Zarqa

Zarqa (Arabic :الزرقاء; BGN: Az Zarqāʼ; local pronunciation ez-Zergā, ez-Zer'a, or ez-Zarka) is a city in Jordan located to the northeast of Amman. With a population of 440,227, it is the country's third largest city after Amman and Irbid. Zarqa is the capital of Zarqa Governorate (Arabic Muhāfazat az-Zarqā). Its name means "the blue one".

Overview

Zarqa is Jordan's industrial centre, home to over 50% of Jordanian factories. The growth of industry in the city is the result of low real estate costs and proximity to the capital, Amman. Migration to Zarqa has steadily progressed since the 1940s. More than 50% of Zarqa's population migrated from the West Bank following the Six Day War. Zarqa's climate is desert-like, to a much greater degree than nearby Amman. Qasr Shebib is a prominent local landmark.

Zarqa's population are mostly Palestinian people who fled to Jordan in 1948 after the creation of the State of Israel.

A new settlement that will house more than one million people has been approved by the Jordanian government. This will be constructed by Mawared, a Jordanian real estate company with connections to the military. New office buildings will also be constructed by corporations from the Persian Gulf.

Transport

A new railway will be constructed to connect Amman with Az-Zarqa. The project is now being devoped by a Spanish engineering company and is going to be paid with Kuwaiti funds.

Education

Hashemite University is also in Zarqa.

Translation

The word "Zarqa" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Danish, German, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Finnish, Swedish.

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: الزرقاء (مدينة), Bulgarian: Зарка, French: Zarka, Hebrew: זרקא (עיר), Dutch: Zarka, Japanese: ザルカ, Polish: Zarka, Russian: Эз-Зарка, Chinese: 扎尔卡.