Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة al-ʻAqabah) is a coastal town with a population of 101,290 (2000) and 2% of Jordan's population in the far south of Jordan (29.5167° N 35.0° E). It is the capital of Aqaba Governorate. Aqaba is strategically important to Jordan as it is the country's only seaport(see Lawrence of Arabia). The town borders Eilat, Israel and there is a border post where it is possible to cross between the two countries. Both Aqaba and Eilat are at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة al-Ê»Aqabah) is one of the governorates of Jordan. ... Categories: Stub | Commercial item transport and distribution | Transportation ... Eilat or Elat (אילת), pop. ... Sinai Peninsula, with the Gulf of Aqaba (east) and the Gulf of Suez (west), as viewed from the Space Shuttle STS-40. ...

Aqaba in Jordan

The town is best known today as a diving and beach resort. However, industrial activity remains important to the area, and the town is an exporter of phosphate and some shells. The town is also an important administrative centre within the far south of Jordan. Image File history File links Aqaba_location. ... Image File history File links Aqaba_location. ... In inorganic chemistry, a phosphate is a salt of phosphoric acid. ... The hard, rigid outer calcium carbonate covering of certain animals is called a shell. ...

History

Aqaba has been an inhabited settlement since 4000 BC profiting from its strategic location at the junction of trading routes between Asia, Africa, Europe. The early settlement was known as Eilat (אֵילַת ʼÊlaṯ) in Biblical Hebrew (and presumably Edomite) in ancient times. It was a centre of the Edomites, and then of the Arab Nabataeans, who populated the region extensively. Dionysius Exiguus invented Anno Domini years to date Easter. ... Categories: Language stubs | Judaism-related stubs | Canaanite languages | Hebrew language ... The Edomite language is the extinct Hebrew Canaanite language of the Edomites in southwestern Jordan in the first millennium BC. It is known only from a very small corpus. ... Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm, Assyrian Udumi, Syriac ܐܕܘܡ), a Hebrew word meaning red, is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation that purportedly traced their ancestry to him. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are a large and heterogeneous ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Petra, the Nabataean capital The Nabataeans, a people of ancient Arabia, whose settlements in the time of Josephus gave the name of Nabatene to the border-land between Syria and Arabia from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. ...

The Bible refers to the area in (1 Kings 9:26)"King Solomon also built ships in Ezion-Geber, which is near Eilat in Edom, on the shores of the Red Sea." This verse probably refers to an Iron Age port city on the same ground as modern Aqaba. It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ... Ezion-Geber, biblical seaport on the Gulf of Aqaba corresponding to modern Aqaba-Eilat. ... Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm, Assyrian Udumi, Syriac ܐܕܘܡ), a Hebrew word meaning red, is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation that purportedly traced their ancestry to him. ... Location of the Red Sea Image:Red Seaimage. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

The Ptolemaic Greeks called it Berenice, and the Romans Aila and Aelana. During Roman times, the great long distance road the Via Traiana Nova led south from Damascus through Amman, terminating in Aqaba, where it connected with a west road leading to Palestine and Egypt. Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Greats generals, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexanders death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as Soter (saviour). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... For road of similar name in Italy, see Via Traiana Nova (Italy) Trajanic rebuild of the Kings Highway (ancient). ... Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic: ‎ translit: Also commonly: الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. ... Amman, sometimes spelled Ammann (Arabic عمان Ê¿Ammān), the capital of the Kingdom of Jordan, a city of more than 1. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

Soon after Muhammad's time, it became part of the new Caliphate, and thereafter passed through the hands of such dynasties as the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks. The early days of the Islamic era saw the construction of the city of Ayla, which was described by the geographer Shams Eddin Muqaddasi as being next to the true settlement, which was lying in ruins closeby. The ruins of Ayla (unearthed in the 1980s by an American-Jordanian archeological team) are a few minutes walk north along the main waterfront road. For other people named Muhammad, see Muhammad (disambiguation). ... An Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah, Caliph (  listen?) is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... Abbasid provinces during the caliphate of Harun al-Rashid Abbasid (Arabic: العبّاسيّون AbbāsÄ«yÅ«n) was the dynastic name generally given to the caliphs of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Islamic empire, that overthrew the Umayyad caliphs. ... The Fatimids or Fatimid Caliphate (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Ismaili Shiite dynasty that ruled much of North Africa from A.D. 5 January 910 to 1171. ... An Ottoman Mamluk, from 1810 A mamluk (Arabic: مملوك (singular), مماليك (plural), owned; also transliterated mameluk, mameluke, or mamluke) was a slave soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ottoman Empire during the Middle Ages. ... Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shamsuddin Al-Muqaddasi (or Al-Maqdisi) was a notable medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim (The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions). ...

During the 12th century the Crusaders occupied the area and built their fortress of Helim, which remains relatively well-preserved today. In addition to building a stronghold within Aqaba, the Crusaders fortified the small island of Ile de Graye (now known as Pharaoh's Island - about 7 kilometers offshore). The island now lies in Egyptian territorial waters. This article is about historical Crusades . ... Overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, on Pharaohs Island, 1170 ad Salah Al Din al Ayoubi constructed another Citadel. ...

By 1170, both Aqaba and the island had been recaptured by Saladin. The Mamluks took over in 1250 and rebuilt the fort in the 14th century under one of the last Mamluk sultans, Qansah al-Ghouri. Events December 29: Assassination of Thomas Beckett, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury cathedral City of Dublin captured by the Normans Wang Anshi of Song China started to carried out reforms in three main structures, education, economy and political system. ... Saladin. ... An Ottoman Mamluk, from 1810 Mamluks (or Mameluks) (the Arabic word usually translates as owned, singular: مملوك plural: مماليك) comprised slave soldiers used by the Muslim Caliphs and the Ottoman Empire, and who on more than one occasion seized power for themselves. ... Events December 13 - Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IX of France is captured by Muslims and has to ransom himself Mabinogion appears Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic Vincent of Beauvais writes proto-encyclopedic The Greater Mirror City of Stockholm founded Alphonso III of Portugal takes Algarve...

By the beginning of the 16th century the Mamluk dynasty had fallen into decline and the area came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. Under the Ottomans, the city declined in status, for 400 years remaining a simple fishing village of little significance. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl...

During World War I, Ottoman forces were forced to withdraw from the town after a raid by Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab forces of Sharif Hussein in 1917, making the territory part of the Kingdom of Hijaz. The capture of Aqaba helped open supply lines from Egypt up to Arab and British forces afield further north in Transjordan and Palestine. Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... Thomas Edward Lawrence (August 16, 1888 – May 19, 1935), also known as Lawrence of Arabia, and (apparently, among his Arab allies) Aurens or El Aurens, became famous for his role as a British liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of 1916–1918. ... Hussein ibn Ali or Husayn ibn Ali was the Sherif of Mecca, and Emir of Mecca from 1908 until 1917, when he proclaimed himself king. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Hejaz (also Hijaz, Hedjaz) is a region in the northwest of present-day Saudi Arabia; its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better-known for the holy city of Mecca. ...

Aqaba was ceded to the British protectorate of Transjordan in 1925. A protectorate is, in international law, a political entity (a sovereign state or a less developed native polity, such as a tribal chiefstainship or feudal princely state) that formally agrees (voluntarily or under pressure) by treaty to enter into an unequal relationship with another, stronger state, called the protector, which... Map of the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine The Emirate of Transjordan was an autonomous political division of the British Mandate of Palestine, created as an administrative entity in April 1921 before the Mandate came into effect. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1965, King Hussein attempted to give Aqaba room to grow by trading land with Saudi Arabia. In return for 6000 square kilometers of desertland in Jordan's interior the Saudi's traded 12 kilometers of prime coastline to the south of Aqaba. In addition to the extra land for expansion of the port, the swap also gave the country access to the magnificent Yamanieh coral reef. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Hussein bin Talal (Arabic: حسين بن طلال) (November 14, 1935 - February 7, 1999) was the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1952 to 1999. ...

Aqaba was a major site for imports of Iraqi goods in the 1980s until the Persian Gulf War. MacGyver - 1980s hero The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ...

On August 20, 2005, an early-morning rocket attack nearly struck a U.S. Navy ship docked there causing damage to nearby facilities in the city; the attack also hit the nearby Israeli town of Eilat. Al-Qaeda or an affiliate claimed responsibility [1].

Tourism

Aqaba is well known for its beach resorts and luxury hotels, which service those who come for fun in the sand as well as watersports like windsurfing and SCUBA. It also offers activities which take advantage of its desert location. Its many coffee shops offer mansaf and knafeh, and baqlawa desserts. Aother very popular venue is the Turkish Bath (Hamam), in which locals and visitors alike come to relax after a hot day. Windsurfing in Essex, England Windsurfing (also called boardsailing) is a sport involving travel over water on a small 2-4. ... SCUBA is an acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to the Wikibooks Cookbook. ... A plate with pieces of different types of baklava Baklava (or baklawa) is a popular sweet pastry found in many cuisines of the Middle East and the Balkans, made of chopped nuts layered with phyllo pastry. ... A Turkish bath is a method of cleansing the body and relaxation that was particularly popular during the Victorian era. ...

• World66 Travel Guide

• Jordan Tourism

Transportation

The Hejaz railway system no longer functions for travellers, therefore the popular routes in and out from Aqaba are taxis (to the city of Eilat, Israel, through the Rabin passage), boat to Egypt (down the gulf to the city of Nuweiba or Sharm el-Sheikh) or by air via Aqaba Airport. al Hijaz Station in Damascus, starting point of the railroad The 1050mm gauge Hejaz railway (also Hedjaz, etc. ... Rabin is a Hebrew surname. ... Nuweiba is a coastal town in eastern part of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, on the coast of Gulf of Aqaba. ... View of the Red Sea and Tiran Island from the Sheraton Sharm hotel Sharm el-Sheikh (شرم الشيخ, also transliterated as Sharm ash Shaykh), often known simply as Sharm, is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in Janub Sina, Egypt, on the coastal strip between the Red... Known as King Hussein Int´l Airport (AQJ/OJAQ). ...

External links

• History
• [2]