The epicentre of the world’s three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Jordan is a tiny desert kingdom wrapped in history – Indira Gidwani Born out of the ruins of World War 1, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (HKJ, pop: 10 million) sited on the east bank of the biblically famous River Jordan, owes its origin to one of the oldest civilizations of the world. Once an important commercial centre of the Roman Empire and epicentre of the world’s three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Jordan is a tiny desert kingdom wrapped in history. This region has always been on the fringes rather than centre of empires, but its strategic position ensured it was always influenced by early civilizations. Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks and Crusaders — all traded, built cities and fought wars here leaving behind rich cultural imprints. During World War I, the British — and particularly the legendary T.E. Lawrence — unified disparate Bedouin tribes into the Arab Legion. After the success of the Great Arab Revolt against the Turks during World War I, HKJ was established by King Abdullah I, with Amman as its capital in 1921. In a 30-year reign during which he consolidated his rule and unified the kingdom, King Abdullah I was succeeded in 1953 by his grandson the late King Hussein who ruled for 46 years until his death in 1999, when his son King Abdullah II assumed the throne. Since then under the rule of Sandhurst-educated Abdullah II, Jordan has emerged as an oasis of liberal democratic (Jordan has its own Parliament with a loyal opposition) rule in the politically troubled Middle East. Indeed, over the past decade despite — or perhaps because of its more than two million-strong Palestinian refugee population — Jordan has morphed into a safe and stable nation averaging GDP growth of 3.5 percent per year. This small country currently boasts a per capita income of $9,110, 98 percent literacy, and 20 private and ten public universities and a remarkably modernised and educated Bedouin population. Amman One of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, Jordan’s capital Amman (pop: 4.2 million) is a classic convergence of old and new, ideally sited on seven hills between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques comfortably co-exist with traditional coffee shops, artisans’ workshops and folk sights and sounds. Almost half the population of the HKJ lives in the greater Amman area. The city offers its visitors plenty of lively night life, with everything from cultural and theatrical events to traditional Arab entertainment, modern restaurants and clubs. Known in the Old Testament as Rabbath Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites circa 1,200 BC, in the 3rd century BC it was renamed Philadelphia after the eponymous Ptolemaic ruler (243-246 BC). In the Byzantine period (6th-7th century AD) Philadelphia was the seat of a bishop of the church of Rome when several churches were…
