Discover Jordan’s great magnificence on a round trip

The capital city of Amman is the perfect starting point for your roundtrip. This is a place where high-rise buildings and three-lane roundabouts meet temple, gate, and theatre ruins from ancient times. Modernity has slipped into every corner of the city, yet the past is still omnipresent. Those of you who want to explore the past should visit the Jordan Museum, where you can experience 1.5 million years of Jordanian history. The ‘Ain Ghazal Statues will definitely give you goosebumps; They were created between 8000 and 6000 BC in the surrounding areas of ‘Ain Ghazal and are considered to be the first full-body representations of humans.

Jordan Museum

Hills didn’t just play a prominent role in the founding of Rome. Citadel Hill, Jabal Al Qala’a, located in the centre of Amman, is also paramount in the history of Jordan. It is one of the oldest permanently inhabited places in the world. At the top, one ancient foundation wall follows the next, one column after the other towering majestically into the air. A particular eye-catcher: The massive stone fist in the middle of the ground. Do you have an idea of who it belongs to? Of course, it belongs to the mighty Hercules, the strongest of the Greek Gods.

Art Destinations

Do you have time for a day trip beyond the bustling capital? The city of Jerash is situated in the north of the capital, 40 kilometres from Amman, and is home to around 40,000 inhabitants today. The perfect place to take another trip back in time. The South Theatre with the capacity to accommodate up to 5,000 spectators, the Jupiter Temple on the artificially made slope, the Zeus Temple with its Corinthian columns, Emperor Hadrian's done-up triumphal arch or the 800-metre-long cardo maximus, which once stretched from the market square to the northern city gate – this Roman city allows you to experience ancient times in person.

Not quite city, not quite desert, not quite rock – Petra is something in between. This place in Wadi Musa, once the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom (2nd century BC), is so surreal that it is ranked among the seven wonders of the world. The Khazne al-Firaun, the 40-metre-high Treasury of the pharaoh, the facade of which made the rock city famous, looks like an engraving in the sandstone. By the way, it was not a treasury in real life, but the tomb of the pharaoh. If you can, stay in Petra until it gets dark, because this is when the rock city is cloaked in candlelight – and will have you believing in miracles again.

Visit Petra

End station! The desert isn’t king in the port city of Aqaba, just an hour’s drive from Wadi Rum. Here, water dominates the environment. Rising from the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba is home to over 200 coral species, transforming the waters below the surface into a colourful and biodiverse paradise. It’s no wonder that fish love this place: groupers, Indian long nose hawkfish or red-breasted wrasse – you may see one or two swimming towards you if you dive down. But don’t worry! You don't have to remember all these weird names – just seeing them will do just fine.

Aqaba