Crown Prince Hussein's wedding could give Jordan crucial tourism bump

Ceremony brought international fanfare to the kingdom

Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa got married on June 1. AP

Prince Hussein and his wife Princess Rajwa at their wedding ceremony in Jordan. EPA

The newlyweds pose for a family picture in Amman. Reuters

The bride waves from a car on her wedding day. Reuters

Jordan's Prince Hashem bin Abdullah, the younger brother of Crown Prince Hussein, escorts the bride to her wedding ceremony. Photo: Royal Hashemite Court

The bride wore a white gown by Lebanese designer Elie Saab. EPA

The wrap-effect gown featured a flower print on its full skirt. Reuters

Princess Rajwa completed her look with a pair of flat shoes and a tiara. Reuters

Prince Hashem and Princess Rajwa enter Zahran Palace for the wedding ceremony. EPA

Prince Hussein arrives for the ceremony. EPA

Proud parents King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan before their son's marriage. Reuters

Queen Rania speaks with her son before his wedding to Rajwa Al Saif. Reuters

Prince Hussein, Princess Rajwa and King Abdullah at the royal wedding ceremony. Reuters

Prince Hussein and his father await the bride's arrival. Reuters

Prince Hussein places the ring on his bride's finger before an audience of kings, queens, national leaders and family. Photo: Royal Hashemite Court

Princess Rajwa signs her marriage certificate as her husband, Prince Hussein, watches. Reuters

Former Jordanian crown prince Hassan bin Talal, uncle of King Abdullah, signs the marriage certificate at Zahran Palace in Amman. EPA

Family and guests at the royal wedding. EPA

All eyes are on the couple during their wedding. PA

Princess Rajwa's mother, Azza Al Sudairi, and Queen Rania applaud the newlyweds. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa end their day by cutting their seven-tier wedding cake. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa use a ceremonial sword to cut their cake. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa after the ceremony. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa leave after the wedding ceremony. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa wave from their motorcade. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa wave to Jordanians on the streets of Amman after their wedding. Reuters

The convoy takes the newlyweds from their wedding to the grand reception at Al Husseiniya Palace. Reuters

The royal couple wave on their way to their wedding reception. Reuters

Guards on white horses take over from the red convoy of Land Rovers and BMW motorcycles escorting the royal couple. Reuters

Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa travel between Zahran and Al Husseiniya palaces. Reuters

An honour guard surrounds the royal couple as they arrive at Al Husseiniya Palace. Reuters

Applause for Prince Hussein and his wife at Al Husseiniya Palace. Reuters

King Abdullah, Queen Rania, Prince Hashem, Princess Salma and Princess Iman arrive at Al Husseiniya Palace after the royal wedding. Reuters

Shaikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, attends the royal wedding in Amman. Reuters

Jill Biden, wife of US President Joe Biden, and their daughter Ashley arrive at the venue. AP

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate. AP

Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad and his brother, National Security Adviser Prince Nasser bin Hamad. EPA

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. PA

Former Armenian president Armen Sarkissian and his wife Nouneh. Reuters

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and her husband Prince Daniel. AP

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Mary. Reuters

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his wife May. Reuters

Japanese Princess Takamado, right, and her daughter Princess Tsuguko, representing Emperor Naruhito, arrive at the venue of the wedding. Reuters

Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah and Queen Tunku Azizah. Reuters

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. Reuters

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his son Prince Abdul Mateen. EPA

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and his wife Shanaz Ahmed. Royal Hashemite Court / Reuters

Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his wife Jeannette. Reuters

Philippa Karsera, first lady of Cyprus. Reuters

Bhutan's Queen Jetsun Pema and Princess Euphelma. EPA

Former king of Spain Juan Carlos and his wife Sofia. AP

King Philippe of Belgium and his daughter, Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant. Reuters

Jordanians wave national flags in the streets. AP

The royal wedding is a national celebration for Jordan's 11 million people and for many across the Middle East. AP

Flowers lined Amman's normally bare streets a day after the royal wedding that brought global attention to Jordan.

Crown Prince Hussein, the son of King Abdullah, married Saudi citizen Rajwa Al Saif in a ceremony attended by royalty from Europe, Asia and Arab states.

The flowers were planted as part of the preparations for the wedding, which included deploying rubbish collectors on the route of the convoy in west Amman, a slightly more affluent area of the capital.

The marriage took place amid difficult economic conditions in Jordan, an aid-dependent country of 10 million with an economy that has been stagnant for more than a decade, with an average income per resident of $4,000.

Tourism, however, has been growing following the Covid pandemic and restrictions that followed.

Khader Salem, head of Travel Harmony agency in Amman, said coverage of the wedding, which showed manicured and colourful streets, could help bring in more tourists into the country.

“The pictures of the convoy and the palaces were so fancy,” says Mr Salem. “I expect a bump in reservations.”

He added that the earthquake in Turkey in February and continued upheaval in Syria and Lebanon have contributed to noticeably more visitors to Jordan since the beginning of the year and was hopeful of a boom in visitors, particularly from Europe, where several budget airlines operate more than 70 flights a week to the nation.

European arrivals rose to 304,000 in the first nine months of last year, from 142,000 in 2021, according to the central bank.

Taline, owner of a cosmetics shop in Beirut, said watching the wedding on TV changed her ambivalent impression of Jordan.

“Amman looked less bare than when I visited 20 years ago,” she said.

Asked if the wedding would make her think of going to Jordan again, she said: “Why not?”

Jordan contains some of the most important Roman ruins in the Middle East, such as the cities of Jerash and Gadara (modern day Umm Qais), which were part of the Decapolis, a league of ten Roman-controlled cities in the Levant.

Mass tourism, however, is concentrated on the Nabataean city of Petra and the desert valley of Wadi Rum, where parts of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia was filmed in the 1960s. Government data shows that the number of foreign visitors to Petra quadrupled last year to 670,000, compared with 2021.

The authorities declared Thursday a holiday for wedding, but Abu Radi, a veteran mechanic opened his shop in the Mahata area in the centre of the capital.

“I got no business because the streets were closed,” he said, pointing out that the majority of his customers lived in the western part of the city.

Traffic on Friday was normal after the authorities reopened the streets

The wedding proceedings started on Thursday afternoon with an Islamic signing ceremony for the wedding in Zahran Palace in west Amman.

The palace is located near Rujm Al Malfouf watch tower, one of the unheralded archaeological sites in the capital, compared with the more known Roman theatre downtown and hill temple.

The stone tower edifice dates back to the Ammonite kingdom in the first millennium BC.