*Climate
· Hot and arid
· Rainy season in western regions=November-April
· Dry season=May-October
· Temps= summer high (100) and winter (below freezing)
· High Plateau in North=below freezing-86 degrees
· Hottest ever recorded in Jordan= 124
· Urban in the city, rural in the country side where the small villages are
· Most people live in urban areas
(South, 13)
*Major Physical Features
· Zarqa, Yarmuk, Jordan= 3 major rivers
· Dead Sea=too salty for life
*80 inches of evaporation per year,
*46x10 miles
*1,312’ below sea level
*lowest point on Earth
· Jordan is hilly and mountainous
· Jordanian Highlands=limestone
· Desertàeast/south get less than 2 inches of rain per year,
*80% of Jordan is desert
(Cavendish 913)
*Points of Interest:
· *The Black Desert= sharp, rough, black lava rock
*volcanic mountains
*site of ancient city of Jawa
*Bedouin superstition says it is the land of the devil
· Wadi Rum=”canyon” in Arabic,
*movie “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed here
*Tourists enjoy its scenery and hiking/camping
· Aqaba=leads to Red Sea
*economic activity because of seaport, only one in Jordan
*fishing
*touristy
*beach resorts w/ wealthy Arabs
· Amman=capital city
*largest city in Jordan
*2.7 million people, ½ Jordan population
*spread over 7 hills called jabaal, connected by wide blouevards
*ruins of 6,000 seat Roman theater
*Ammonite capital of Rabboth Ammon in biblical times
(Cavendish 916)
*People:
· Average 2.7 children per woman
· 98% of the 5 million people are Arabs
· 6% of those are Christian, and the others are Druze or Shiite Muslim
· Islamic religious courtsàhave control over marriage and divorce
· Non-Muslims and the co-existence of Muslim and Christian Arabs is celebrated
· Parents and children live in one house, but loyalty to extended family is extremely important
· Women are becoming more involved in society in the job market and sports
· Family: $$ support, child care, protection, employment
· Status of families depends on how family is thought of by other families
· Middle class women=employed (many as teachers), or wives and mothers
· Wealthy women=no need to support family, stay at home
· Few people stay single
· Cousin-to-cousin marriage is still common
· Arranged marriages are common, but the younger crowd is marrying for love
· Elderly men can have up to four wives, but polygamy is rare
· May 25th (Jordan’s National Day) marks independence from Brits in 1946…parades, sports, events, receptions
· Festival of Sacrifice= Abraham sacrificed his son, Jordanians sacrifice sheep/goats and have a family meal
· End of Ramedan=families gather, new clothes are worn, kids get gifts, amusement parks in the cities, FOOD
(Cavendish 953,955,956)
*Government:
· Monarchy w/elected parliament,
*“constitutional monarchy”
*the people can’t change gov’t democratically
· Hashemite dynasty
· King has choice to choose a brother or his eldest son to be his successor
· King=commander-in-chief of army, declares war/peace, concludes treaties, appoints officials, ratifies laws, rules by decree, appoints/dismisses prime minister, calls elections, can dismiss both legislative houses,
· Jordanian parliament includes Senate and Chamber of Deputies
(Cavendish 946)
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