This former British 1940s military hospital in south Azraq has been atmospherically renovated by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) as a base from which to explore the Eastern Desert. The RSCN has succeeded in preserving the historic building while adding a modern extension, so thankfully there’s no need to rough it on bare stretchers.
There’s an old field ambulance parked under a canvas porch and some period photographs (worth a visit in their own right) hung alongside paraffin lamps and gas masks to while away the hour before supper. While anyone raving about hospital food could normally expect to be admitted – or committed – at Azraq Lodge, the traditional Chechen dishes served from the modernised hospital canteen are likely to be some of the best you'll sample in Jordan. Ring ahead to request lunch or dinner (around JD15) and come with a healthy appetite: the pomegranate salads and thyme-scented meat dishes arrive in generous portions on shared platters.
The lodge also houses a small handicraft workshop (9am to 4pm Saturday to Thursday), where women from the local community produce and sell silk screen prints, ostrich-egg paintings and recycled paper products.