Jordan

Overview
Petra, the jewel in the crown of Jordan's antiquities, has been declared by popular ballot one of the 'new' Seven Wonders of the World. The magnificent rock-hewn city of the Nabateans hardly needed further billing (since Jean Louis Burckhardt discovered it in the 19th century, it has been a favourite destination for Europeans) but at sunset on a winter's day, when the rose-pink city catches alight, it's easy to see why it has charmed a new generation of visitors.

Not to be outdone by Petra's success, Wadi Rum, that epic landscape of Lawrence and Lean - 'Arabs' man' and moviemaker - is a contender as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Two such weighty accolades would be entirely disproportionate to the minimal size of Jordan.

But Jordan, once an important trading centre of the Roman Empire and straddling the ancient Holy Land of the world's three great monotheistic religions, is no stranger to punching above its weight. Stand on Mt Nebo, newly consecrated by Pope John II, and survey the land promised to Moses; unwrap a scarf or two at Mukawir, where Salome cast a spell over men in perpetuity; float in the Dead Sea, beside a pillar of salt, reputed to be Lot's disobedient wife - go just about anywhere in Jordan and you'll find every stone bares a tale, and those of Madaba's legendary mosaics tell more tales than most.

With so much history wrapped up in this tiny desert kingdom, it's easy to overlook the modern face of Jordan - something the new king is trying to address in ambitious developments at Aqaba and along the Dead Sea. In the meantime, the Bedouin still herd their sheep across an unchanged landscape in living continuity with the ancient past.

Top Things To Do

• Walk reverentially through the nighttime siq at Petra, with the way through this iconic canyon lit by candles and escorted by strains of traditional music.
• Soar noiselessly above Wadi Rum in a hot-air balloon. The eagle-eye view is almost as epic as Sam Lean's film of Lawrence's life among the Arabs, filmed in the dunes below.
• Stay with the Bedouin near Wadi Rum and spend the day touring the desert by jeep, on foot or astride a camel. In the evening, enjoy a traditional feast in a Bedouin tent then fall asleep under the stars.
• Bob like a cork in the dense salt water of the Dead Sea. When the salt begins to smart, brush away the tears in an extravagant spa treatment at one of the neighbouring resorts.
• Go diving at Aqaba and be wowed by the psychedelic underworld of the Red Sea. If the beauty of the fish doesn't make you vegetarian, sample a few marine delicacies in one of the town's many fish restaurants.
• Imagine the striking of ancient hooves on cobbles at the Crusader castles of Karak and Ash Shawbak. If you listen extra hard, you may catch the whisper of the wind penetrating the underground passageways of these superb pieces of military architecture.
• Visit one of Jordan's wildlife reserves, such as the Azraq Wetlands. The residents - including hyena, wolf, gazelle, ostrich and oryx - are notoriously elusive but the infectious beauty of each location is easily caught.
• Hire a guide with a 4-wheel drive vehicle and disappear into the eastern desert. Just when you think you're on the road to nowhere, you'll stumble across Qasr al Tuba, the remotest of the Umayyad desert castles.
• Explore the souk in Amman: watch a Middle East market in operation and bargain along with them.
• For the ultimate rail experience, take a trip on the Hejaz Railway from Amman to Damascus. This slow-moving relic of the Ottoman Empire is one of the world's classic rail journeys but don't expect it to be comfortable.

Top Things To See

• Sit on top of a 'high place' at sunset and you'll quickly understand why the fabled city of Petra is a jewel in the crown of antiquities: the sandstone of the Nabatean tombs glows ruby-red in the setting sun.
• Step into the magnificent wind-blown desert of Wadi Rum. The wind and occasional flooding has shaped the landscape into a cyclorama of pillars and rock arches - a fit arena for the spectacles of history played out here.
• Plan a visit to Jordan in April or May when garlands of springtime flowers lace the Roman monuments at Um Qais (biblical 'Gadara'), perched high above Lake Tiberius. If you're lucky, you may happen on a black iris, Jordan's national flower.
• Catch the hedonistic fever of ancient Rome in a trip to the races at Jerash, a magnificently preserved, Greco-Roman city where daily chariot races are staged at the recently restored Hippodrome.
• Visit The Citadel and Archaeological Museum in Amman. With a selection of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the remains of an Umayyad city and fine views of the Roman amphitheatre, it is a wonder that so many tourists bypass the capital.
• Tour the eastern desert castles, built as hunting lodges and trading posts by the Umayyad. Al-Kharanah is one of the few that actually looks like a castle. Nearby Amra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was a bathhouse famed for its frescos.
• Catch up with more recent history at the fortress at Azraq, Lawrence of Arabia's headquarters during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917, then head east towards Mafraq and explore the deserted black basalt city of Um al Jimal.
• Drive along the historic King's Highway, a road of Biblical significance. Call in at Madaba, famed for its mosaic map of Palestine, and nearby Mount Nebo, where Moses surveyed the 'Promised Land' before he died.
• Leave the Highway to visit the village of Mukawir and watch the women of the Bani Hamida workshop weave wool into colourful traditional designs. Nearby is Machaerus, the fortress of Herod Antipas, where John the Baptist was imprisoned before being beheaded.
• Even if you've seen enough mosaics to last a lifetime, spare time for one more: the magnificent mosaic floors of the excavated church of St Stephen in Um er Rasas are not a UNESCO World Heritage site for nothing.
• Drop in at the Dead Sea Panorama museum to put the lowest point on earth in a more elevated context; the sea is living up to its name and shrinking at an alarming rate.
• Keep an eye open for ibex (wild mountain goats) on a hike in the Dana Nature Reserve. What you miss upon the rocky outcrops, the enthusiastic park rangers will make up for in lively evening chats with one of the eco-lodges.

Climate
The Jordan Valley and the area around Aqaba is warm during winter (January-February) with chilly evenings, and extremely hot in summer (June-August). In the Eastern Desert, the winter can be bitterly cold and dry and the summer intensely hot. The central spine of hills can receive snowfall in winter and is cool in the evenings in summer. Rain falls between November and March.

Required Clothing
Lightweight clothes are advised between May and September. Thick winter clothes are essential for winter and a warm layer is necessary for cool summer evenings. Rainwear is needed from November to April.