Jordan

Chiselled from the imposing red cliffsides some 2,000 years ago, the lost city of Petra snakes its way through a vast, winding gorge. This sprawling complex of dwellings, baths, temples, tombs and markets was built by the Nabataeans and later occupied by the Romans. After the Byzantine era, Petra lay largely forgotten until a Swiss explorer rediscovered it in 1812. Today it stands as Jordan’s most treasured UNESCO World Heritage Site.

For a thousand years, the valleys of Wadi Rum offered the nomadic Bedouin passage to the Arabian Peninsula. It was from Wadi Rum that T.E. Lawrence and his allies mounted daring raids on Aqaba and Damascus during World War I. Explore the region’s towering dunes and rose-red mountains, taking in the romantic atmosphere captured in the classic film, Lawrence of Arabia.

The Jordanian climate and its basalt Black Desert combine to provide one of the world’s most distinctive terroirs growing more than 40 grape varieties, which are handpicked and crafted into more than 20 wine varietals. Visit the family-owned Zumot Winery, meet founder Omar Zumot and taste their organic wines under their Saint George label.

Founded by Alexander the Great, Jerash boasts a staggering wealth of remarkably intact Greco-Roman ruins, including grand temples, theatres and colonnaded avenues. Walk the Roman Cardo as your guide reveals grooves made by the chariot wheels of empires past.

This area of staggering beauty, history, and biodiversity encompasses four different biogeographical zones and is a melting pot of species from Europe, Africa and Asia, many of them rare. Some 800 plant species and over 400 animal species have been recorded, of which 25 are known to be endangered, including the Sand Cat, the Syrian Wolf, the Lesser Kestrel and the Spiny Tailed Lizard.

One of the world’s oldest cities, Petra is as beautiful and mysterious now as it ever was. Head out after sunset for a new perspective on this stunning destination, viewing the oft-photographed Treasury façade, carved from sandstone, with its glorious frontage illuminated by the light of 1,800 candles.