In pictures: Ancient Petra a ghost town as pandemic hits Jordan tourism

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In pictures: Ancient Petra a ghost town as pandemic hits Jordan tourism

Today its famed rose-red temples hewn into the rockface lie empty and silent.

Published: June 14, 2020 16:58 Compiled by Sara Al Shurafa and AFP

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20200614_Petra — For over two millennia the ancient city of Petra has towered majestically over the Jordanian desert. Today its famed rose-red temples hewn into the rockface lie empty and silent. As the novel coronavirus spread around the world, Jordanian authorities imposed a lockdown, and the last tourists left on March 16, a day before the Hashemite kingdom closed its borders. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 2019-11-21T170742Z_249051700_RC2TFD9CI04F_RTRMADP_3_JORDAN-PETRA-TOURISM-1574586929684 — A father of six, Nawafleh used to earn some $70 a day. "In the past, the number of visitors varied according to the upheavals in the region. But today, there are no tourists at all. It's never happened before," he said. Jordan was already in a precarious situation before the pandemic, with unemployment at 19.3 percent in the first quarter of 2020. Bordering conflict-torn Syria and Iraq, and lacking the oil wealth of some of its neighbours, the kingdom has worked to revive its tourism industry. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 2019-11-21T170738Z_1777317764_RC2TFD9RZ6G7_RTRMADP_3_JORDAN-PETRA-TOURISM-1574586927167 — Petra, an immense 264,000-square metre (2.8 million sq feet) site south of Amman, saw a record "1.13 million visitors last year, including a million from abroad", said Suleiman al-Farajat, responsible for tourism and development in Petra. About 80 percent of the region's roughly 38,000 people who are mainly nomadic Bedouins, depend on tourism directly or indirectly, he said. Image Credit: REUTERS

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REG 200202 PETRA-1580806400021 — Like Nael Nawas, 41, a father of eight, who earned between $40 to $55 a day, transporting tourists to and from the site on the back of his donkey. "We'll be in a real pickle" if the tourist industry doesn't pick up, he said, adding that since mid-March he has been working for a livestock seller. Image Credit:

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