is that I want to go off and do everything myself. I positively look forward to it. Is that normal? I feel like I have been off on my own while the people around me have been bonding with each other and creating a new community. It's left me in this in-between sort of place, where I am not entirely a program kid, [View Full Entry]

By RTW adventure 09 to 13
September 8th 2009

The Lowest Place On Earth Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

Crusaders Castle 9

With A Royal Route To Get There Leaving Petra, we had a couple of stops before we got to Jordan’s capital, Amman. First on the agenda… the ruins of one of the Crusader’s Castles at Shobak. Built around the 11th Century, it was taken back by the Arabs later and embellished in a more Arabic style before an earthquake in the early 1900’s made it uninhabitable. During the time of the crusades, the area was split up in to principalities with each of the castles presided over by a noble or prince to safe guard the route between Europe, Damascus a [View Full Entry]

By crumblybum21
September 6th 2009

My first ginormous adventure in Amman Middle East » Jordan » North » Amman

My facebook status says it all -- I don't know how I got home today. I was so excited for my first day of classes at the University of Jordan that I could barely sleep last night. The MSA class cranked my brain into gear even as we reviewed things I had already learned. The colloquial class was both fun and extremely useful and I couldn't wait to go back for more. I even got to meet up with friends from my Arabic class at Georgetown who are in a different program than me. The whole day was just exciting! I [View Full Entry]

By RTW adventure 09 to 13
September 5th 2009

Doing It Indiana Jones Style Middle East » Jordan » South » Petra

Tombs 2

To The Valley Of The Crescent Moon So today’s the day!!! Excited before even leaving the hotel, spirits were dampened by the ever present greed of consumerism that is so common in developing countries. What do I mean… getting off the bus, the first thing you see as you head to the ticket office are the usual touristy stalls trying to sell you everything from “authentic” souvenirs to the clothes and books. What really is disappointing is that the first stall you see is called The Last Crusade Souvenir Shop. It seems everyone will jump on a bandwagon j [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Middle East » Jordan

Jordan Travel Blogs, page 5

Jordan Travel Blogs

Jordan