Kingdom prepares for landmark 2009

AMMAN (JT) – The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) said it was looking forward to a landmark year which will witness a series of anniversaries, celebrations and events including a papal pilgrimage.

The Kingdom is putting the final touches on the centennial celebrations of the capital, which is one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities, and it is also celebrating a decade of His Majesty King Abdullah’s rule, according to a JTB statement.

Jordan is also getting ready to host many important events, including a Papal visit, and the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Expressing great hope for 2009, JTB Managing Director Nayef Al Fayez said it will be a landmark year, adding that planned events and upcoming attractions will deliver a memorable experience for citizens and visitors alike.

“Jordan’s uniqueness and strongest selling point is its diversity, and the combination of a strategic geographical position, mild climate, diverse landscape, rich history and culture, holy sites, historical and archaeological locations, a cosmopolitan capital and reasonable cost,” he said.

“Such unique diversity and unmatched attractions will combine with landmark events such as the Amman centennial, the Dead Sea and Petra marathons, the WEF and a historic Papal visit to complement a distinctive Jordan experience,” he added.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to arrive in Jordan on May 8, when he will lay the cornerstone for the Latin Church at the Baptism Site (Bethany Beyond the Jordan). He will be the second pope, after Pope John Paul II, to visit the holy site since it was discovered in 1996, the JTB noted.

The site where John the Baptist baptised Jesus Christ is a leading attraction for thousands of tourists from around the world, drawing 280,000 visitors and pilgrims (mostly European) in 2008, a rise of 86 per cent compared to 2007, the statement said.

The Pontiff’s three-day visit will include an audience with King Abdullah and meetings with prominent Islamic figures, diplomatic corps and other officials including presidents of universities, in an effort to further promote interfaith dialogue.

The Pope will hold a mass at the Amman Stadium at Al Hussein Sports City and another at the Holy See Embassy Church. His itinerary also includes a visit to Al Hussein Ben Talal Mosque and Madaba University, which is being built by the Roman Catholic Church, the JTB statement said.

The Greater Amman Municipality is organising a variety of activities and festivals this year to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first Amman municipal council, which was established in 1909.

The capital, known historically as Rabbath Ammon, is one of the world’s oldest inhabited cities, and was an important crossroads connecting the Arabian Peninsula in the south to Damascus in the north, and the “Syrian desert” in the east to Palestine and the Mediterranean in the west.

The Dead Sea, another biblical and historic location will host the WEF for the 5th time at the King Hussein Ben Talal Convention Centre, which has become an increasingly popular choice for conferences and large events. The World Economic Forum on the Middle East is the region’s foremost gathering of government, business and civil society leaders.

The 2009 meetings will be held May 15-17 under the theme “Home-grown Strategies for Global Success” and will focus on the role of the Middle East in addressing critical global challenges, ranging from systemic financial risk to resource management and political extremism.

The lowest spot on earth will also be the destination for participants in the Dead Sea Ultra Marathon which will take place on April 10, taking runners from Amman down to more than 340 metres below sea level.

The marathon is the main fundraising event for the Society for the Care of Neurological Patients (SCNP) and is held in cooperation with the Amman Road Runners.

The SCNP, which provides neurological patients with medical aid and covers the cost of necessary surgeries for the needy, has contributed to the treatment of 940 cases at a value of nearly JD600,000.

A second landmark marathon will take runners to another spectacular location: Petra, according to the JTB. A world heritage site and a world wonder, Petra will be the backdrop for the September 26 marathon, which will take participants through the 1.2km gorge known as the Siq, across the site of the Treasury and other ancient attractions.

The Petra Marathon is the latest addition to the “Adventure Marathon” family, which includes the Great Wall of China, the Big Five, the Polar Circle and the Great Tibetan marathons.

jordantimes