Portal:Jordan

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Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank and Israel to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is Jordan's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.

Modern-day Jordan has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period. Three kingdoms emerged in Transjordan at the end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their Kingdom centered in Petra. Later rulers of the Transjordan region include the Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman empires. After the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Greater Syria region was partitioned by Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until it was occupied by Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory to the Palestinians in 1988, and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.

Jordan is a semi-arid country, covering an area of 89,342 km² (34,495 sq mi), with a population of 11.5 million, making it the eleventh-most populous Arab country. The dominant majority, or around 95% of the country's population, is Sunni Muslim, with the rest being mostly Arab Christian. Jordan was mostly unscathed by the violence that swept the region following the Arab Spring in 2010. From as early as 1948, Jordan has accepted refugees from multiple neighbouring countries in conflict. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian (most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship) and 1.4 million Syrian refugees were present in Jordan in 2015. The kingdom is also a refuge for thousands of Christian Iraqis fleeing persecution. While Jordan continues to accept refugees, the large Syrian influx during the 2010s has placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure.

The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation. The country has a high Human Development Index, ranking 102nd, and is considered a lower middle income economy. The Jordanian economy, one of the smallest economies in the region, is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce. The country is a major tourist destination, also attracting medical tourism due to its well developed health sector. Nonetheless, a lack of natural resources, large flow of refugees, and regional turmoil have hampered economic growth. (Full article...)

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Three airliners were destroyed by explosion at Dawson's Field on 12 September 1970.

In September 1970, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked four airliners bound for New York City and one for London. Three aircraft were forced to land at Dawson's Field, a remote desert airstrip near Zarqa, Jordan, formerly Royal Air Force Station Zarqa, which then became PFLP's "Revolutionary Airport". By the end of the incident, one hijacker had been killed and one injury reported. This was the second instance of mass aircraft hijacking, after an escape from communist Czechoslovakia in 1950.

On 6 September, TWA Flight 741 from Frankfurt (a Boeing 707) and Swissair Flight 100 from Zürich (a Douglas DC-8) were forced to land at Dawson's Field. On the same day, the hijacking of El Al Flight 219 from Amsterdam (another 707) was foiled: hijacker Patrick Argüello was shot and killed, and his partner Leila Khaled was subdued and handed over to British authorities in London. Two PFLP hijackers, who were prevented from boarding the El Al flight, hijacked instead Pan Am Flight 93, a Boeing 747, diverting the large plane first to Beirut and then to Cairo, rather than to the small Jordanian airstrip. On 9 September, a fifth plane, BOAC Flight 775, a Vickers VC10 coming from Bahrain, was hijacked by a PFLP sympathizer and taken to Dawson's Field in order to pressure the British to free Khaled. (Full article...)

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Abdullah El Tell

Abdullah El Tell (Arabic: عبدالله التل, 17 July 1918 – 1973) served in the Transjordanian Arab Legion during the 1948 war in Palestine rising from the rank of company commander to become Military Governor of the Old City of Jerusalem. He was later accused of being involved in the assassination of King Abdullah I−which he denied−and spent many years in Egypt before returning to Jordan in 1967. (Full article...)

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Abdullah II of Jordan Hussein of Jordan Abdullah I of Jordan Haya bint Hussein Druze in Jordan Hashemites Ali Abu Nuwar Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan Marouf al-Bakhit

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For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Jordan-related articles, see WikiProject Jordan.

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The following are images from various Jordan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Desert vegetation in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 2Tourists photograph Al Khazneh (not visible) upon arriving in Petra. The Siq can be seen on the right.
Image 3Southern Levant during Iron Age II (c. 830 BCE) (from History of Jordan)
Image 4A young Emir Sattam bin Fendi in 1848 (from History of Jordan)
Image 5Amman Citadel reflects 7,000 years of Jordanian history (from History of Jordan)
Image 6Zahir Al Umar, who during his reign fought both the Bani Sakher and the Adwan. (from History of Jordan)
Image 7The Al-Jizah reservoir, dating back to the Pax Romana, and the Mamluk building which was refitted by the Ottoman for Sattam to govern from. (from History of Jordan)
Image 8Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 9Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 10A large plate of Jordanian mezze in Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 11The Kerak Castle, used by the Majalis for centuries. (from History of Jordan)
Image 12Suleiman Mousa (1919–2008), pioneer in the modern history of Jordan and Arab Revolt. (from History of Jordan)
Image 13Iron Age ramparts in Tulul adh-Dhahab, sometimes identified with the Israelite city of Mahanaim mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. (from History of Jordan)
Image 14Rujm Al-Malfouf, a watchtower dating to 1000 BCE found in Amman. The city was known then as Rabbah of the Ammonites, and served as the capital city of the Ammonites. (from History of Jordan)
Image 15King Hussein Mosque in Amman (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 16Majid Sultan Al Adwan at Shunet Nimrin, Paramount Sheikh of the Adwan in the early 20th century, and the great great great great grandson of Salih ibn Adwan. (from History of Jordan)
Image 17The critically endangered sociable lapwing (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 18The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE), a royal Moabite inscription commemorating the victory of Moab over the Kingdom of Israel. (from History of Jordan)
Image 19Mahis in northwestern Jordan (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 20Egyptian mongoose (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 21The Moabite Stone, first revealed to the western world by Sattam bin Fendi (from History of Jordan)
Image 22First election in Transjordan's history on 2 April 1929. (from History of Jordan)
Image 23Petra, the capital of the Nabatean kingdom, is where the Nabatean alphabet was developed, from which the current Arabic alphabet further evolved. (from History of Jordan)
Image 24This basalt stone is incised with a scene showing two animals, probably gazelles. From Dhuweila, eastern Jordan, c. 6200 BCE. British Museum (from History of Jordan)
Image 25Al-Khazneh in Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 26Ajloun Castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 27Qasr Amra a desert castle from the era of the Islamic Empire (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 28Jordan 1948–1967. The East Bank is the portion east of the Jordan river, the West Bank is the part west of the river (from History of Jordan)
Image 29The south gate in the ancient city of Jerash (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 30Al-Karak castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 31Prince Fendi Al-Fayez in the 1870s (from History of Jordan)
Image 32Statue of an Ammonite deified king on display at the Jordan Museum. The statue was found near the Amman Citadel and is thought to date to 8th century BC. (from History of Jordan)
Image 33The Dana Biosphere Reserve in south central Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 34Tourist police kiosk at Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 35Ibn Hathal, the Paramount Sheikh of the Anazzah. (from History of Jordan)
Image 36Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 37Wadi Rum (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 38Jerusalem on the Madaba Map (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 39Jerash Festival, 2018 (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 40Image showing the approximate land exchanged in 1965 between Jordan (gaining green) and Saudi Arabia (gaining red). (from History of Jordan)

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Anjara (Arabic: عنجرة) is an ancient town located at northern Jordan in the Ajloun Governorate. The city is situated 4 kilometers to the south of Ajloun, and 73 kilometers to the north of the Jordanian capital Amman. (Full article...)

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Amman Irbid Zarqa Aqaba Russeifa Ajloun Madaba Huwwarah Al-Salt Aydoun Jerash Ma'an Al Husn Azraq refugee camp Azraq, Jordan Al-Karak Der Abi Saeed Tafilah

See also: List of cities in Jordan

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Culture of Jordan

Dabke is a traditional native Levantine folk dance often performed at weddings.
Jordan is one of the larger producers of olives in the country and as such Jordanian cuisine relies heavily on the use olive oil.
Many Western films requiring desert scenes, such as Lawrence of Arabia and The Hurt Locker have been shot in Jordan, especially in the Wadi Rum.
Jordanians primarily speak a dialect of Arabic called Jordanian Arabic, with the occasional usage of English, especially amongst the upper classes.