Wadi Faynan was one of the biggest copper mines in the Roman Empire. It lies south of the Dead Sea on the east side of the Wadi Arabah which separates Israel from Jordan. The main Roman and Byzantine centre at Faynan is a series of ruins known as Khirbet Faynan (Khirbet means ruins) where […]

Umm Qays Site of the famous miracle of the Gadarene swine, Gadara was renowned in its time as a cultural centre. It was the home of several classical poets and philosophers, including Theodorus, founder of a rhetorical school in Rome, and was once called “a new Athens” by a poet. Perched on a splendid hilltop […]

Umm ar-Rasas Umm al-Rasas(also spelled Umm ar-Rasas and Um er-Rasas) is an important archaeological site that was declared a World Heritage Site in 2004. Its structures date from the 3rd to 9th centuries and most have not yet been excavated. The site is especially known for its magnificent Byzantine mosaics, which have been uncovered in […]

Umm Al-Jimal The Nabataeans were people of surprises. Not only did they create the amazing city of Petra, they built the northern city of Umm al-Jimal. Using the local rough black basalt instead of the soft rose sandstone of Wadi Musa, they created an eerie black city whose name, “Mother of Camels,” indicates its function […]

Umm Al-Jimal The Nabataeans were people of surprises. Not only did they create the amazing city of Petra, they built the northern city of Umm al-Jimal. Using the local rough black basalt instead of the soft rose sandstone of Wadi Musa, they created an eerie black city whose name, “Mother of Camels,” indicates its function […]

Umayyad Palace of Amman The Umayyad palace is located inside what is known as the Citadel. Locals refer to it as Jabal al-Qal’a, as the site is located on one of Amman’s many hills (jabals in Arabic). Most of the directions in Amman will reference one of the hills in the city. While most visitors venture to […]

Tel Mar Elias “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” — I Kings 17:1. One of the five sites officially recognized by the Vatican and […]

Shobak Castle Part of the great beacon chain of Crusader fortresses, Shobak Castle is by far the most lonely. Built in 1115 AD by Baldwin I, who later built Karak, it was originally known as Mont Realis (Montreal) and was the first outpost of the kingdom of Jerusalem in the Crusader district of Outrejordain. Situated […]

River Canyons of Jordan THOUGH WATER MAY NOT BE what comes to mind at the mention of Jordan. The country is actually full of breathtaking water-filled slot canyons (“widyan” in Arabic) that make for incredible hiking, climbing, rappelling, and even fishing. The water originates in the west, bubbling forth from hot springs or from the increasingly […]