AMMAN — Mushash 163, a relatively small settlement of about 70 x 50 m located some 40km east of Amman near the early Islamic site Qasr Mushash, recently became an object of interest for the German archaeological teams.

The caves, temples, and tombs of Petra reveal an impressive civilization.

DISCOVER THE RAW BEAUTY OF PETRA

 Sun seekers have a new option for the coming winter, as easyJet launches the first nonstop scheduled link from the UK to Aqaba in Jordan.

Over the course of the first six months of 2018, Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 3,884,518 million passengers, registering a 7.6 per cent year-on-year increase, according to figures released by Airport International Group.Since the beginning of the year until the end of June,

The entire Jordanian economy will revive when boosting tourism, which is tied to all other sectors and offers job opportunities to the youth, said the founder of "I was in Petra" initiative Mohammad Farajat, who uncovered new "out-of-the-box" tourism projects in nine aspects to boost tourism in the Kingdom.

 The Amman International Summer Festival is an opportunity to introduce custumers to the national industry, organisers said. The festival, which kicked off on July 26 and will continue till August 4, includes some 65 companies, of which, 45 are Jordanian.

The number of tourists to Petra in July increased by 29 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA).

Local female producers from across the Kingdom rejoiced this week, after seeing most of their production run out at the Jordan Food Week, a weeklong culinary festival which gave them the opportunity to display their homemade products to tens of thousands of Ammanis.

Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that performance indicators in the tourism sector showed “remarkable progress” in Aqaba, where the number of tourists in the first half of this year rose to 332,477 compared with 306,588 for the same period last year, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Majd Initiative on Friday organised a trip to the ancient city of Petra to fulfill dreams of a number of persons with disabilities to see the red-rose city and promote accessible tourism. The initiative was established by Abdul Rahman Salameh and named "Majd" after a girl with a physical disability who was refused admission to school, and later died during a surgery to treat her disability.

Jordan will see the longest “blood Moon” total lunar eclipse on July 27, coinciding with Mars’ perihelic opposition, Hanna Sabat, former president of the Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS), said on Tuesday. The lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth; entering the outer part of partial darkness, which is called the “penumbra”, and moving onto the inner part of total darkness, or the “umbra”, he said.

The Mamluk period (1250-1517) is still a relatively unexplored field for scholars who know very little about the residence patterns of the ruling elite who dwelt in the capital cities of Cairo, Damascus and Karak, an American archaeologist stated, noting that military officers then lived in "both barracks in citadels and palaces of the urban centres”.

Charred remains of a flatbread baked about 14,500 years ago in a stone fireplace at a site in northeastern Jordan have given researchers a delectable surprise: people began making bread, a vital staple food, millennia before they developed agriculture.

The Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) on Saturday organised several activities to celebrate the 11th anniversary of Petra’s selection as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. On July 7, 2007, Petra won a spot in the popularity poll, led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organised by the New7Wonders Foundation based in Switzerland, out of 21 finalist ancient sites across the globe, and became one of the New Seven Wonders.

Head of the Arab Federation for Tourism Development Ahmad Adas said that the federation has a plan to develop tourism in Jordan in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Jordan Tourism Board to implement successful policies in collaboration with Arab countries.

The weathered stone walls of the Azraq Castle, located some 100 kilometres East of Amman, have witnessed much of human history, serving as a strategic site in Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic times.A scholar said that studies of the history of the fortification are not complete.

The number of visitors to Petra in the first half of 2018 increased by 45 per cent compared with the same period of last year, an official said. Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority Chief Commissioner Falah Al Omoush said that 322,579 foreign and 65,492 Arab and Jordanian visitors visited the ancient city of Petra in the first six months of this year.

Despite its international recognition, the Baptism Site on the eastern side of the Jordan River receives “way fewer” visitors than the one located in the occupied West Bank, experts said. Jordan’s Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond Jordan” has been authenticated as the place where Jesus Christ was baptised, based on historical accounts of ancient pilgrims who documented their visits, the New Testament and archaeological findings and buildings, according to archaeologists. 

The Resilience Through Tourism Summit (RTTS), an international conference that took place in Amman on Tuesday and Wednesday, has announced the winners of the world’s first International Peace Through Tourism Awards which have been launched to highlight global tourism’s contribution to peace and prosperity.

New findings of various local and international researchers focusing on commercial ties between the Nabataean Kingdom and Rome, India and Egypt, as well as the economy and agriculture of Petra’s hinterland were discussed at the third international conference on Petra and the Nabataean heritage, which concluded on Thursday.

 The annual Souk Jara reopened its doors to the public this Friday, kick-starting three months of the weekly open air bazaar.

Started some 14 years ago in collaboration with the Greater Amman Municipality, the artisanal market has become an iconic event that Ammanis look forward to every year, giving them a chance to enjoy a friendly outdoor venue to purchase handicrafts and home-made products.