At the mildest, you're very much like our interior valleys, what the Sunset Western Garden Book calls Zone 14 (northern) and Zone 20 (southern).

Because of the occasional snow, though, I'm thinking possibly you're like our foothill climates, Zone 18 (southern) and Zones 7, 8, 9 (northern).

Then there's the highest chance you're very much like our higher desert climates (if you get less than 10 inches of rain per season). Those are SWGB Zones 10 and 11. These are oour cllimes with the hottest temperatures in summer, the coldest temperatures in winter and the good chance of snow very couple of years (unlike our mountains, which would get snow every winter).

Just in case you don't have a Sunset Western Garden Book (and why would you?), here's some major cities within the zones mentioned:

7: Mariposa, Wasco, Placerville,
8: Yuba City, Chico, Fresno, Merced
9: Coalinga, Bakersfield, Maricopa
10: Ridgecrest, China Lake, Victorville
11: Barstow, Twentynine Palms, Mojave, Lancaster
14: Sacramento, Stockton
18: Chino, Upland, Perris, Ontario
20: Escondido, Ramona, Burbank

Joe

The climate data I have for Amman is from the "World Weather Guide" by E. A. Pearce and Gordon Smith (1990). It gives me monthly average and extreme temperatues and average monthly precipitation. The most similar places I can find are places at the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley with some exposure to cool winds coming through the Golden Gate. Tracy, California, would be an example. Most places that are close to your temperature averages have significantly more rain than you (Sacramento, for example), but Tracy is similar to you in that respect. You get occasional snow, don't you? I think snow is almost unknown in Tracy and Sacramento (someone from the area please verify). On the other hand, I think the places I'm talking about in Calif. are subject to extended winter fogs at times. Your elevation is much higher than any place in California with similar average temperatures and precipitation. These places in Calif. are near sea level, whereas you are around 775 m (2550 ft) -- right?

Below is a link to the descriptions of western climate zones.
There is about a 6-10 degree difference in your average temps than mine here in zone 18. But I do think I get the coldest in winter of zone 18 and warmest in summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: western climate zone descriptions

PS Fresno/Clovis area is actually in zone 9... as is most of the Central Valley. The winters are 40-50º with some nights in the 30s; we occasionally get some rare, but delightful winter snow. This past week it got as high as 108º with humidity of 20%. It is now in the 90s and more pleasant.

If you have mild enough winters to grow Oranges, enough heat to ripen grapefruit and Dates, and snow is a rare event, it sounds like you might be similar in climate to our low elevation desert areas such as Palm Springs. If you don't stay as hot at night nor get as hot during the day, and aren't warm enough in winter to safely grow Citrus, you are probably more similar to the Sacramento Valley/San Joaquin Valley parts of California. The citrus belts in the valleys are located in areas where cold air in winter can drain off, and get occasional light snow once every 10 years or so, and often depend on taking measures to heat the orchards to protect from freezing. If date palms are a commercial crop in your location, you are more similar to our low elevation California deserts than further north interior valleys. If your climate alternates between some cooling coastal weather in summer alternating with majority of hot days, it could be similar to inland parts of Southern California such as Riverside County or San Bernardino.

Our relatively narrow width adjacent to the Pacific, hemmed in by mountains and/or deserts means that the climate varies quite a bit even over short distances here in California.

I'd suggest telling us what grows well as predominant vegetation will give us a better idea of which parts of California you most closely resemble. You might also consider purchasing a copy of the Sunset Western Garden Book Encyclopedia as a good reference of what does well in California's Mediterranean climate, as well as specifically designating the various microclimates with temperature ranges throughout the year. This is also a useful gardening book for anyone interested in Mediterranean climate gardening and species from around the world that can be grown in such climates.

My only real experience with gardening in the Middle East was based on a year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which being further south but at elevation had a subtropical desert climate that closely mirrored the growing conditions of Palm Springs, California and San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico, even though the latitude was a closer match for places such as Miami or Hong Kong.

Since I will be in Petra Jordan in late Oct. I hope it is not too hot or too cold. I thought it might be similar to Palm Springs but it sounds like it might be colder.

Penny
Napa Valley USA

I would like to thank you all for replaying to my post, and for your effort in the explanations and examples
Amman sits atop seven hills, Amman is located in a hilly area of north-western Jordan, and is at an elevation of 1029 meters above sea level (highest point) to 773 meters above sea level (lowest point). Many of Amman's districts derive their names from the name of the mountain they are built on.
Amman enjoys a Mediterranean climate and four seasons of excellent weather as compared to other places in the region. Summer temperatures range from 18 C (64 F) to 36 °C (97 °F) at times , the No of days above 30 C (86 F) is about 60-90 days (around noon time), but with very low humidity and frequent breezes. Spring and fall temperatures are extremely pleasant and mild. The winter sees nighttime temperatures frequently near 0 °C (32.0 °F), and snow is known in Amman, It typically will not rain heavily from June to the beginning of September but light rain will be present at that time of the year. But lately it is starting to snow in April and the beginning of May. In fact about half the quantity of rain Amman and Jordan received in 2008 fell in April, and recently snow sometimes fall in April, and that is very unusual for that time of year.
I was looking for a weather similar to Amman in California in order to decide which plants I can grew successfully for my landscaping specially from the new verities which is mainly imported from Holland and Italy as some of them are doing good and others will not survive our dry weather as they need humidity or they cannot with stand the high temperatures like some verityÂs of Fuchsia.
In Amman we can grew lemon, Pummels, Clementine, Mandarin (in microclimate home gardens), Orange trees are very rare in Amman as I never seen one full of oranges.
What is flowering in Amman now for example plumbagos, cannas, Hibiscus (Disco bell from seeds), lantana, Bougainvilleas, Tecomaria Capensis, Passiflora, Lonicera, creeping verbena, petunia
What I can see at the nursery but is not common in home gardens as it seems not successful, azalea, rhododendron, and hydrangea
I have read about Sunset Western Garden Book Encyclopedia, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, heat zone map, sunset zone, where I found some places similar to Amman in average low temperature, but hotter in summer, but I find what I can grew is what resemble my growing zone.
(Penny) The weather in WADI MOUSA, Petra will be very nice during the month of October with max average of 28 C and min average of 20 C but will drop to mid 20s in November during the day and around 18s during night time, but it is a very nice place to visit, your are most welcomed to Jordan

Alzube,
From your further description of your actual temperatures, it does sound like your climate is more like California's interior valleys of Sacramento and San Joaquin, as you don't get nearly as hot as our desert areas such as Palm Springs. The fact that you don't stay hot all day long and into the nights means that you are not as hot as our deserts, and more similar to the parts of the Sacramento Valley towns that do cool down in the evening because they get some sea breeze influence that manages to penetrate inland away from the coast following the San Francisco Bay and Delta which provides an opening through the mountains to the sea.

If you do some research on the native habitats of the new plants being imported from Holland and Italy to see where they originally come from, you would have a better idea that plants such as Fuchsias need cooler conditions that neither bake in summer nor freeze in winter, and most will probably not grow easily in your conditions. I would also suggest that most plants coming from either subtropical high elevations around the world, such as Brugmansia, Iochroma, will not be happy with the hot dry winds, nor will more temperate plants such as Hydrangeas and Azaleas/Rhododendrons, which like it cooler and moister in summer. I'd also suggest that most plants originating from New Zealand won't be happy in your climate, or other coastal, cooler maritime locations such as coastal Chile as well. It sounds like you have perfect conditions for a lot of plants from the Mediterranean basin, South Africa, Mexico and California.

Good luck with the gardening, and thanks for the glimpse of your garden climate and plantings in a part of the world that not many Americans get to see. Jordan does sound like a marvelous place to both garden and be a tourist...

If you wait to buy new plants until after you have had time to research on the internet or reference books as to where they come from and the climate they prefer, you will probably have better success with them. I'd suggest that getting a copy of the Sunset Western Garden Book Encyclopedia may be really useful for you, and most of the plants recommended for Sunset zones 9, 12, 14, and 18 will probably be the most suitable for your conditions.

If you want to grow the more humid loving tender subtropicals such as Fuchsias, a sheltered shaded courtyard on the north side of a building with dappled morning sun and protection from hot winds is your best option; the sorts of conditions that also favor best growing for most ferns, azaleas, hydrangeas, etc.

18: Chino, Upland, Perris, Ontario - they don't get snow unless it's a freak storm and then it wouldn't be anything too significant, but definitely no occasional snow every year. On the other hand, the high desert cities of Victorville, Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Phelan will get snow occasionally every year. Not a lot but enough for the kiddies to play in and this last year's Dec. storm dumped so much it shut down the I15.

Alzubide, good luck with your plant choices! And please post some pics when you can.

alzubide: It's should be clear from our responses that your climate is most similar to our interior climates: valleys and mountain foothills well away from the coast. It hadn't occurred to me until I saw one of the other replies that "high desert" southern California (Victorville, Hesperia) is probably a pretty good match for you. East of me is Anza (3900 ft/1170 meters), and it's probably also similar to you: large daily temperature range, hot summer days, cool enough in winter to get some snow, but with a pronounced Mediterranean climate (rain in winter, dry in summer). Anza does get brief thunderstorms two or three times every summer. The moisture for the thunderstorms comes from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. Anza'a annual rainfall averages about 10 inches on average (250 mm), which should be pretty similar to you, if what I read in that "World Weather Guide" (mentioned earlier) is reasonably correct. Every edition of the "Sunset Western Garden Book" reshuffles the climate zones for interior southern California. The last edition I own, about six years old, puts Anza in Zone 18. However, they have me in Zone 18, too, but Anza gets snow every winter and has regular sub-freezing temperatures through April, whereas we in Temecula are usually out of frost danger by mid-February, and snow is very rare here, although it has happened. Our coldest temp in the 16 years we've been here is 23F (about -5 C). Most winters bring a few nights around -1 C.

alzubide - hello from your neighbor to the west. I live in Haifa, like Amman on a mountain. We have very nearly similar weather, except it rarely snows!
When I look for plants, I look for the US zones 8,9,10 and sometimes 11. The heat is one thing, the fierce sun another, but the most important factor for me is WATER. Will I have enough to give the plant what it needs? How can I re-use water from my home to cut down on using freshwater for my gardens?
Azalea, rhododendron, and hydrangea are hard here. Although lovely, they need a rather acid soil, and we usually have less than ideal conditions. The hydrangea also needs (hydra=water) an uncomfortable amount of water. I loved them so in my native Chicago, and I miss them here. The very hardest thing for you there and me here is that plants we buy very rarely have the right names on them, so it's hard to get all the lovely things we read about on GardenWeb. The plants are just called "cactus" or "orchid" or "sage", with no specific type or precise name. Reading these forums, you learn that each type of plant has cultivars or individual types that do better than the same plant but different specific type for a particular climate, and we can rarely get clear information, either form the label or the person we buy from. Very frustrating.
Please let me know what you dream of planting, and I will try to tell you if I either have done so successfully myself or know of someone who has. There are a very, very few gardening groups here, but some people are slowly getting together for sustainable gardening projects and re-use of water, etc.
By the way, I just moved into a new apartment a month ago, and for housewarming gifts I asked friends to bring me plants for my new garden. I got a lovely kumquat, and some peppers in pots. Loquat, lemon and many wild cyclamen were already here. I have planted many herbs (basil, sheba, za'atar, lemon verbena and others, who are so far happy (meaning they haven't died yet!) I tried some tomatoes - we'll see if they live too.
Let's keep this Middle Eastern garden thing going...........Batya