Trip of the week: a journey into Jordan’s ancient past
For the most remarkable sights, drive south from Amman to Aqaba on the Red Sea

Running through Syria and Jordan to the Red Sea, the King’s Highway is one of the world’s oldest and most “romantic” thoroughfares – “as legendary and evocative as the Silk Road”, says Stanley Stewart in the FT. Used since prehistoric times, it has carried monarchs, saints and heroes, from the Queen of Sheba and John the Baptist to Richard the Lionheart and Lawrence of Arabia.
And its geography is as astounding as its history. The road runs on a plateau to the east of the Great Rift Valley, where the earth splits dramatically to create a “gothic” landscape of escarpments and precipices, “convoluted” canyons and “dizzy” heights where eagles soar.
To take in some of the most remarkable sights in relaxed fashion, drive south from Amman in northern Jordan to Aqaba on the Red Sea, giving yourself a week and staying at small, locally run hotels along the way. From the ruined palace of Herod Antipas near the village of Mukawir (ancient Machaerus), you can see the domes of Jerusalem “glinting in distant sun”. Desert winds moan between the broken pillars of the banqueting hall where Salome is said to have danced for the king, demanding the head of John the Baptist as her reward.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And scarcely less atmospheric are the vaulted halls of Karak, 50 miles to the south – one of the most impressive of Crusader castles, a “chiaroscuro labyrinth” sitting astride a sheer-sided spur of rock. Leave your car and walk the last ten miles to Petra if you can, hiking across a “colossal empty landscape” and along the natural valley through the rock that leads to this ancient city, with its spectacular hidden temples and tombs carved into towering sandstone cliffs. And stop again to wander among the rock formations of the desert valley of Wadi Rum – “vast, echoing and god-like”, in the words of T.E. Lawrence.
Original Travel has an eight-night trip from £2,850 per person including flights, car and driver
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 14, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more