Jordan Attractions

Amman

Amman, Jordan's capital, will certainly never win any prizes as the most interesting city in the world and, in fact, has only a few attractions. It's a busy, chaotic jumble of traffic and poor planning, but all roads lead to Amman, so you're bound to wind up here sooner or later.

At least 5000 years old, Amman is sprinkled with Roman ruins, including a citadel and a forum. Downtown Amman is at the bottom of four of the city's many hills, and its where you'll find cheap hotels, banks and the sights. Flash places to stay and eat and embassies are on the main hill, Jebel Amman.

Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum has some of the most spectacular desert scenery in the world. Lawrence of Arabia spent some time here during the Arab Revolt, and many of the scenes from the film were shot here. Don't expect sweeping sand dunes: Wadi Rum is a landscape of bizarre, soaring rock formations, known as jebels.

Although a popular tourist stop, it hasn't lost any of its forbidding majesty. The only residents of the area are 4000 villagers and Bedouin nomads, and the only buildings are goat hair tents, a few concrete shops and houses and the fort headquarters of the Desert Patrol Corps. There is no hotel.