Eastern Desert (Jordan)

For the Eastern Desert of Egypt, see Red Sea Coast

The Eastern Desert is a region of Jordan, mostly visited for the Desert Castles scattered over the territory.

Cities

• 1 Azraq — oasis in the desert, an illustration of how water brings life even at places like a desert
• 2 Al Ruwayshid — the eastern-most settlement in the country survives on agriculture and cross-border smuggling
• 3 Safawi — nearby are many ancient monasteries, including the monk's hermitage in Bahira
• 4 Mafraq — a city 60 km north of Amman, close to the Syrian border

Other destinations

This shows some stone formations in Wadi Dahek. It is a bit like Wadi Rum in white.

• 1 Qasr Amra — archaeological site and UNESCO world heritage site
• 2 Wadi Dahek (The White Desert) — A stunning, small part of the desert that is made of white stones. Shark teeth can be found here in a gray stripe in the rock. It has impressive stone formations.
• 3 Umm Al-Jimāl — Ruins of several cities from different periods including Byzantine and Roman, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Understand

Badiya, the desert, is the largest part of Jordan's land area, and positioned on a 900-meter-high plateau. The ground is mostly stoney, with black lava in the north eastern part with chalk and flint in the south. The valley of the Wadi Sirhan is a sand desert that begins east of Amman and continues in the direction of Saudi Arabia. Here you will also find the oasis of Qa'a al Azraq about 150km east from Amman. In the surroundings of this oasis is the most interesting part of the desert for tourists.

Very much part of Roman history, the Limes Arabicus bordered their Syrian province. On the Roman side agriculture was possible and on the desert side the nomadic people grazed their animals. The walls were built from stone and clay and secured by soldiers and castles.

With the advent of Islamic-Arabian culture around 650 AD, the ruins of the Roman castles become hunting lodges for the local Umayyad people. One hundred years later the Umayyads relocated to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq today, and the cities and castles of Jordan were largely abandoned to the nomadic Bedouins who remained (they were so named after this region). Rainfall failed the following years and the lush irrigated lands became desert.

See

Umm Al-Jimāl

Itineraries

• The Jordanian Desert Castles are 5 castles spanning the Eastern Desert. These castles once acted as getaways for Kaliffs during the Omayyad Period