Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
It is an Arab Muslim country, located in the north of the Arabian Peninsula and in West Asia. Bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south and south-east, and Palestine (the West Bank) to the west. Jordan is named to the Jordan River, which passes on its western border, and Amman is capital.

Official language
The official language is Arabic, and English is the first foreign language.

Regime
The regime in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan parliament heritable Royal. Sits Majesty King Abdullah II on the throne of the Kingdom of the top three authorities also serves as the supreme commander of the armed forces.

Jordan flag
The flag symbolizes the roots of the Kingdom strike in the Great Arab Revolution (1916), As it adapted from its flag. Represent the colors black, white and green of the Abbasids and Umayyads and the Fatimids of Arabs, while the red triangle, which combines parts of the flag represents the Hashemite family. The Islamic Seven star in the middle of the red triangle symbolizes Fateha in the Holy Quran.

Diversity of the population
According to statistics of the population, in 2011 the number of Jordan’s population of six million and 249 thousand people. Arabs make up the vast majority (98%) of the population and are located in Jordan other ethnicities of Aacharx (1%) and Armenians (1%). Population density is concentrated in the center and north of the country. The official religion is Islam so that accounted for Sunni Muslims (92%). While not exceed followers of other Islamic sects of the Druze (2%). The Christian (6%) of the population, most of which follow the Orthodox Church.

Area and Climate
The total area of the Kingdom up to 92.300 square kilometers, land 91.971 sq km, and water 329 sq km. And the total length of 1,635 km border divided as follows 744 km shared with Saudi Arabia, 375 with Syria, 238 kilometers with the 1948 Green Line, 181 km with Iraq, and the least 97 with the West Bank. The border water amounts to 26 km. Jordan has a port on the Red Sea through the city of Aqaba, located in the far north of the Gulf of Aqaba. The lowest point is the surface of the Dead Sea and of -408 m below sea level. The highest point stands at 1854 m on the summit of Mount Umm Al-Dami.

Official currency
The country’s official currency is the Jordanian Dinar, which is equal to 1000 fils, or 100 piasters. It is available in the form of paper currency of 50 dinars, 20 dinars, ten dinars, five dinars, and one dinar. Also available in the form of coins of half a dinar categories and quarter dinars and 100 fils and 50 fils and 25 fils and ten fils and five fils.

Working hours
Government departments and offices, banks and most of its other offices close on Friday and Saturday of each week. The working hours in the remaining five days (Sunday – Thursday) are from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm.

Jordan’s History
Jordan is a land steeped in history. It has been home to some of mankind’s earliest settlements and villages, and relics of many of the world’s great civilizations can still be seen today.
As the crossroads of the Middle East, the lands of Jordan and Palestine have served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. Thus, since the dawn of civilization, Jordan’s geography has given it an important role to play as a conduit for trade and communications, connecting east and west, north and south. Jordan continues to play this role today.

The Royal Family of Jordan
His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein assumed his constitutional powers as King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on February 7th, 1999, the day his father, the late King Hussein, passed away.
His Majesty King Hussein bin Talal, the father of modern Jordan, will always be remembered as a leader who guided his country through strife and turmoil to become an oasis of peace, stability, and moderation in the Middle East. Among Jordanians, his memory is cherished as the inspiration for Jordan’s climate of openness, tolerance, and compassion. Known to his people as Al-Malik Al-Insan (“The Human King”), King Hussein was the forty-second generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Jordan Climate and Weather
Jordan can be divided into three main geographic and climatic areas: the continental climate in the inner regions, arid climate in the south-east area and Mediterranean climate in the west coast area.
During winter, Jordan is relatively rigid with occasionally snow-capped mountain ranges between November and April. Summer in Jordan is characterized by prolonged droughts and high temperatures between May and October.
In Amman, the temperature varies between 12° C during winter and 32° C during summer while the rest of the country has an average between 18° C during summer and 4° C during winter.
The ideal period to visit Jordan is definitely during the end of summer and spring to make sure that the rain won’t ruin your excursions.

The people of Jordan
The Bedouins
One of the best-known groups from Jordan’s population is the Bedouin. As they are known in Arabic, the Bedu, or “desert dwellers,” endure the desert and have learned to survive its unforgiving climate. It is difficult to count Bedouins, but it is generally known that the majority of Jordan’s population is of Bedouin origin.

Most of Jordan’s Bedouin live in the vast wasteland that extends east from the Desert Highway. All throughout the south and east of the country, their communities are marked by characteristic black goat-hair tents. These are known as beit al-sha’ar, or “house of hair.”

Bedouins are often stereotyped as constantly wandering the desert in search of water and food for their flocks. This is only partly true. Only a small portion of Bedouin can still be regarded as true nomads, while many have settled down to cultivate crops rather than drive their animals across the desert. Most Bedouin have combined the two lifestyles to some degree. Those Bedouins who still practice pastoralism will camp in one spot for a few months at a time, grazing their herds of goats, sheep or camels until the fodder found in the area is exhausted. It is then time to move on. Often the only concession they make to the modern world is the acquisition of a pick-up truck (to move their animals long distances), plastic water containers and perhaps a kerosene stove.

It can be said that many of the characteristics of the Jordanian and Arab society are found in their strongest form in Bedouin culture. For instance, Bedouins are most famous for their hospitality, and it is part of their creed rooted in the harshness of desert life that no traveler is turned away. The tribal structure of Arab society is also most visible among the Bedouins, where the clan is at the center of social life. Each Bedouin family has its own tent, a collection (hayy) of which constitutes a clan (qawm). A number of these clans make up a tribe or qabila.

As the Bedouins have long been, and still remain to a limited degree, outside the governing authority of the state, they have used a number of social mechanisms—including exile from the tribe, and the exaction of “blood money” or vengeance to right a crime—to maintain order in the society. The values of Bedouin society are vested in an ancient code of honor, calling for total loyalty to the clan and tribe in order to uphold the survival of the group.

The Jordanian government, which in the past promoted the settling of the Bedouin, recognizes the unique value of their contribution to Jordan’s culture and heritage. Indeed, it has been said that they are the backbone of the Kingdom. The government continues to provide services such as education, housing, and health clinics. However, some Bedouins pass these up in favor of the lifestyle which has served them so well over the centuries.

The Palestinians
Some Jordanians are of Palestinian origin, having been forced from their homeland during the 1948 and 1967 wars with Israel. Jordan was the only Arab state to grant all Palestinians the right to Jordanian citizenship and many have exercised that option, playing an important part in the political and economic life of Jordan. Some Palestinians continue to live in a number of refugee camps scattered throughout the West Bank and the northern part of Jordan, where the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) is responsible for the welfare of the refugees, including their health and education. There are currently close to 1.4 million Palestinian refugees registered in Jordan. Although massive influxes of refugees have strained Jordan’s economy, Palestinian Jordanians have contributed greatly to the health and prosperity of the country.

The Circassians
The Circassians are a non-Arab Islamic people originally from the Caucasus region of western Asia. Southward Russian expansion during the 19th century forced between 1.25 and two million Circassians to emigrate south. Many of these perished along the way, but around one million reached the Ottoman Empire, where they settled first in the Balkans and later in the Levant region of the Middle East.

Circassians first arrived en masse in Jordan in 1878, where they settled in Amman, Wadi Seer, and Na’ur. Today, Circassian populations can be found also in Jerash, Sweileh, Zarqa, Azraq and other parts of northern Jordan. Estimates of the Circassian population vary from 20,000 to 80,000.

The Ottomans managed the resettlement of the Circassians to some extent, recruiting them in to the police and governmental structures. Until the 1940s, they continued to overwhelmingly prefer service in the army or government, but now they are represented in a diverse assortment of sectors and professions. Today, Circassian Jordanians are well-educated people who continue to play a role in Jordan’s political, economic and social life, larger than their numbers would indicate.

Circassian culture places a strong emphasis on respect for the elderly and closely-knit extended families. Marriage with anyone sharing the same surname of either parent is strictly forbidden. Circassians are also well known for their honesty. In fact, Jordanian Circassians constitute King Hussein’s ceremonial guard.

Other Ethnic and Religious Groups
In addition to the Christian denominations described previously, there are other small communities of religious minorities scattered throughout Jordan. A small community of Druze lives in Jordan, mainly near the Syrian border. There is also a community of Druze in Azraq, in the east of the country. Several other minorities complete Jordan’s social mosaic. Several thousand Armenians live in Amman and in other parts of the country. The north Jordan Valley hosts a small community of Turkomans and Baha’is, who moved from Iran to Jordan to escape persecution in 1910.

In the late nineteenth century, Chechens, another Caucasian people, migrated to Jordan from Grozny in waves. Over the years, they have assimilated into Jordanian society, while maintaining their special culture and charm. For example, it is a marriage tradition among the Chechens, for the groom to capture his future bride with her consent and against the will of her family. This was seen as a measure of manhood, horsemanship, and bravery. Today, this practice continues but has taken on more of a ceremonial nature.