About Aqaba
Full name: The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority
Area: 375 Km 2
Population: 86,000 people
Head of the Zone: The Chief Commissioner
Borders: Saudi Arabia , Egypt , and Israel .
Dialing Code: +962 3
Border Points: Terrestrial , Marine and air passages.
Road Networks
An 8,000 – kilometer modern highway system connects Aqaba to surrounding countries and Europe via Syria and Turkey .
The Desert Highway is the principal transportation route between Aqaba and Amman , with connecting roads leading east to Saudi Arabia and Iraq .
The Dead Sea Highway provides access along Jordan 's western borders to the resorts and mineral processing centers on the Dead Sea .
Time and Measures
Jordan is two hours ahead of GMT in winter & Three hours ahead of GMT in Summer;
Winter time: October-March GMT+2;
Summer time: April-September GMT+3;
Jordan operates almost entirely on the metric system, where the Gram, the Meter, and the Liter are the basic units. You may come across the measurement for land : the dunum. One dunum is equal to 1000 square meters (10,760 square feet) .
Bullets
- Climate : Characterized by very hot summer and warm winter the amount of rainfall <50mm per year.
- Currency and credit cards :
- The currency of Jordan is Jordanian Dinar (JD).
- One JD is 1000 Fils.
- Coins and paper denominations are both used.
- The Coin denominations are: 5 fils, 10 fils, 25 fils, 50 fils, 100 fils, 250 fils and 500 fils.
- The Paper denominations are: JD 1, JD 5, JD 10, JD 20 JD 50.
- The daily exchange rate is published in the local newspapers (at current Exchange Rate 1 JD approximately equals 1.4 US Dollars).
- Money can be exchanged not only at banks, but also at hotels and currency exchange offices.
- Credit cards are accepted at most hotels, car rental companies, shops and restaurants.
- Travelers Checks are not accepted every where except in Banks and the Currency Exchange.
- Major cards accepted are: Master Card, Visa and American Express
- Postal Services : Postal Services are available at the post office and other postal offices available at the hotels.
- Courier Services : Many National and International companies provide courier services in and outside Aqaba
- Aramex: +962 3 2031385 , www.aramex.com
- DHL: +962 3 2012039 , www.DHL.com
- Business Hours: Government offices are open from 7 AM to 3 PM every day except Fridays, Saturdays, National Holidays, and Religious holidays. During the month of Ramadan, working hours are usually reduced. Most of the shops open their doors between 9 and 10 AM and close around 11:00 PM. Working hours for the private sector are usually between 8 AM and 4 PM. Banks open to the public from 8:30 AM to 15:30 PM. Some banks resume business for an extra 2 hours in the afternoon. ATM services are available throughout the day.
- Internet services:
- Internet services are available in internet cafes and some big hotels throughout the city.
- Access to the internet is available for relatively cheap prices compared to the big hotels