Jordan
Built in the 4th century, the ‘Monastery of Caves’ is a purpose-built Roman fort that primarily served as a sentry post. Like its famous neighbour Umm Al…
Must-see attractions in Jordan
Dead Sea Highway
Lot's Cave, a stiff 10-minute climb up a steep flight of steps, is surrounded by the ruins of a small Byzantine church (5th to 8th centuries), a reservoir…
Church of St Cosmos & St Damianus
Jerash
When Christianity became the state religion under Emperor Constantine in 324, all Roman monuments that were tainted by so-called pagan practices were…
Jordan
Pressed up against the cliffs on the opposite side of the highway to Wadi Rum is the seldom-visited Bedouin district of Humaiyma. Curious visitors who…
Jordan
The neglected ruins of the 2000-year-old Nabataean temple of Khirbet Tannour are worth the hike up the hill for the view, if nothing else. A famous statue…
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
A covered walking trail meanders past ancient steps down to the original water level and the sparse archeological remains of 5th-century Byzantine…
Jordan
This small Roman fort, built from basalt in the 3rd century over the ruins of a 1st-century Nabataean building, is between Azraq and Safawi. The small…
Mt Nebo
This spring is one of two places where Moses is believed to have obtained water by striking a rock. Six giant eucalyptus trees mark the spot, and there’s…
Jordan
Part of the neighbouring fort complex in Hallabat, this hammam (bathhouse) has been extensively restored, revealing the underfloor piping system that was…
Madaba
Walkways lead around the ruins of this late-6th-century luxury private mansion, destroyed by fire and earthquake around 749. The walkways offer a good…
Madaba
Housed in several old Madaba residences, this museum features a 6th-century mosaic depicting a naked satyr; a saucy (and partly damaged) mosaic of Ariadne…
Amman
The Hejaz Railway once ferried pilgrims from Damascus in Syria to Amman and then on to Medina in Saudi Arabia, but only the breeze rolls through this…
Wadi Rum
On a small hill in Rum village, about 400m behind the Rest House (follow the telephone poles), are the limited ruins of a 2000-year-old temple, dedicated…
Mt Nebo
This new ethnographic diorama, 2km before Mt Nebo on the Nebo–Madaba road, features an exhibition of tableaux billed as depictions of the religious,…
Jordan
Easily the most impressive of the lesser-known castles, Tuba lies approximately 75km southeast of Amman and captures the sense of a staging post on long…
Dead Sea Highway
For a solid introduction to the geology, history and environment of the Dead Sea, spare an hour for this museum.
Umm Qais
Surrounding the museum are the comprehensive ruins of an Ottoman village dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Two houses, Beit Malkawi (now used as an…
Jerash
On the eastern side of the cardo maximus lie the earthquake-stricken remains of the Western Baths. Dating from the 2nd century AD, the baths were once an…
Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art & Restoration
Madaba
Originally set up as a school in 1992 by the Jordanian government, this institute trains Jordanian artists in the production and restoration of mosaics,…
Jerash
The south decumanus at Jerash once served as the Roman town's main east–west axis. At the eastern end is the modern mosque. Take the left fork from the…
Amman
The simple and solemn Martyr’s Monument Museum houses a small but interesting collection of documents, chronicling Jordan’s recent military history…
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
The hill behind the House of Mary the Egyptian holds the presumed cave of John the Baptist, a 5th-century monastery (built around the site) and the ruined…
Jerash
South of the nymphaeum, an elaborate staircase rises from the cardo maximus to Jerash's only cathedral. Little more than a modest Byzantine church, it was…
Aqaba
To the untrained eye, these ruins look unprepossessing to say the least, but archaeologists maintain that the remains of this ancient mud-brick complex…
Jordan
The Umm Ar Rasas site spans the expansive ruins of Kastron Mefaa (mentioned in the Bible as the Roman military outpost of Mephaath). The ruins encompass…
Wadi Musa
Moses' Spring is one of two possible locations in Jordan for the site where Moses supposedly struck the rock with his staff and water gushed forth to the…
Dead Sea Highway
Near the start of the climb up to Lot's Cave is the literally titled Lowest Point on Earth Museum. Shaped like a giant stone comma, it contains…
Aqaba
Located along the Corniche and incongruously squeezed between the marina and the Mövenpick Resort Hotel, Ayla is the site of the ancient port of Aqaba…
Jordan
Once a grand Umayyad settlement, today Mushash lies in ruin. However, it’s still possible to get a sense of the original layout, and there are a number of…
The Ancient City
It is worth climbing to the upper part of the Great Temple to gain a sense of the enormity of a structure that would once have occupied 7000 sq m. It is…
Umm Qais
A bit of imagination is needed to reconstruct the colonnaded courtyard of the Basilica Terrace, the western section of which housed a row of shops. The…
Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
Tell Elias is where Elijah is said to have ascended to heaven, although there is little to see here. The rebuilt arch marks the 5th- to 6th-century…
Aqaba
This free museum, in the shadow of the giant flagpole, is moderately diverting. There are some fascinating period photos of Aqaba, including at the time…
Little Petra
Built by the Crusaders in AD 1116, Al Wu’ira was overrun by Muslim forces 73 years after construction. An impressive old bridge (previously a drawbridge)…
Jordan
One of the few towns along the Desert Hwy is Qatrana, a couple of kilometres north of the turn-off to Karak and a former stop on the pilgrim road between…
Amman
Built by King Abdullah I in 1924 and restored in 1987, this compact mosque is in the heart of downtown on the site of an earlier mosque built in AD 640…
Amman
About 4km west of Wadi As Seer, on the road to the village of Iraq Al Amir, you can spot part of an ancient Roman aqueduct, testament to Rome's success at…
Amman
On the eastern side of Amman's Forum stands a 500-seat odeon. Built in the 2nd century AD, it served mainly as a venue for musical performances. It was…
Umm Qais
West along the decumanus maximus are the overgrown public baths. Built in the 4th century, this would once have been an impressive complex of fountains …
Jordan
Despite the surrounding desert, a semi-permanent water pool persists here in a depression surround by black lava stones. Its unmissable feature is the…
