East Jordan mountainous country - Ostjordanisches Bergland

The East Jordan mountainous country lies east of the Jordan River in Jordan.

Regions

From north to south these are essentially that Gilead Mountains, the hilly landscape follows Amman, then the mountains of Moab and in the south of Edom. This country is crossed by the main road 15, the desert highway and the main road 35, the Road of kings.

Places and other destinations

Gilead Mountains region

• Irbid is the capital of the province of the same name in the north
• Umm Qais is on the border with Syria on the Yarmuk River
• Jerash is this Pompeii of the East
• Mafraq, the provincial capital lies on the eastern edge of the desert
• Ajloun, nearby is the castle Qalaat-ar Rabad and a nature reserve

Amman and the surrounding area

• Amman, the capital and largest city of Jordan
• Zarqa is the second largest city
• Salt is the capital of Balqa Province

In the mountains of Moab

• Madaba, famous for the mosaic map of the Holy Land
• Mount Nebo at Madaba, this is where Moses saw the Promised Land
• Mukawir, near the town is the Machaerus castle of Herod
• Hammamat Ma'in, the hot thermal springs are located southwest of Madaba
• Um Ar-Rasas, the Roman and early Islamic remains are part of the Unesco World Heritage Site.
• The Wadi Mujib, a deep canyon

In the hills of Edom

• Petra is one of the seven modern wonders of the world
• Bozrah, now Buseira, was the capital of the Kingdom of Edom.
• Kerak is a crusader castle that offered protection to over 800 people
• Tafila, Capital of a province of the same name
• Dana is near Tafila. There is an important nature reserve near this place
• Wadi Rum and its famous rock formations. Jabal Rum is the second highest mountain in Jordan at 1754 m
• the Jabal Dami in the very south on the border with Saudi Arabia is the highest mountain in Jordan at 1,854 m, which has been recognized by SRTM measurements for a few years^[1]

background

In the far north, the river Yarmuk (Nahr al Yarmuk) forms the border with Israel and Syria. The Jabbok (Nahr ez-Zarqa) flows further south. In between is the Gilead Mountains (also Galaad or Jibal Ajloun) with an altitude of 1000 m.The name is derived from the state of Gilead mentioned in the Bible. In this part of Jordan, annual rainfall of 600 mm is possible, the land is fertile and is used intensively for agriculture. There are some promising attempts to reforest the karstifying mountains with undemanding trees.

The area around Amman, formerly the Empire of the Ammonites, lies to the south of it. Here the country is characterized by hills with heights of around 800 m. Here, too, you can still find grain fields and other agricultural areas. Further south, the intensely agriculturally used zone decreases, it goes into the mountains of Moab, predominantly characterized by nomadic grazing on dry soils, the southern border of which is the Wadi Mujib.

To the south of it follows the mountains of Edom, the mountains are called Esh Shara, the main god of the Nabataeans was already named Dushara. The annual rainfall is well below 300 mm, so that no more arable farming is possible. The country is accordingly sparsely populated. In biblical times the climate here must have been even more liveable, as numerous finds show. A little to the east of this area is Wadi Rum, the highest point of which, Jabal Rum, has long been considered the highest mountain in Jordan at 1,754 m. It is now known that Jabal Umm ad Dami, located further south on the border with Saudi Arabia, is exactly 100 m higher at 1,854 m. [1]

language

Arabic is spoken throughout Jordan. English is a good way to get by in major tourist areas.

getting there

Mostly by plane via Amman or Aqaba.

mobility

Tourist Attractions

activities

kitchen

nightlife

security

climate

literature

Web links