Al Mafraq, Jordan

Capital City

Living costs have skyrocketed since Syrian refugees began comprising 50% of this military-heavy crossroads city's population as of 2016. Situated 80km north of Amman where Syria-bound and Iraq-bound roads intersect, Al Mafraq serves as both a strategic military hub and a testament to Jordan's refugee crisis response.

Originally a fortress town named Fudain, this historically significant transit point housed a crucial Ottoman-era pilgrim's inn along the Syrian Hajj route. The city's military importance crystallized during the British Mandate, hosting colonial troops in WWII before becoming an Arab Legion base in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Today, it's home to the Jordanian Army's Third Division, King Hussein Air College, and a Royal Jordanian Air Force base. With Al al-Bayt University on its southeastern edge and positioned at the junction of the Hauran plateau and Syrian Desert, Al Mafraq continues its historical role as a crossroads city, though now facing unprecedented demographic pressures.