Reading For The Road: Books About Jordan

At The Slow Road we answer to many names (wanderers, bon vivants, students of life) but first and foremost, we’re a group of dedicated travellers.

That’s why we love compiling reading lists that include those books—from novels to memoirs, and everything in between—that have stirred our inspiration for a region.

In this post, Experience Designer Nathan Lane rounds up a few of his favourite books about Jordan—a tiny kingdom that boasts immense wonder, playing home to incredibly diverse landscapes and some of the world's most important Christian sites.

This heart-warming story tells the tale of Marguerite, a New-Zealand-born nurse who travelled to Jordan in the 70s and met Mohammad, a Bedouin souvenir-seller from the ancient city of Petra. Throughout their marriage, Marguerite explored the twist in fate that led her to become part of the Bedouin community. When travelling to Jordan, you may even spot the couple’s son, who can often be seen selling jewellery inside Petra!

This New York Times bestseller describes one man’s epic odyssey — by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel — as he crosses the Red Sea, climbs Mt. Sinai and experiences history’s most storied events. This non-fiction book is a great choice if you want to brush up on some of Jordan’s most notable geography.

This masterful biography explores the life of a British intelligence officer who was considered the most powerful woman in the British Empire. Through the early 20th c., she explored, mapped, and excavated the Arab world, and played a major role in creating the modern Middle East. My grandpa gave me this book after listening to my stories about my first trip to Syria, Jordan and Egypt, and pointed out that there was so much more to learn.

From the ruins of ancient Petra to the Bedouin camps, this book provides insight into all aspects of Arabian life through the eyes of John Lewis Burckhardt. He was a Swiss explorer who spent years studying and exploring Arabia and Egypt in preparation for his trip to unearth the source of the River Niger. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.