Not especially but there are options . . . Royal Jordanian Airlines (www. rja. com. jo) from London Heathrow, Air France (www. airfrance. com) from Dublin via Paris, Aer Lingus (www. aerlingus. com) to any number of European hubs and then on from there. The Air France route is currently the most competitive.

So what's to see then?

Apart from being the gateway to the rest of Jordan, Amman is interesting in itself. A relatively modern (and very hilly) city, its heart and historical core lie in the Downtown area, built where the original Roman town of Philadelphia once existed.

Here you'll find the huge pink-and-white striped Husseini mosque, the ruins of the Roman theatre and adjacent forum and also the bustling city food markets.

The archaelogical museum is also in this part of town while the National Gallery is located in the more upmarket, residential area known as Jebel alLweibdeh. In King Faysal Street in Downtown you'll find the gold souk; all the city's souks are clustered into this area around the mosque.

And accommodation?

Budget hotels are located in Downtown, one of the best of them being the Arab League right on King Faysal Street (00962 6 4623144) where English is spoken.

Amman also has all the upmarket 'chains' and a number of luxury hotels . . .

the Four Seasons, the Sheraton, the Hilton et al.

The Marriott (00962 6 5607607, www. marriott. com) is good value in the luxury bracket and its top-floor rooms have terrific views.