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The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Petra-Jordan
Hussein

Tour Guide, Petra, Jordan

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 The system of government in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a royal and hereditary representative. His Majesty King Abdullah II sits on the throne of the Kingdom and is the head of the three authorities. He also holds the position of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

The flag symbolises the Kingdom's striking roots in the Great Arab Revolt (1916), borrowed from its flag. The black, white, and green colours represent the Abbasids, the Umayyads, and the Fatimids of the Arabs. In contrast, the red triangle that unites the parts of the flag represents the Hashemite Dynasty. The seven-pointed star in the middle of the red triangle symbolises the seven-pointed star in the opening of the Holy Qur'an.

The total area of the Kingdom is 92,300 square kilometres, of which 91,971 square kilometres are land, and 329 square kilometres is water. The total length of the border is 1,635 km divided as follows: 744 km shared with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 375 with Syria, 238 km with the 1948 Green Line, 181 km with Iraq, and the least is 97km, with the West Bank. The water border is 26 km. Jordan has an outlet on the Red Sea through the city of Aqaba, which is located in the far north of the Gulf of Aqaba. The lowest point is the surface of the Dead Sea, which is -408 m below sea level. The highest peak is located on Mount Umm al-Dami, 1854 meters.

The country's official currency is the Jordanian dinar, equal to 1000 fils or 100 piasters. It is available in the form of banknotes in denominations of 50 dinars, 20 dinars, 10 dinars, 5 dinars, and 1 dinar. It is also available in the form of coins of half a dinar, a quarter of a dinar, 100 fils, 50 fils, 25 fils, ten fils and five fils.

Government departments, offices, banks and most other offices suspend their work on Friday and Saturday of every week. As for the official working hours in the remaining five days (from Sunday to Thursday) are from 8:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the evening.