Jordan: A Lonely Planet Guidebook (2009)

The seventh edition of Lonely Planet’s guide to Jordan - by Jenny Walker and Matthew D. Firestone - was published in 2009. I had it with me on a trip to Jordan during which I had the opportunity to check (some of) the facts presented in it down to the smallest detail.

One thing I checked was the price level. In many cases the price to enter a museum or a historical site is still the same as it was in 2009. The typical price is 1 or 2 Jordanian Dinars.

 

[1 JD is almost the same as 1 Euro.]

One major exception is the price to enter Petra. According to the book the prices are 21, 26, or 31 JD for 1 day, 2 days or 3 days (page 218). But in 2010 the prices were raised dramatically, and in 2011 they were as follows:

1 day = 50 JD

2 days = 55 JD
3 days = 60 JD

This guidebook is in many ways useful and reliable, but I have to mention a few things which bother me. There are mistakes and misunderstandings which should not be found in any book – let alone in the seventh edition of a book.

Let me give you some examples:

(1) On page 131 we are told that “Christianity became the official state religion under Emperor Constantine in AD 324.”

An almost identical passage appears in the timeline on the bottom of page 40.

This is a common misunderstanding: The Rough Guide to Jordan (2009) makes the same claim - no less than three times: pp. 155, 265, and 366. The official guide, who showed us around on the Citadel in Amman, made the same claim.

But it is not true. Constantine recognised Christianity in a decree of AD 313, but Christianity did not become the official state religion during his reign. This happened much later, during the reign of Theodosius I (379-395). Some observers say it happened in AD 380, but perhaps it is more correct to say it happened in AD 391,

(2) On page 100 the Roman odeon in Amman is described as a “small amphitheatre.” This is a serious misunderstanding: an odeon was built for music and songs; the shape is a semi-circle. An amphitheatre was built for spectacles with gladiators and wild animals (and has a different shape – it is an oval).

(3) On page 128 we are told that the Circus Maximus in Rome could seat “157,000 spectators.” This strange figure looks like a misprint for 175,000. But even this round figure is not high enough. The Circus Maximus could seat some 250,000 spectators.

(4) On page 159 we are told the Roman emperor Caracalla ruled “AD 198-217.” This is not true. Caracalla was born in 188, he was named Caesar in 196 and Augustus in 198, but he did not become emperor until the death of his father Septimius Severus in 211.

(5) On page 169 we find the following passage:

 

“For the minority Shiite, the lack of discord in the Muslim nation and the denial of Ali’s heirs were grave injustices that simply could not be forgiven.”

Something is wrong here: It cannot be “the lack of discord.” It must be “the lack of unity” or perhaps “the discord”

(6) The map of Madaba (on page 185) gives the distance to two locations further south: “To Karak 86 km” and “To Mukawir 86 km.” The first one is correct, but the second is wrong. The distance from Madaba to Mukawir is only about 33 km.

(7) The glossary on pp. 338-339 claims the word “decapolis” comes from Latin. This is not true; it comes from Greek.

If you think these mistakes are minor, please remember that this is the seventh edition of the book. Mistakes like these should have been discovered and corrected long ago.

There is a section on car travel (pp. 317-321) and in addition a brief section on maps (page 297), but one important suggestion is missing in both cases: if you are going to drive by yourself, you should get a GPS with your rental car. This may help you even more than a map. The price is about five JD per day.

In some cases the book’s instructions for drivers are insufficient. For the desert castle Qasr Al-Hallabat, all we get is this:

 

“If you’re driving, the castle is located off Route 30.”

 

This is not good enough, because this place is quite difficult to find, as I know from personal experience.

The castle was not in our GPS. We had to ask some local people to find it.

On the cover of the seventh edition there is a picture of a Bedouin standing on top of the Monastery in Petra (see above). It is a great picture with a great composition: the small figure on top of the huge monument and the majestic mountains in the background. But there is something wrong with this picture.

You are not allowed to use the footpath and the steps which lead to the top of the monument, because it is dangerous. On the left side of the monument, where the footpath begins, there is a sign with the text “No climbing.” But this picture may inspire some adventurous traveller to ignore the warning and climb the steps in order to stand where the Bedouin is standing in the picture.

The Monastery is presented on page 230, but the text has no warning against climbing the steps. The more I think about it, the more I feel it is irresponsible to use this photo. Do not attempt to copy what you see on the front cover!

For these reasons I can only give the book four out of five stars.

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Jenny Walker and Matthew D. Firestone,

Jordan,
Lonely Planet, 7th edition, 2009, 360 pages

 

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