Many people visiting the country are warned that the Eastern areas contain nothing that might interest a foreigner, or worse, that these areas are dangerous. This is truly unfortunate; visitors to Jordan and residents of other areas are missing out on an important part of the Jordanian experience by not exploring East Amman.

With over 10,000 registered archaeological sites, one can visit the earliest known human settlements in the world; some of the best preserved Roman temples, forums, and Colosseum outside Italy

The overall Jordanian economy has been marked by the following characteristics, challenges, and problems.

Jordan’s economy has had robust growth of 6%-7% every year since 2000, with highs of 8% in 2004, and 7.8% in 2008. While the world financial crisis slowed growth to 2.8% in 2009, it but did not stop it.

The famous “Lost City” of Petra, remembered in poetry as “a rose-red city half as old as time,” and unforgettably featured in a host of films, novels, and video games, is one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”

Jordan is has a “strong kingdom” form of government, which is to say that, while it has a constitution and a partially elected parliament, the king has substantial control of the political process.

The foreign policy that has kept Jordan one of the most internally safe and peaceful as well as one of the most stable governments in the Middle East, consists of three successful strategies.

Generally considered one of the most beautiful of world leaders, Queen Rania, for her part, has been no palace wallflower.

All politics and economics in Jordan today are dominated by the popular and charismatic personalities—and dynamic “hands-on” personal leadership—of Jordan’s ruling couple.

  When Abdullah I was assassinated· in 1951, he was succeeded on the throne by King Hussein. Hussein was a charismatic and farsighted king who was popular with both Western and other Arab governments, as well as with the Jordanian public.

Anyone interested in Jordan should have at least a basic knowledge of its amazing history; for much of Jordan’s labor force, GDP, city planning, and transportation system is organized around preserving and celebrating its memory.  

 In the scale of nations, Jordan is an average, mid-sized country. In terms of population, its 6.5 million people rank  103rdI (about the same as Libya or Paraguay) out of 224 states and autonomous territories.