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 both Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is the country's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.

Inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period, three kingdoms developed in Transjordan during the Iron Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their kingdom centered in Petra. The Greco-Roman period saw the establishment of several cities in Transjordan that comprised the Decapolis. After the end of Byzantine rule, the region became part of the Islamic caliphates of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman. Following the 1916 Great Arab Revolt during World War I, former Ottoman Syria was partitioned, leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, which became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Palestine 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 refugees, most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship, as well as 1.4 million Syrian refugees, were residing 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 semi-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 Cooperation. Jordan has a high Human Development Index, ranking 100th, 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. Jordan is a major tourist destination, also attracting medical tourism with 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 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 three aircraft from communist Czechoslovakia were hijacked and taken to Munich, West Germany, 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 aircraft first to Beirut and then to Cairo, rather than to the small Jordanian airstrip. On 9 September, a fifth aircraft, 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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Hussein in 2023

Hussein bin Abdullah al-Hashimi (born 28 June 1994) is Crown Prince of Jordan as the eldest son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. He is a member of the House of Hashim, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is considered to be a 42nd-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Hussein is currently a major in the Jordanian Armed Forces. He served as a regent on several occasions and has accompanied his father on a number of local and international visits. Hussein also represented Jordan at international forums including the United Nations Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Climate Change Conference, and the World Economic Forum. He began his education in Jordan, and, in 2016, graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in International History. In 2015, at the age of 20, Hussein became the youngest person to chair a UN Security Council session. After graduating from Sandhurst in 2017, he made a global debut when he addressed the UN General Assembly in September of that year. (Full article...)

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WikiProject

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 1The Dana Biosphere Reserve in south central Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 2This 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 3Jordan 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 4A large plate of Jordanian mezze in Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 5The Moabite Stone, first revealed to the western world by Sattam bin Fendi (from History of Jordan)
Image 6Petra (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 7Qasr Amra a desert castle from the era of the Islamic Empire (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 8Desert vegetation in Wadi Rum, southern Jordan. (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 9The 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 10Swimming in the Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 11Prince Fendi Al-Fayez in the 1870s (from History of Jordan)
Image 12Thorny burnet (Sarcopoterium spinosum) (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 13Wadi Rum (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 14The south gate in the ancient city of Jerash (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 15Suleiman Mousa, who did groundbreaking work on the modern history of Jordan and the Arab Revolt. (from History of Jordan)
Image 16Tourists photograph Al Khazneh (not visible) upon arriving in Petra. The Siq can be seen on the right.
Image 17Dead Sea (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 18Majid 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 19Al-Khazneh in Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 20Petra, 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 21Image showing the approximate land exchanged in 1965 between Jordan (gaining green) and Saudi Arabia (gaining red). (from History of Jordan)
Image 22Al-Karak castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 23Tourist police kiosk at Petra (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 24First election in Transjordan's history on 2 April 1929. (from History of Jordan)
Image 25Jerusalem on the Madaba Map (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 26Amman Citadel (from History of Jordan)
Image 27Zahir Al Umar, who during his reign fought both the Bani Sakher and the Adwan (from History of Jordan)
Image 28View of Petra in Jordan (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 29The Mesha Stele (c. 840 BCE), a royal Moabite inscription commemorating the victory of Moab over the Kingdom of Israel. (from History of Jordan)
Image 30Egyptian mongoose (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 31The Kerak Castle, used by the Majalis for centuries (from History of Jordan)
Image 32A young Emir Sattam bin Fendi in 1848 (from History of Jordan)
Image 33Ajloun Castle (from Tourism in Jordan)
Image 34Mahis in northwestern Jordan (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 35The critically endangered sociable lapwing (from Wildlife of Jordan)
Image 36Jerash Festival, 2018 (from Culture of Jordan)
Image 37King Hussein Mosque in Amman (from Tourism in Jordan)

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Tafilah

Tafilah (Arabic: الطفيلة, romanized: 'aṭ-Ṭafīlah, [atˤ.tˤa.fiː.la]), also spelled Tafila, is a city with a population of 27,559 people in southwestern Jordan, located 183 kilometers (114 mi) southwest of Amman. It is the capital of Tafilah Governorate. It is well known for having green gardens which contain olive and fig trees, and grape-vines. Tafilah was first built by the Edomites and was called Tophel.

There are more than 360 natural springs in the Tafilah nahia, including the natural reservoir of Dana and hot natural springs at Afra and Burbeita. There are two phosphate and limestones mines in the Tafilah nahia, which are one of the country's main income sources. (Full article...)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Jordan}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.

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Energy in Jordan

Jordan has substantial oil shale reserves underneath approximately 60% of the country.
The Baynouna Solar Power Plant, which will generate an estimated 3% of the country's power, began construction in 2017 near Amman.
In 2015, Jordan launched an initiative to have solar panels on every mosque in the country.
The Arab Gas Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline which runs north-south through Jordan, connecting Egypt with Syria and Lebanon.

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The Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River, believed by many to have been the location of the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.

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