Theme Week Jordan – Zarqa

Wednesday, 22 March 2017 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, Union for the Mediterranean
Reading Time:  4 minutes

Zarqa River Valley © defenseimagery.mil - Jim Greenhill

Zarqa River Valley © defenseimagery.mil – Jim Greenhill

Zarqa is situated 15 miles (24 km) from Amman, in a northeastern most direction and is the capital of Zarqa Governorate. Its name means “the blue one”. Russeifa, the second largest city in the governorate and the fourth largest city in Jordan, is located half way between Zarqa and Amman. Zarqa is Jordan’s industrial center. It is home to over 50% of Jordanian factories. The growth of industry in the city is the result of low real estate costs and proximity to the capital Amman. Several facilities that are vital to Jordan’s economy are based in Zarqa, such as Jordan’s only oil refinery plant. According to the Zarqa Chamber of Commerce, 10% of Jordan’s total exports in 2011 came from Zarqa Governorate. Leather and garment products constituted about 52% of Zarqa’a exports, followed by chemical, agricultural and pharmaceutical products.

There are three universities in Zarqa, the largest of which is Hashemite University. The other two are Al-Balqa` Applied University and Zarqa University. Other community colleges and research centers are based in Zarqa such as the Al-Zarqa Educational & Investment. Also, there are many secondary schools (or high schools) in Zarqa, most notably is the Zarqa Secondary School for Boys which is considered one of the oldest high schools in Jordan.

Zarqa Chamber of Commerce © Kht01 Zarqa River Valley © defenseimagery.mil - Jim Greenhill Zarqa University - Faculty of Engineering © Alaa zuhdi/cc-by-sa-3.0 © Zarqa University © rojo/cc-by-sa-3.0
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Zarqa University - Faculty of Engineering © Alaa zuhdi/cc-by-sa-3.0
Although inhabited since the 1st century, the city of Zarqa was established by immigrants from the Caspian Sea region at the beginning of the 20th century. The first settlement in the city was established in 1902 by Chechen immigrants who were displaced from the wars between the Ottoman and Russian Empires. They settled along the Zarqa River. At that time a station on the Hejaz Railway was built in the new settlement. The railway station turned Zarqa into an important hub. On 10 April 1905, the Ottoman governor issued a decree that allowed the Chechen immigrants to own lands which they settled on. The population then quickly grew in size. On 18 November 1928, the new Jordanian government issued a decree to establish the first municipal council for Zarqa.

Zarqa is connected by the Hejaz Railway to Amman to the south and to Syria to the north. A new railway is currently under construction to connect Amman with Zarqa. Zarqa lies on the international highway that connects Saudi Arabia with Syria and on the international Amman-Baghdad highway.

Here you can find the complete Overview of all Theme Weeks.

Read more on LonelyPlanet.com – Zarqa and Wikipedia Zarqa. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




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