Jordan News

 AMMAN — The operational revenues of Royal Jordanian (RJ) in 2018 reached JD653.3 million compared to JD605.8 million in 2017, marking an increase of 8 per cent of JD47.5 million, Chairman of RJ’s Board of Directors Said Darwazah announced on Sunday.

 Low-cost airlines like Ryanair, Easyjet, and Norwegian have all recently taken notice of Jordan as a prime winter destination for European travelers. As more and more travelers are eager to visit the Middle East, airlines are providing more efficient and cost-friendly options.

 AMMAN — Chief Commissioner of the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority Suleiman Farajat on Thursday said that 7,720 tourists of various nationalities visited Petra today, thus breaking the record number of visits to the site in one day.

 AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that Jordan has all the ingredients to build a remarkable medical tourism industry, adding that such a potential should be tapped through providing high-quality products and better coordination between stakeholders.

 AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh on Tuesday inaugurated the annual MENA sales and marketing conference.

 AMMAN — The number of tourists who visited the Jordan Museum increased by 26 per cent in 2018, reaching 79,550 compared with 2017, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s tourism revenue climbed 5.2 per cent and reached $1.3 billion during the first quarter of this year, in comparison to the same period of 2018.

 AMMAN — Jordan’s victory against Australia during the team’s opening game of this year’s Asian Cup contributed to restoring its prestige, said Tayseer Omairi, a sports journalist.

 AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Saturday released the world’s first diving app offering personal GPS-based navigation technology underwater.

 AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is planning on renovating, yet preserving, Jabal Luweibdeh in 2019, according to a report made available to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — The Children’s Museum Jordan on Monday launched a special temporary exhibit titled, “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World”, which will run until the end of the year, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

 AMMAN — An exhibition organised for the Atharafoqa area, in the northern part of Umm Qais, was the crown jewel of seven years of cooperation between a German research team and the local community.

 AMMAN — Displayed at the World Economic Forum is an interactive map of Jordan, one comprised of three different digital layers highlighting Jordan’s tourist attractions, innovation hubs and investment opportunities.

 AMMAN — The Energy Ministry on Wednesday signed agreements, under the electricity rationalisation project, to support four hotels in Petra at a total cost of JD303,000. 

 AMMAN — According to Jordanian filmmaker Widad Shafakoj, there are other more influential means to exercise activism and press for change than taking to the streets and forming unions — the camera.

 AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) new food truck project will begin operation on January 2019, with 30-50 new locations being allocated for trucks, according to GAM Spokesperson Mazen Farrajeen.

 AMMAN — More than half-a-million passengers went through Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) in February, according to statistics released by the Airport International Group (AIG) on Monday.

 AMMAN — The recent Royal visit to Al Quds restaurant went viral on social media, emphasising how much the tiny, but well-known, restaurant has grown since its establishment in 1966.

 AMMAN — The number of foreign visitors to Petra in the first three months of 2019 increased by 53 per cent to 219,503 guests, compared with the same period of 2018, when the ancient city welcomed 143,345 visitors, the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority (PDTRA) announced on Monday.

AMMAN — A project to better preserve the Roman Aqueduct of Gadara in Umm Qais recently concluded, according to a statement sent from the US embassy in Jordan.

 Amman — The Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Amman on Thursday played host to a concert by The Italian Cello Trio to celebrate the twinning of stone cities Petra and Matera, the latter of which is the 2019 cultural capital city of Europe.

 JERASH — Despite being the second most visited tourism attraction in Jordan, Jerash’s tourism sector does not provide jobs for 99 per cent of its population, experts said.

 AMMAN — Under the patronage of Social Development Minister Basma Ishaqat, the Drosos Foundation and UNESCO Amman on Thursday launched the Safi Crafts line of handmade, eco-friendly textiles and accessories, which were made by women from the Ghor Safi village and will be sold in 20 stores across Jordan.

 AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) celebrated its 55th anniversary on Wednesday with a performance by the Jordanian Army Band and a ceremony marking the company’s establishment.

 AMMAN — The Kingdom’s national income from tourism increased by 10 per cent in January and February 2019, to JD573.9 million, compared with figures from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ monthly statistical report issued on Sunday.

 PETRA — Canadian tourist Roxanna Ferguson has recently had what she called a “spiritual trip”, when she walked among the warm candle lit walls of Petra and towards its venerable Treasury at night. 

 AMMAN — Jordan’s ecology is being celebrated through Algerian artist Hakim Jamain’s “Cultivating the Soul” exhibition; in a reawakening for the historical role of the artist as a scientist and a researcher driven by curiosity.

 AMMAN — What once was a dull desert area in the middle of the Azraq refugee camp was transformed into a new space for art and community engagement by the London-based organisation Artmongers, recently.

 AMMAN — Tucked inside the University of Jordan, a 33-year-old museum aims to preserve different aspects of local heritage for the Jordanian public and college students for “generations to come”.

 AMMAN — The 19th National Olives Festival kicked off on Wednesday allowing farmers to showcase their olives and other rural products.

 AMMAN — The King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) on Wednesday announced that they plan on launching the “Steps for Life” initiative for the fourth year in a row.

 JERASH — Having zero additives is the secret behind the “unbeatable” taste of hummus and broad bean dishes, or foul, served at the Smadi Restaurant in the northern Jordanian city of Jerash, the owner said, and customers seconded that. 

 AMMAN — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Monday inaugurated the Amman Green City Action Plan (GCAP), making the city one of 20 worldwide now taking part in the greening project.

 AMMAN — In order to solve an outdated approach to cultural research management (CRM), a local NGO recently decided to build and manage a vocational training programme that would directly involve local communities.

 AMMAN — Tourism revenues in January went up by 9.1 per cent to JD458 million, compared with JD420 million in the same month last year, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced on Tuesday.

 AMMAN — A group of young people passionate about art have followed the lead of a 23-year-old Syrian artist in supporting local communities through creativity. 

 AMMAN — Brig. Gen. Awni Mohammed Khasawneh, director general of the Royal Jordanian Geographical Centre (RJGC) and director of the Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for Western Asia, has chaired the meetings of the Space 2030 Working Group, which extended from February 11-15.

 AMMAN — For many people in Jordan, old newspapers are usually discarded, burned, used for cleaning or repurposed to wrap delicate objects and protect them from breaking.

 AMMAN — The UN announced on Thursday that Olivier  Adam, executive coordinator of the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme will visit Amman on Sunday to promote volunteerism.

 AMMAN — “Business is a matter of human service,” said founder of Dilmah Tea and of the the MJF Charitable Foundation Merrill J. Fernando, who visited the Kingdom for the first time last Thursday, aiming to spread his belief that “we come into this world with nothing, we leave with nothing and the wealth some of us acquire is owed to the efforts and cooperation of many other around us”.

 AMMAN — A team of 19 Jordanian teenagers will climb Tanzania’s Mount Meruto to raise funds for supporting the treatment of underprivileged cancer patients at King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC).

 AMMAN — “From now on, my voice will be heard, and I start with this — my first spoken word.” The assertion comes from Sanaa Asim, concluding a poem about her experience with discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and religion. 

 AMMAN — The allegorical journey of the soul into unity and transcendentalism in the mystical epic “Conference of the Birds” by Persian Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar is now to be experienced in the duo exhibition by digital artists Zaina El Said and Mo Awwad.

 AMMAN — While southern Jordan witnesses an abundance of ancient sites, a British archaeologist decided to study the 20th century archaeology during the Great Arab Revolt, with a focus on trains, planes and automobiles.

 AMMAN — Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 8,425,026 passengers in 2018, a 6.5 per cent increase from 2017, the Airport International Group (AIG) said.

 AMMAN — Tourism revenues have increased by 15.4 per cent at the end of August 2018, reaching $3.6 billion (some JD2.6 billion), compared to around $3.1 billion registered in the same period last year, according to preliminary data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Monday.

 AMMAN — The Jordan Valley and the Transjordanian Highlands are two distinctive regions, however material culture found in the two areas point to a close cultural connection, according to a German archaeologist.

 AMMAN — A low-cost Ryanair plane flying from Rome on Tuesday landed at the King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, the first of many direct flights reaching the port city from Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and Germany.

 AMMAN — Analysts on Thursday described Jordan’s recent ranking as 48th safest country in the world as an important achievement, while expressing their suspicion of the ranking’s accuracy.

 AMMAN — A varied selection of artworks created by 11 local emerging artists last week was presented to the public, as part of the Bayt Al Graphic’s first salon show held in Jacaranda Images art gallery in Jabal Amman.