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March 2003

MAP OF THE TERRITORIES
OF THE BEDOUIN TRIBES OF JORDAN
today and in 1900

Today :

This map was of course drawn up before the establishment of the state of Israel, which with its stated policy towards the Bedouin, has enormously changed their territories. The Tarabin, a very strong and influential tribe in 1900, are all but wiped out, being confined to a comparatively small region of the Sinai. It is even difficult to find "real Bedouin" in many parts of their territory north of the town of Nuweiba. The Bedouin at Dahab come from the Muzeina tribe, one of the poorest in Sinai. When one looks at the land that they control one can understand why.

The Howeitat had sufficient territory that they remain important in spite of the fact that their grazing lands in Wadi Araba have largely been turned to other purposes. They still claim their lands in northern Egypt.

Value of the dinar

Officially, the Jordanian dinar is loosely pegged to a "bouquet" of currencies. In fact, the value stays pretty well linked to the USDollar, and for rough calculations you can take it that 2JD is approximately 3USD. One JD is also very close to one British pound, so you can base yourself on these currencies for calculating prices. Information in February 2003 has the Euro at a little over 0.75JD, a little bit up on the dollar.

A dinar is officially divided into 1000 "fils", but in fact just about everybody in Jordan speaks and thinks in "piasters" which is the equivalent of 10 fils. In other words, the dinar is also divided into 100 piasters.

There is a link to a currency converter on the index page of this site that you can keep open if you like for immediate reference. It's rather good, it gives a conversion from any currency to any other currency.

Since there are no currency restrictions in Jordan, unlike some neighbouring countries there is no currency black market and you have nothing at all to gain in changing money outside normal banking/money changing circles. On the contrary you will invariably lost by doing this, since your "changer" can only put the money back into the bank and will usually allow himself some margin against unexpected fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Budget

I usually advise people to BUDGET between 25 and 35JD per day in Jordan (2JD approx 3USD). This involves staying in budget hotels in rooms with connected bathrooms and picknicking a fair bit. The upper limit allows you a beer from time to time.

You will not spend this amount every day, but the entrance to Petra before the price was halved (temporarily, I remind you!) was 21JD for one day, 26 for two and 31JD for 3 or 4 days. I know this is very expensive, but most people admit that it is worth it, even if it upsets a lot of budgets.

If you are shocked by this sum, don't panic too soon. It is better, on the whole, to be pessimistic when budgeting. If two of you are travelling together, you will save noticeably, there are many ways in which 2+2=3 as far as budgets are concerned. You can also reduce this sum sharply by sleeping on roofs, except during the winter (see FAQs). If you are planning on the cheapest hotels, which again would bring down the budget, you might consider bringing a sleeping bag liner with you. They are light, easily washed, can be used alone without blankets during the summer or in Sinai, and will protect you from dubious bedding.

Syria and Egypt are considerably cheaper, Israel is more expensive.

Marriage Customs