Jordan’s Umm Al-Jimal: 2,000 years of culture, heritage

Located in northeast from Amman, Umm Al-Jimal ruins -- built using black basalt blocks supported with similar rectangular blocks -- is considered home to almost 2,000 years of fascinating history and culture. Umm Al-Jimal was first established in the first century A.D. as a rural suburb of the ancient Nabataean capital of Bostra. The ruins also houses an ancient village constructed exclusively with dark, volcanic basalt rock, referred by archaeologists as the "Black Gem of the Desert". UNESCO announced earlier this year the inclusion of Umm Al-Jimal as the seventh Jordanian sites on the list of World Heritage along with Petra, Quseir Amra, Umm Al-Rasas, Wadi Rum, Al-Maghtas and Salt. The historical site is known for being a historical crossroad between Palestine, Syria and Iraq, and also as a sort of intersections between cultures, religions and empires. The Jordanian government recently announced -- following the UNESCO recognition -- an investment plan to boost the country's economy as well as opportuni ties to enhance tourism in the village. Source: Kuwait News Agency