![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
You are in: UK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() |
![]() |
Tuesday, 6 November, 2001, 14:08 GMT
Jordan and the UK: A long and robust relationship
![]() On a state visit to Britain, King Hussein meets Harold Wilson
The relationship between the desert state of Jordan and the UK is one of the closest and most enduring.
Just as war is the backdrop to King Abdullah's current visit to the UK, it was armed conflict that forged Jordan's ties with Britain more than 80 years ago. In the thick of World War I, in 1916, Arabs, wishing to free themselves from Ottoman rule, launched the Great Arab Revolt.
It was during this war that one of the most enduring examples of British-Arab cooperation emerged, in the form of TE Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence, a British officer, led a small but highly effective band of Arab fighters who managed to capture the strategic port town of Aqaba from Ottoman hands. Question mark The Allies' victory in the war left a question mark over the future governance of much of the Middle East.
Although in 1921 the British appointed Abdullah as emir, effectively Turkish rule in Transjordan had simply been replaced by that of the British. This arrangement was renegotiated in 1928 under a treaty which meant while the UK recognised Transjordan's independence under Emir Abdullah, matters of "finance, military and foreign affairs" would remain in the hands of the British.
Abdullah's grandson, King Hussein, maintained a largely pro-western stance after ascending to the throne in 1953. On occasion he turned to Britain for military support. In the 1950s the UK committed troops to the king after an army coup in Iraq threatened Jordan's security. It contributed military help again, in the 1970s, after Syria entered the north of the country in support of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. The Hashemite family have also had close personal relations with Britain.
Much of Abdullah's tuition was also in England - he attended school in Surrey, followed in his father's footsteps to Sandhurst, and progressed to Oxford University. But Jordan's links to Britain are not only on the diplomatic front. In recent years, the country has become a popular holiday destination for the British, helped, in part, by the fact English is widely spoken.
But tourism across the Middle East has suffered over the past 14 months because of the unrest in neighbouring Israel and Palestinian territories. And while diplomatic relations between Jordan and the UK remain robust, King Abdullah will be hoping his high-profile trip to London will help tempt normal Britons to pay a return visit. |
![]() |
See also:
![]() Internet links:
![]() The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top UK stories now:
![]() ![]() Links to more UK stories are at the foot of the page.
![]() |
![]() |
Links to more UK stories
|
![]() |
![]() |
^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |