Jordan is a relatively new country, founded after the First World War and gaining full independence from the UK in 1946. It is a kingdom, with the current ruler, King Abdullah, coming to the throne in 1999 following the death of his legendary father King Hussein. Jordan has no oil and very little water. The main drivers of the economy are potash, agriculture, tourism and a growing technology industry; it is heavily investing in education. It has 10 million people, with 40% in the capital, Amman. With limited natural resources and becoming the home for refugees – most recently over 1.3m Syrians on top of 700,000 Palestinians, together with over 1m Palestinians who are now citizens – the economy of Jordan has come under great strain.
Amman is where we started our tour. We were met at the airport by Ahmad who was to be our driver for two weeks. He also taught us a bit of Arabic, some of which was familiar as Arabic is one of the foundations of Turkish.
Most of Amman has been built since 1946, however it also has significant historic sites, notably the Roman Citadel and Theatre. We were grateful for some sustenance at the best known falafel stall in the souk before we visited the King Abdullah mosque.
Shilli-Fully Travels 