Aqaba Castle - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Historic 3rd-century church, considered to be the world's oldest-known purpose-built Christian church. Its first phase was dated between 293 and 303, which makes it older than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, both of which were built in the late 320s.

Known also as the Valley of the Moon, Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan. It is one of the most popular attractions in Jordan, with deserts and mountains and rock formations. Wadi Rum has been inhabited by many human cultures since prehistoric times, with many cultures–including the Nabataeans–leaving their mark in the form of rock paintings, graffiti, and temples.

Supposed burial place of Aaron, the brother of Moses. Although in Jewish tradition, the location of Aaron's grave, like that of Moses, is shrouded in mystery, the Islamic tradition places it on Mount Hor, near Petra in Jordan.

The ancient city of Petra, carved on to the mountains of Jabal Al-Madbah. Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9,000 BC, and it was possibly established in the 4th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom.

A much smaller version of the grand Petra, consisting of three wider open areas connected by a 450-metre (1,480 ft) canyon. Like Petra, it is a Nabataean site, with buildings carved into the walls of the sandstone canyons. While the purpose of some of the buildings is not clear, archaeologists believe that the whole complex was a suburb of Petra, the Nabatean capital, meant to house visiting traders on the Silk Road.

A crusader castle perched on the side of a rocky, conical mountain. It was built in 1115 by Baldwin I of Jerusalem during his expedition to the area where he captured Aqaba on the Red Sea in 1116. The castle was strategically important as it dominated the main passage from Egypt to Syria. This allowed who ever to hold the castle to tax not only traders, both those who were on pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina.