Richard AmmonThe journey from Jerusalem to Amman, Jordan overland is only about 50 miles (80km) but the experience is a long one, taking three or four hours by way of the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge that spans the Jordan River between Israel and Jordan.
In Israel, coming and going, there are at least three checkpoints and numerous passport control points.
In Jordan there are about the same; passing through can take an unpredictable amount of time as documents and visas are inspected. Each country has a terminal building for passport and baggage inspection with a shuttle bus that runs back and forth between the two terminals. Although the distance between terminals is less than a kilometer the trip consumes an hour–sometimes more, sometimes less.But because it is the most direct crossing it’s used mostly by Arab merchants and families. As one Israeli security agent said after an hour (with a smile): "if you want good security, you have to be patient."
The photos here are mostly self-explanatory and need no comment. Some are captioned to clarify their content.
Note: The Allenby/Hussein Bridge is one of three border crossing points and is the one least recommended to tourists because of the long delays. The other 2 crossings, designed for Jordanians, Israeli and other tourists are called the Sheik Hussein/Jordan River crossing located near Beit Shean (in the north) and the Arava/Yitzhak Rabin crossing located at Eilat (in the south). These are the 2 ‘official’ border crossings between Israel and Jordan. As far as the Jordanians are concerned, the Allenby/King Hussein crossing is between the east and west bank of Palestine; that’s why no flag flies on their side, no passport stamp on their side, and you cannot purchase a visa to Jordan at this crossing.
