There's no question that this ancient city - dating back to possibly as early as the 4th or 5th century BCE - is this country's most renowned attraction as well as one of the top in all the MIddle East. Most famous for rock-cut architecture such as a mausoleum and crypt known as Al-Khazneh  (aka the Treasury, pictured here), the 264-square-kilometre site in the south of Jordan was originally built as a capital city of a nomadic Bedouin Arab tribe called the Nabataeans, who eventually formed a wealthy, trade-driven kingdom which at its apex controlled territory from what is now western Saudi Arabia up to Damascus. Naturally it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site - and an absolute must for any world traveler!

Giuseppe Milo