Before my trip to Jordan, I had this mental image that Jordan was mostly a desert. I knew Jordan faced the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea and I recalled from my quick visit to Petra (on a day trip from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt), that Petra would have some reddish color to it. But it’s like, if I thought how Jordan would look like, I would have said “fairly mono-chromatic”.

OK, I exaggerate a little.  But the range of vivid colors I encountered during my visit became quite apparent once I was home walking through each of the 3,000+ pictures I took during my 9 days there (yes, quite a few were duplicates as I tried different settings and angles for a given “scene”; so far I am down to around 2,000).  What I found out is that that desert color was a perfect background for all the others colors to pop.  And pop they did!

So, I have decided to share where I found color that caught my eye that will, hopefully, give you a glimpse into Jordan!  When you are done, I would love to hear back from you on which of these photos you like the most (photos are numbered for ease of reference!).

I found color in the landscapes in Jordan…

Much as I had experienced back in 1998, I got to see the colors typically associated with deserts.  But on this trip, I also saw the color of canyons and gorges.  White, sand, red – all colors represented in the landscape around me as I hope the following pictures show…

1. On the way to Mt. Nebo from Mardaba – sand color everywhere except the asphalt

2. Shifting sands in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan

3. Canyon we hiked through from Dana to Feynan – great mix of white and red with specks of green on the mountains around us

4. Colorful canyon walls in Petra, Jordan!

5. More colorful canyon walls in Petra, Jordan

6. Colorful rocks in the waters of Wadi Mujib, Jordan

7. Colorful rocks in the walls Wadi Mujib, Jordan

I found color in the markets of Jordan…

8. Jewelry sold by folks around Petra

9. Who knew camels would be so colorful!

10. Headscarves in the traditional colors worn by many around Jordan

11. Fruits in the fruit stands in the market in Amman, Jordan

12. Colorful market roof in the Amman, Jordan market

I found color in the architecture – old and new – in Jordan…

13.  Color of old ruins in the Greco-Roman town of Jerash, Jordan

14.  A still-standing column in Jerash makes a great contrast with the perfectly blue sky

15.  The blues of the dome of King Abdullah’s Mosque (the Blue Mosque) of Amman and the blue of the sky

16.  Inside view of the dome of King Abdullah’s Mosque (built in the 1980s)

17.  The unforgettable Treasury at Petra, Jordan

I found great blues in the waters around Jordan…

18. A sea and a sky both drapped in great blue!

19.  Beautiful blues in the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba

I found color in sunsets over the Dead Sea…

20.  Sunset over the Dead Sea in Jordan

21.  Double sunset over the Dead Sea in Jordan

22.  Sunset over the Dead Sea in Jordan

I found color in Jordanian artisans’ art…

23.  The raw materials that will create beautiful mosaics are colorful on their own…

24. Mosaic art: not only the great colors but also the shapes draw me

25.  Beautiful art in this colorful vase

And I found a colorful people in Jordan!

26.  Schoolchildren visiting the ruins of Jerash – singing and showing their pride in their country – a colorful bunch!

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Thank you to the Jordan Tourism Board for showing me all the colors in Jordan.

Pin Jordan to your travel board!!!