In the aftermath of the Arab Spring and the recent civil war in Syria, tourism in the Middle East has been in decline. In Jordan, a country in which tourism has historically contributed about 20% of GDP, the number of visitors has fallen 66% since 2011, resulting in a decrease in investments.

Along the eastern coast of the Dead Sea, an abandoned construction site for a luxury resort stands, a ghost of an euphoric past. The concrete is washed by the heavy sun, overlooking the disputed West Bank on the other side of the sea.

In Petra, the Nabatean archeological site claimed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the number of visitors has been rising in recent years. In the vastness of the desert, lonely encounters with banal objects and 1600 year old tombs carved in the rocks are common.