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• Jordan in Brief

8. Where should I go and what should I do?

History and archeology
Shopping
Adventure
Wellness and fitness
Water sports and resort activities
Top 10 travel destinations in Jordan

Jordan's many treasures and pleasures surprise most visitors with a diverse mix of interests, from history, archeology, and culture to shopping, wellness, and adventure. Easily accessible and convenient to travel, Jordan is a traveler's delight - truly a “must see” destination. Here, you'll discover the rapidly growing and cosmopolitan city of Amman, with its many great hotels, restaurants, shops, and nightlife.

Within one to three hours of Amman, history and archeology come alive when you visit the fabled ancient Nabataean city of Petra and the awesome Greco-Roman ruins of Jerash - Jordan's two most popular tourist sites.

You should also consider exploring numerous desert castles, such as Qusayr 'Amra, Qasr Mushatta, Qasr al-Kharrana, Qasr at-Tuba and Qasr al-Hallabat, which offer excellent examples of early Islamic art and architecture.

This is also a very spiritual land for retracing biblical history. Occupying the eastern side of the Jordan River, Jordan is an important part of the Holy Land, which is of considerable interest to individuals in search of their Christian and Jewish heritage.

It's the land of Abraham, Job, Moses, Ruth, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, Paul, and other great religious figures, along with the Garden of Eden, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, and Mount Nebo (final station in the life of Moses). Religious pilgrims often include Jordan in their ventures into ancient Canaan, Palestine, and Israel.

Jordan also has a lot to offer visitors who are interested in shopping for unique items produced in Jordan and the surrounding region. You'll find numerous shopping centers, shops, markets, craft centers, workshops, and street stalls in Amman, Petra, Aqaba, and the Dead Sea area offering a wide range of handicrafts, clothes, jewelry, art, and antiques.

Some of the most popular Jordanian treasures include decorated sand bottles (sand art), Bedouin jewelry, beadwork, basket weaving, gold, silver, hand-embroidered textiles, metalwork, fine art, knives, water pipes, rugs, dresses, scarves, ceramics, pottery, glassware, wood inlaid boxes (mainly from Syria), copper pots, frankincense and myrrh, souvenirs, and Dead Sea spa and natural therapeutic treatment products (soaps, shampoos, cleansers, gels, creams, bath salts).

Adventure travelers will find many interesting things to see and do related to the desert and sea. If you enjoy hiking, rock-climbing, camel and horseback riding, desert and canyon trekking, sandboarding, ballooning, camping, scuba diving, and a host of water sports, Jordan will not disappoint you.

Indeed, you'll encounter some wonderful outdoor experiences as you discover Jordan's beautiful and varied deserts and mountains.

Wellness and fitness have become important aspects of tourism in Jordan. Within a 45-minute drive southwest of Amman and centered along the waters of the Dead Sea, several world class hotels and resorts (Movenpick, Marriott, Kempinksi, and Dead Sea Spa) offer extensive Dead Sea treatments and spa facilities along with five-star fitness centers and sports facilities.

Water sports and resort activities are especially popular with a growing number of visitors to the rapidly developing beachfront southern resort city of Aqaba. Located on the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) next to the southern Israeli resort city of Elat and within close proximity to the northern Egyptian (Sinai Peninsula) resort of Taba, Aqaba is quickly becoming one of the Middle East’s major resort destinations, a rising star in the tourism and property management industries.

It's currently a very popular destination for scuba divers and water sports enthusiasts. Investors from the UAE and Saudi Arabia are now completing major hotel and resort complexes (Saraya Aqaba) that are destined to transform Aqaba into a luxury destination complete with five-star hotels, condominiums, restaurants, shopping centers, spas, and recreational activities, similar to the ones readily found in Dubai. Several direct charter flights from Europe now land in Aqaba.

Top 10 Treasures and Pleasures

Jordan's top 10 most popular travel destinations include:

1. Petra
2. Jerash
3. Wadi Rum
4. Amman
5. Aqaba
6. Dead Sea
7. Desert Castles
8. Religious sites
9. Nature reserves
10. Historical settlements

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