Jordan
The information below is provided by Lonely Planet readers and is not verified by Lonely Planet. For the official lowdown, contact your nearest embassy or check out our Travel Links.
Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
Beginning in October 2005, Jordan will include the 5JD departure tax for foreigners into plane tickets instead of collecting it at airports. The exit fees will presumably still be collected when leaving Jordan overland.
David Patel, USA (April 05)
In Aqaba, it's easy to buy ferry tickets for both boats at the port. The minibus fare to the port is only 250 fils. The exchange place there offers an okay, official rate for changing JD to E£. At the Egyptian Consulate in Aqaba you can apply for longer (3 month) visas for the same price as a 1 month visa, though it's definitely not "on the spot" (allow three hours). Make sure that the personnel on the boat also mark your entry stamp as 3 months. They tend to just mark for 1 month.
Moray Easdale, UK (Jan 03)
I tried to contact the Ministry for Jordan in The Hague (Holland), but the address is wrong. The correct address is:
Jordanië, Ambassade van (Jordan, Embassy of)
Badhuisweg 79
2587CD 'S-GRAVENHAGE (The Hague)
Tel. +31(0)70-4167200
Tel. +31(0)70-4167209
Open Monday-Friday from: 9:00-16:00 hr
Walter Stielstra, Netherlands (Feb 02)
Travel Tips
Women travelers: If you are on your own and need help, try to seek out a woman first for help. If you cannot find a woman to help, then approach a man. To ask politely, approach the person and say: "ya-tiki-afi", this means, thank you for your kind help. Not only will that show the man that you are more than just a lost soul, but this is a very respectable thing to say and in turn, you should then be respected. It sets the tone for the confrontation between a woman and a man who normally do not interact very much in Middle Eastern societies. This phrase can be said to a man or a woman, as well.
For photographing Petra, it is best to see the Treasury, the eastern face of Petra city centre & the Lions Triclinium (on the way to the Monastery) in the morning for sun-lit facades. Almost all of the other monuments (eg. Royal Tombs, the Monastery, etc.) are only sun-lit in the afternoon. It is also wise to climb to the High Place of Sacrifice in the morning when the sun is behind you.
Yee Cheng, Malaysia (May 03)
Having visited Petra now some 10 times and stayed with a local family of whom many are well informed and educated guides, I feel that from an "insiders" point of view the following caveat may be worth noting. Single women going to Petra should be aware that the guides have a fairly low opinion of western women in general and see them as a bit of a joke. Vulnerable and susceptible women get trotted out the same compliments and suggestions each week, on each tour and one can see that there could be some severely broken hearts bearing in mind the charisma and good looks of the guides. In the time I have visited Petra I have spoken to many women who truly believed their guide was going to come and stay with them in England, that he wanted them to write and that they were the most special tourist who had ever visited the place. This is in part the guides' eagerness to tell you what you want to hear, but also can be rather teeth curlingly embarrassing once you realise you are one of hundreds who have been trotted out the same tale by a handsome guide who has a huge pile of letters from similarly lovesick tourists. One woman I spoke to truly believed that in a coachload of over 40 tourists, she had been selected by her guide personally and that all his commentary was directed to her specifically! Such is the magic that these people weave. It's easy to laugh when you read what I have written and think no sensible and educated woman would be taken in, but it never ceases to amaze me how once they are on holiday the most staid and reserved English woman sees herself as a bit of a femme fatale. Several women even returned the following year seeking out their guide! Some of the stories told to me over desert barbecues make me cringe to be English!
Helen Walls, UK (May 03)
Beware of photographing the Desert Castles - there are unmarked military sites out in the desert, and military personnel will confiscate your film.
Another warning: the back, "tunnel" route from the Siq into Petra is seriously best avoided if there's been any rain recently, despite the suggestions at the Visitors Centre to the contrary. It's a deathtrap of sudden drops, strenuous clambers and wading through pools of ice-cold water.
Another warning worth mentioning: only the brave or immune-to-cold would swim in the Dead Sea during most of winter. Pick your day and season carefully.
Moray Easdale, UK (Jan 03)
It is now possible to hire horses from guides on the way into Petra. We had 2 horses and a guide for 1 1/2 hours. We galloped up the mountains and looked down. It was amazing! I suggest dressing in long trousers and suitable shoes. Horses cost JD35 per hour. It is best to pay first as the man who owned the horses tried to ask for money for the guide's horse when we got back, which we had not agreed to. Also, be wary if they offer a gallop to the Petra gates as they will try to charge for this. We were asked for JD10.
Tracy Fenn (Nov 02)
Moving About
From Wadi Rum to Amman, try to catch a bus coming from Aqaba on the Aqaba-Amman Highway. Avoid having to go to Ma'an to change bus for Amman; I wasted half a day there just for the bus to be filled before it took off!
Yee Cheng, Malaysia (May 03)
JETT buses from Aqaba to Amman now run six times per day and take nearly four hours. It's best to buy tickets a day or two ahead. Arrive half an hour before your departure as there is a long procedure to go through. Firstly security checks the bags or at least those of the Jordanians. Your ticket is then stamped. Next, you must go back into the office where the ticket was originally purchased. Your name is written on a list and the ticket stamped again. Upon boarding, the bus attendant checks for your name on the list. The driver half rips the ticket and then the attendant seats you.
Near the Abdali bus station in Amman you can find long distance taxis going to various Middle Eastern cities surrounding Amman. Drivers hang out at the various stores surrounding the bus station. They have big cars that hold up to six passengers and only leave with a full load. I was quoted only JD20 for a one way trip to Beirut.
Patrick Holian, USA (Nov 02)
If you hire a taxi from a hotel, make sure the hotel staff correctly tell the taxi what you want. We added one extra destination, which was not much of a divert from the standard route, and the hotel told us it was the same price but at the end of the trip the taxi driver asked for more. We do not know who was wrong because we only heard the hotel staff talk to the driver over the phone in Arabic when we booked. This could be avoided by confirming the destination and price with both the taxi driver and the hotel staff when they are together, probably when the driver comes to meet you at the lobby.
Paul Koetsawang, Thailand (Nov 02)
Scams & Warnings
For 24 hours after scuba diving in Aqaba, you cannot leave Aqaba by the Desert Highway as it climbs up more than 1,000 metres over sea level, which creates a risk of getting altitude sickness. You can leave Aqaba using the Dead Sea Highway where the elevation is less than 300 metres.
Paul Koetsawang, Thailand (Nov 02)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
Anybody interested in ancient history or biblical archaeology shouldn't miss Tell Hesban. Not yet a major tourist attraction, the site is still peaceful and the views from top of the Tell are amazing! Believed to be the city of Heshbon mentioned in the Bible as the city of king Sihon the Amorite, Hesban was a flourishing city in the Roman era (called Esbus) and inhabited through Umayyad, Ayyubid and Mamluk times. The large reservoir (seven metres deep and seveteen metres on one side), dating back to the Iron Age (7th century BC), recalls the description in chapter seven of the Song of Solomon: "Your eyes are pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath- rab'bim." A cave, cut in the rock (12th century BC), the remains of a small fort with towers (3rd century BC) and a Roman temple on the summit of the Tell - later converted into a Byzantine basilica (6th century AD) - are quite obvious, but there's much more to explore! Excavations, conducted by Andrews University, Michigan, started in 1968, and research is still going on.
Hesban is located 25 km southwest of Amman and 11 km north of Madaba, half way between Madaba and Naur. Overlooking the little village, the Tell is an obvious landmark to the left of the main road (coming from Madaba).
Andreas Jens Jahrow, Germany (Jul 02)
If you are planning to visit Petra, I would really recommend staying one extra day and going on a camel trek to Sabrah. I had always wanted to go on a camel trek (Petra to Wadi Rum) but had never had the time or the money. Sabrah is three hours by camel from the centre of Petra. There is a small Roman theatre and a damaged castle (obviously not as good as Petra) and you will have it all to yourself. The view on the way to the mountains is amazing. There are two short, rocky downhill sections where you have to walk as it is too difficult for the camel (donkey would be okay). Just ask one of the Bedouins with camels in Petra to take you and to make tea and lunch for you. The next day you will be rather sore, so don't plan anything too strenuous.
Regina Dunford, UK (Feb 02)
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