Middle East - Anthony Ham [329]
Madaba (www.madaba.freeservers.com) Excellent description of Madaba’s attractions and other nearby sites.
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (www.tourism.jo) Lots of tourist information.
Nabataea.Net (http://nabataea.net) ‘Everything you wanted to know about the Nabataean empire.’
RSCN/Wild Jordan (www.rscn.org.jo) Ecotourism adventures in Jordan’s nature reserves.
LANGUAGE
Arabic is the official language of Jordan. English is widely spoken, however, and in most cases is sufficient to get by. For a list of Arabic words and phrases, Click here.
LAUNDRY
There are laundries (mostly dry-cleaners) in Amman and Aqaba, although it’s often easier to arrange through your hotel. It costs around JD4 for a 5kg load of washing, which comes back smelling divine and folded neatly.
MAPS
The Jordan Tourism Board’s free Map of Jordan will suffice for most people.
The Royal Geographic Centre of Jordan’s 2005 Map of Petra (JD3) is worth buying if you intend to do any hiking.
Jordan, by Kümmerly & Frey, is good, and probably the best if you’re driving. GEO Project’s Jordan (1:730,000) includes an excellent map of Amman.
MONEY
The currency in Jordan is the dinar (JD) – known as the jay-dee among hip young locals – and is made up of 1000 fils. A piastre refers to 10 fils. Often when a price is quoted, the ending will be omitted, so if you’re told that something is 25, it’s a matter of working out whether it’s 25 fils, 25 piastre or 25 dinars! Although it sounds confusing, most Jordanians wouldn’t dream of ripping off a foreigner, with the possible exception of taxi drivers (Click here).
It’s not difficult to change money in Jordan; most hard currencies are accepted. Below are the rates for a range of currencies when this book went to print.
ATMs
ATMs abound in all but the smallest towns. Banks that accept both Visa and MasterCard include the Arab Bank and Jordan Gulf Bank, while the Housing Bank for Trade & Finance, Cairo-Amman Bank and Jordan Islamic Bank have numerous ATMs for Visa. The Jordan National Bank and HSBC ATMs allow you to extract dinars from your MasterCard and are Cirrus compatible. If an ATM swallows your card, call 06-5669123 (Amman).
Credit Cards
Credit cards are widely accepted in midrange and top-end hotels and restaurants and a few top-end shops; a commission (up to 5%) is often added.
Moneychangers
There are plenty of moneychangers in Amman, Aqaba and Irbid, keeping longer hours than the banks. Many only deal in cash but some take travellers cheques, usually for a commission. Check the rates at banks or in the English-language newspapers.
Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Israeli and Iraqi currency can all be changed in Amman, usually at reasonable rates, though you may have to shop around. Egyptian and Israeli currency is also easily changed in Aqaba.
Tipping
Tips of 10% are generally expected in the better restaurants, and loose change is appreciated by low-paid workers in cheaper places. A service charge of 10% is automatically added at most midrange and top-end restaurants.
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A GOOD BUY
Several shops around Jordan sell high-quality handicrafts made by Jordanian women. Profits from the sale of all items go to local NGOs that aim to develop the status of women, provide income generation for marginalised families, nurture young artists or protect the local socio-cultural or natural environment. Products from these small-scale initiatives include silver jewellery from Wadi Musa; handmade paper products from Iraq al-Amir, Aqaba and Jerash; ceramics from Salt; painted ostrich eggs from Shaumari; weavings from Iraq al-Amir; and traditional clothing from across Jordan.
Bani Hamida Centre (Click here) Weaving cooperative with a store in Amman.
Jordan River Foundation(www.jordanriver.jo) Profits go to support the foundation, which aims to preserve traditional communities of the Jordan River Valley. The main Jordan River shop (Click here) is in Amman.
Noor Al-Hussein Foundation(www.noor.gov.jo/nhf.htm) This organisation helps preserve traditional handicraft skills and supports