Book Review of Lonely Planet's Jordan
A Travel Guide to This Compact but Varied Middle Eastern Kingdom
Apr 15, 2009
Think of Jordan and one thing immediately comes to mind: Petra, the stunning, rose-colored Nabataean city carved into the rocks. Petra is undoubtedly Jordan’s primary tourist draw; but despite its size – roughly the same as Portugal – this tiny kingdom has a lot more to offer, from desert landscapes, Crusader castles and Bedouin hospitality, to richly flavored cuisine, high-adrenalin sports and the intriguing Dead Sea.
This is the main message of Lonely Planet’s guide to Jordan. Most recently republished in 2006, it is a compact, 300-page travel book that covers all of Jordan’s main attractions, as well as helping travelers to get off the beaten path.
The Lonely Planet Formula
In the 35 years since it was founded, Lonely Planet has developed a highly successful formula, which is repeated more or less without variation in every guide. As a result, the Jordan guide is divided into the following, standard sections:
- Getting Started – when to go, costs;
- Itineraries – suggested routes of different lengths and focus, such as nature reserves or biblical sights;
- Snapshot – a one-page ‘Jordan-in-a-nutshell’ description;
- History –the key events in Jordan’s ancient and recent past;
- The Culture – an overview of customs, religions, the position of women, the arts and media;
- Environment – flora, fauna and protected areas;
- Food & Drink – names and descriptions of staples and specialties and where to find them.
These sections are followed by specific information relating to the country’s different regions or main attractions. These include Amman, the capital, the Dead Sea Highway, Petra and the Southern Desert & Aqaba.
The back section of the guide contains further general information on subjects such as transport, health, language and any dangers and annoyances. It should be noted that although Jordan is surrounded by often volatile neighbors – it has borders with Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq – the country is largely peaceful and the people extraordinarily friendly and welcoming. It is also relatively wealthy, which means roads and transport are good; and anyway, distances are so short, it does not take long to get anywhere.
Keeping Information Up to Date
The guide contains only a few photos. Instead, the text is broken up with regular sidebars that focus on a particular topic in brief, such as contemporary art, the Jordanian royal family or the role of coffee. Short sentences are also squeezed into the margins, particularly at the front of the guide, which act as bite-sized versions of the information being presented in the main text, seemingly for those with short attention spans.
Lonely Planet guides are generally updated and reprinted every few years. In this time, information can, of course, go out of date. Since this edition of the Jordan guide was published, the most notable change is the prices. These have gone up considerably, making budgeting harder.
Having said this, there is now so much information available online, which can be updated much more easily than a printed book, that it is best to view any guide book as just that – a guide. In fact, Lonely Planet itself has launched Thorn Tree, a forum on its website where travelers can post updates for destinations and exchange tips and advice.
Responsible Tourism
As in all Lonely Planet titles, the tone of the Jordan guide is light, often humorous and aimed at young, budget travelers who do not want to see the country from behind the windows of a tour bus. In recent years, however, the guides have also begun to include mid- and top-end restaurant and accommodation listings. This is useful for travelers with a little more money or those who want to splash out now and then.
To its credit, the publisher is also incorporating an increasing amount of information about traveling responsibly (Jordan, specifically, is running out of water) and where to find ecotourism projects that benefit the environment and local populations.
Lonely Planet’s guide to Jordan is ideal for discovering Jordan independently and does a good job of laying out the facts, while also conveying some of the sights, sounds and flavors that make the kingdom such a worthy travel destination. The guide can be purchased through the Lonely Planet website and in most major bookstores.
Click here for a review of Traversa, Fran Sandham’s account of his extraordinary walk across Africa.
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