Things to do in Zarqa
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Zarqa
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best window, with spring migration at Azraq, active wildlife at Shaumari and walkable castle temperatures.
Autumn repeats the spring formula, with return migration at Azraq and tolerable desert temperatures.
Punishing desert heat, so castles become a dawn discipline and the wetland shrinks and quiets.
Winter rains refill Azraq for wintering birds, but desert mornings can be near freezing and roads raw.
What's on
- Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts late July to early August
Jordan's flagship summer festival in the Roman theatres of Jerash, an easy regional trip from Zarqa.
- Azraq spring migration March to April
Peak spring migration at the Azraq Wetland Reserve, best from the Marsh Trail hides at dawn.
- Azraq autumn migration October to November
Return migration at the Azraq Wetland Reserve, with wintering birds arriving as temperatures fall.
- Jordan Independence Day 25 May
A national holiday with an official rather than a visitor character across Jordan, including Zarqa.
Best things to do in Zarqa
Qasr Shabib
A small restored fort in the city centre that shows modern Zarqa began as a Hajj and railway stopping point.
Zarqa Archaeological Museum
A small provincial museum whose Bronze Age to Islamic finds give the fort and desert castles their context.
Hejaz Railway Station
The quiet station fabric of the Ottoman railway town that turned a riverside settlement into a strategic hub.
Qasr al-Hallabat
A Roman fort rebuilt as a grand Umayyad palace complex, with a mosque, water system and site museum on a hill.
Hammam as-Sarah
The small domed Umayyad bathhouse east of Hallabat palace, where its marble, mosaics and steam channels complete the story.
Downtown souks and King Faisal Street
The working market streets around King Faisal Street, where Zarqa shops and eats and nothing is arranged for visitors.
Prince Rashid Park
A family favourite green break in a city short of parks, best in the evening when local families sit out.
Army Square
The gateway landmark that sums up Zarqa as a garrison town, best used as the end point of a downtown walk.
Where to stay in Zarqa
New Zarqa
least bad visitor base in the city
Newer, calmer residential streets with the city's more presentable furnished lodging and easier driving.
Downtown Zarqa
cheap and central for a work night
Walkable to the fort, museum, souks and station, with the best cheap food and the worst traffic and noise.
Azraq
dawn starts for birds and oryx
A small desert town whose only serious lodging exists for the wetland and Shaumari reserves on its doorstep.
Amman
recommended base for almost everyone
Jordan's full hotel range, best restaurants and daily desert castles tours, 30 to 60 minutes from Zarqa by road.
Think twice about
- Industrial and refinery fringe, Zarqa
Air quality, truck noise and no lodging or eating a visitor would choose, with long unpleasant walks to anywhere.
- Densest districts of Rusayfah
Dense districts a visitor cannot judge from a booking map; take hotel and host advice on arrival before basing here.
Best restaurants in Zarqa
Brothers Restaurant
A popular falafel counter for a Jordanian breakfast of falafel, hummus, ful, eggs and tea at the city's best value.
Abu Wajih Sons Restaurant
A one stop popular restaurant running from manakish and falafel to the traditional anchors of mansaf and mandi.
Jumana Restaurant
A small Army Street hummus and falafel spot whose local reviewers praise its spicy falafel sandwiches and cleanliness.
Baghdadi Restaurant and Shawarma
A shawarma specialist serving chicken or meat sandwiches with pickles, sauces, salads and crispy potatoes.
Al Saraya Restaurant
The city's family restaurant step up, with mezze, grills and traditional mains in a room built for groups.
Culaccino Coffee House
Zarqa's polished coffee house outlier, with Italian and cafe food and a calmer room for a familiar menu and proper coffee.
Sakura Sushi & Chinese Food
A sushi and Chinese listing in industrial Zarqa, included as proof the city's scene extends beyond the traditional canon.
Fluffy Burger
A local quick bites burger spot serving the students and families who make up Zarqa's American style fast food tier.
Outdoor things to do in Zarqa
Azraq Wetland Reserve
A restored desert oasis with a 1.5 km marsh boardwalk and bird hides, beautiful and sobering in equal measure.
Shaumari Wildlife Reserve
The reserve where the Arabian oryx was brought back, visited on a guided safari past onagers, gazelles and ostriches.
Qasr al-Azraq
A black basalt fort in Azraq town where Lawrence based his Arab Revolt operations in the winter of 1917 to 1918.
Qusayr Amra
A UNESCO listed Umayyad retreat whose bathhouse frescoes and zodiac dome are the jewel of the desert castles loop.
Qasr Kharana
A compact square fortress rising alone from the desert plain, explorable inside and unforgettable in silhouette.
Umm al-Jimal
A preserved black basalt town of houses, churches and water systems, now a UNESCO site reached via the Zarqa trail.
Wadi Usaykhim
A guided desert hike from Azraq Lodge past ancient inscriptions to a Roman frontier fortress, ending with local tea.
Bisharat Golf Course
Amman's long standing nine hole course and the nearest real golf to Zarqa, since no course exists in the eastern desert.
Best hotels in Zarqa
Azraq Lodge
A 16 room RSCN lodge in a converted 1940s military hospital, the activity hub for the wetland and Shaumari.
Jawabreh Hotel & Suites
The city's one hotel with an international review presence, a functional mid range base for people with business in Zarqa.
Al Seoudi Furnished Units
Furnished apartment style lodging in New Zarqa, with space and a kitchenette for longer or family stays.
Funduq Altayrawi
A basic budget hotel on King Faisal Street in the middle of the souk and food streets, practical rather than comfortable.
Four Seasons Hotel Amman
Amman's long established luxury address, included because no luxury hotel exists in Zarqa at any price.
Is Zarqa expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | JOD 20 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | JOD 45 a person |
| Splurge | JOD 110 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Shaumari Wildlife Reserve: a few days ahead
- Wadi Usaykhim: weeks ahead
- Bisharat Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Azraq Lodge: weeks ahead
- Four Seasons Hotel Amman: weeks ahead
- Azraq Lodge Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Book Azraq Lodge rooms and RSCN activities together, well ahead in spring, autumn and at weekends.
- Book Shaumari safaris at least 24 hours ahead, before hiring the car for a one day loop.
- Phone Zarqa hotels and restaurants to verify, because English language hours for the city are unreliable.
Is Zarqa safe?
- Take hotel and host advice on arrival about specific neighbourhoods in Zarqa and Rusayfah, which a visitor cannot judge from a booking map.
- Ask before photographing military, police, railway or industrial sites, accept refusal instantly and never fly a drone.
- Traffic, trucks and refinery air are the everyday hazards, so take care crossing downtown and industrial roads.
Zarqa travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Listicles that present Amman sights and Amman hotels as Zarqa attractions, with a visitor scene that does not exist.
- Castle gate touts and drivers who restructure a castles day into shopping stops that standard loops do not have.
- Paying a location premium on the busiest downtown streets for the same falafel sold one street into the souks.
Getting around Zarqa: public transport and more
- Use Careem or taxis in the city and carry small dinar notes, as servees routes are learned rather than published.
- Hire a car with driver for Hallabat, Azraq and Umm al-Jimal, and drive the Azraq desert highway in daylight.
- Walking works only inside a district, and nothing walks between districts or out to the desert sites.
Who Zarqa suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | Not ideal |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Zarqa your trip
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