Jordan News

 AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh on Tuesday inaugurated the annual MENA sales and marketing conference.

 Low-cost airlines like Ryanair, Easyjet, and Norwegian have all recently taken notice of Jordan as a prime winter destination for European travelers. As more and more travelers are eager to visit the Middle East, airlines are providing more efficient and cost-friendly options.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s tourism revenue climbed 5.2 per cent and reached $1.3 billion during the first quarter of this year, in comparison to the same period of 2018.

 AMMAN — Petra’s monumental tombs represent a familiar sight for researchers working in the area, however, less familiar are the chambers cut into the bedrock along the escarpment of the area’s North Ridge and left behind by the site’s inhabitants.

 AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Saturday released the world’s first diving app offering personal GPS-based navigation technology underwater.

 AMMAN — During excavations in Petra, a team of researchers found two marble statues of the goddess Aphrodite in 2016, talks of restoration began and late last year the team turned to conservator Michael Morris for the project.

 AMMAN — The Children’s Museum Jordan on Monday launched a special temporary exhibit titled, “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World”, which will run until the end of the year, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — Archaeologist Ina Kehrberg-Ostrasz has recently delved into the findings of an excavation of a small tomb containing the single burial of a young child, which was accompanied by “unparalleled” gifts.

 AMMAN — Displayed at the World Economic Forum is an interactive map of Jordan, one comprised of three different digital layers highlighting Jordan’s tourist attractions, innovation hubs and investment opportunities.

 AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that Jordan has all the ingredients to build a remarkable medical tourism industry, adding that such a potential should be tapped through providing high-quality products and better coordination between stakeholders.

 AMMAN — According to Jordanian filmmaker Widad Shafakoj, there are other more influential means to exercise activism and press for change than taking to the streets and forming unions — the camera.

 AMMAN — The number of tourists who visited the Jordan Museum increased by 26 per cent in 2018, reaching 79,550 compared with 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

 AMMAN — More than half-a-million passengers went through Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) in February, according to statistics released by the Airport International Group (AIG) on Monday.

 AMMAN — Dolmens, above-ground tombs made of giant slabs of stone, are scattered throughout northwest Jordan, but their absence from other areas have perplexed researchers, until recently.

 AMMAN — The number of foreign visitors to Petra in the first three months of 2019 increased by 53 per cent to 219,503 guests, compared with the same period of 2018, when the ancient city welcomed 143,345 visitors, the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA) announced on Monday.

 AMMAN — Jordan’s victory against Australia during the team’s opening game of this year’s Asian Cup contributed to restoring its prestige, said Tayseer Omairi, a sports journalist.

 JERASH — The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Tuesday launched the Jerash Centre for the Restoration of Ancient Artefacts project during a ceremony at the Jerash Department of Tourism.

 AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is planning on renovating, yet preserving, Jabal Luweibdeh in 2019, according to a report made available to The Jordan Times.

 Amman — The Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Amman on Thursday played host to a concert by The Italian Cello Trio to celebrate the twinning of stone cities Petra and Matera, the latter of which is the 2019 cultural capital city of Europe.

 AMMAN — An exhibition organised for the Atharafoqa area, in the northern part of Umm Qais, was the crown jewel of seven years of cooperation between a German research team and the local community.

 AMMAN — Under the patronage of Social Development Minister Basma Ishaqat, the Drosos Foundation and UNESCO Amman on Thursday launched the Safi Crafts line of handmade, eco-friendly textiles and accessories, which were made by women from the Ghor Safi village and will be sold in 20 stores across Jordan.

 AMMAN — The Energy Ministry on Wednesday signed agreements, under the electricity rationalisation project, to support four hotels in Petra at a total cost of JD303,000. 

 AMMAN — The Kingdom’s national income from tourism increased by 10 per cent in January and February 2019, to JD573.9 million, compared with figures from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ monthly statistical report issued on Sunday.

 AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) new food truck project will begin operation on January 2019, with 30-50 new locations being allocated for trucks, according to GAM Spokesperson Mazen Farrajeen.

 AMMAN — A Jordanian scholar on Wednesday gave a lecture outlining the ancient Nabataeans’ water-harvesting prowess, exemplified by the Qantara-Hremeyyeh catchment area located 3km southwest of Wadi Musa.

 AMMAN — The Jerash Department of Antiquities on Thursday unveiled a "unique" lead sarcophagus that dates back to the Byzantine era.

 AMMAN — Jordan’s ecology is being celebrated through Algerian artist Hakim Jamain’s “Cultivating the Soul” exhibition; in a reawakening for the historical role of the artist as a scientist and a researcher driven by curiosity.

 AMMAN — The recent Royal visit to Al Quds restaurant went viral on social media, emphasising how much the tiny, but well-known, restaurant has grown since its establishment in 1966.

 AMMAN — Tucked inside the University of Jordan, a 33-year-old museum aims to preserve different aspects of local heritage for the Jordanian public and college students for “generations to come”.

AMMAN — A project to better preserve the Roman Aqueduct of Gadara in Umm Qais recently concluded, according to a statement sent from the US embassy in Jordan.

 AMMAN — The King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) on Wednesday announced that they plan on launching the “Steps for Life” initiative for the fourth year in a row.

 JERASH — Despite being the second most visited tourism attraction in Jordan, Jerash’s tourism sector does not provide jobs for 99 per cent of its population, experts said.

 AMMAN — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Monday inaugurated the Amman Green City Action Plan (GCAP), making the city one of 20 worldwide now taking part in the greening project.

 AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) celebrated its 55th anniversary on Wednesday with a performance by the Jordanian Army Band and a ceremony marking the company’s establishment.

 AMMAN — Tourism revenues in January went up by 9.1 per cent to JD458 million, compared with JD420 million in the same month last year, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced on Tuesday.

 PETRA — Canadian tourist Roxanna Ferguson has recently had what she called a “spiritual trip”, when she walked among the warm candle lit walls of Petra and towards its venerable Treasury at night. 

 AMMAN — Brig. Gen. Awni Mohammed Khasawneh, director general of the Royal Jordanian Geographical Centre (RJGC) and director of the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Western Asia, has chaired the meetings of the Space 2030 Working Group, which extended from February 11-15.

 AMMAN — A draft nomination request to include Um Al Jimal archaeological site on the World Heritage List has been finalised, the mission preserving the Byzantine town said on Sunday.  

 AMMAN — The UN announced on Thursday that Olivier  Adam, executive coordinator of the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme will visit Amman on Sunday to promote volunteerism.

 AMMAN —  The Italian archaeological mission to Jordan's Medieval Petra recently concluded its 2018 excavation season in Al Jaya village (some 200 kilometres south of Amman), which resulted in the excavation of the urban Jaya Palace.

 AMMAN — A team of 19 Jordanian teenagers will climb Tanzania’s Mount Meruto to raise funds for supporting the treatment of underprivileged cancer patients at King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC).

 AMMAN — What once was a dull desert area in the middle of the Azraq refugee camp was transformed into a new space for art and community engagement by the London-based organisation Artmongers, recently.

 AMMAN — The allegorical journey of the soul into unity and transcendentalism in the mystical epic “Conference of the Birds” by Persian Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar is now to be experienced in the duo exhibition by digital artists Zaina El Said and Mo Awwad.

 AMMAN — The 19th National Olives Festival kicked off on Wednesday allowing farmers to showcase their olives and other rural products.

 AMMAN — Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 8,425,026 passengers in 2018, a 6.5 per cent increase from 2017, the Airport International Group (AIG) said.

 JERASH — Having zero additives is the secret behind the “unbeatable” taste of hummus and broad bean dishes, or foul, served at the Smadi Restaurant in the northern Jordanian city of Jerash, the owner said, and customers seconded that. 

 AMMAN — The Jordan Valley and the Transjordanian Highlands are two distinctive regions, however material culture found in the two areas point to a close cultural connection, according to a German archaeologist.

 AMMAN — In order to solve an outdated approach to cultural research management (CRM), a local NGO recently decided to build and manage a vocational training programme that would directly involve local communities.

 AMMAN — Analysts on Thursday described Jordan’s recent ranking as 48th safest country in the world as an important achievement, while expressing their suspicion of the ranking’s accuracy.

 DENVER — A superheated blast from the skies obliterated cities and farming settlements north of the Dead Sea around 3,700 years ago, preliminary findings suggest.