march-2011

FEATURES | AMMAN
JORDAN BASICS
QUICK FACTS
FULL NAME
The Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan
AREA
92,300km 2
POPULATION
6.4m
LANGUAGE
Arabic (English is
widely spoken)
CAPITAL
Amman
PHONE COUNTRY CODE
+962
TIME
GMT+2 in winter,
GMT+3 in summer
CURRENCY
Jordanian dinar
(known as “JD”)
STORY OF A NATION – THE JORDAN TIMELINE
6000 BC
The world’s oldest
surviving statues are
produced in a Neolithic
settlement at Ain
Ghazal on Amman’s
northeastern outskirts –
tall, androgynous fi gures
with large, painted eyes.
56 | TRAVELLER | MARCH 11
1200 BC
After leading the
Israelites through the
wilderness, Moses
climbs Mount Nebo,
southwest of Amman,
to view the Promised
Land. He dies on the
mountain.
HAVE A WORD (OR TWO)
Although Jordan’s offi cial language is Arabic, pretty much everyone connected
with tourism can speak English (and often a handful of other languages as
well), so you’re unlikely to have trouble getting your message across. However,
mastering a few basic phrases will score you brownie points with the locals.
HELLO (INFORMAL) MAR-HA-BA
HELLO (FORMAL) ASSA-LA-MWA-LAY-KOOM
GOOD MORNING SA-BAH-IL-KHAYR
GOOD AFTERNOON/EVENING MA-SA-IL-KHAYR
THANK YOU SHOO-KRUN
GOODBYE MAA-SALAM-EH
DON’T MIX THEM UP!
AMMAN (AMM-AN) CAPITAL CITY OF JORDAN
OMAN (OH-MAAN) ARABIAN COUNTRY NEAR DUBAI
106 AD
The Nabatean kingdom,
with its capital at
Petra, is absorbed into
the Roman Empire.
Petra enters a golden
age of culture and
sophistication.
661
After the Prophet
Muhammad’s death
in 632, the Umayyad
dynasty establishes
itself in Damascus,
building palaces and
hunting lodges as
retreats in the desert.
1100s
Invading Christian
armies from Europe –
the Crusaders – build
castles in Jordan to
fortify their occupation,
only to suff er expulsion
by local resistance
forces under Saladin.