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Saturday 3 October 2015

Jordan

Jordan is an Arab kingdom in the Middle East bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, Israel, Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea in its extreme south-west. The country is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Jordan is referenced in the Old Testament as part of the Kingdom of Ammon. It's also a significant place in the Gospels as the Jordan River was the site of Jesus' (and many others') baptism.


The Guinness World Records lists the 3rd century Aqaba Church in Jordan as "oldest known purpose-built Christian church in the world."

The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the then Emir Abdullah I and became a British protectorate.

The flag of Jordan, officially adopted on 18 April 1928, is based on the flag of the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Flag Of Jordan

In 1946, Jordan became an independent state officially known as The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. On May 24, 1946 Abdullah bin Husayn, Emir of the Emirate of Transjordan, was proclaimed King of the renamed Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan.

Half length portrait of Emir Abdullah of Trans-Jordan in Amman. by Cecil Beaton

The name of the state was changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1949.

Hussein started his 46-year reign as King of Jordan in 1952 when he was a 17-year-old schoolboy.

In 1969 King Hussein of Jordan registered a patent for a heart monitor. It is the only patent known to have been registered by a reigning monarch.

The current King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein was an extra on Star Trek: Voyager.

The country of Jordan was the first Arab state to recruit females to its police force. It opened a women's police academy in Amman in 1972.

Ahmad Abughaush won Jordan's first Olympic medal with a gold in taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Petra was established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction.

Al Khazneh or The Treasury at Petra. By Berthold Werner - Wikipedia Commons

The lowest part of Jordan is the Dead Sea. This is the lowest place on the Earth that is open to the sky.

The “Shouting Valley” is a place where Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet. Its name came from the habit of people shouting at their relatives through megaphones across the valley.

Jordan is the largest producer of the mineral phosphate in the world.

Source Songfacts.com

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