Cloudbreak over Wadi Araba, Jordan.

The Arabah (Hebrew HaArava הערבה; Arabic Wadi Araba وادي عربه) is a section of the Great Rift Valley lying between the Dead Sea to the north and the Gulf of Aqaba to the south. It forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. Hebrew (עִבְרִית or עברית, ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... 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. ... Northern section of the Great Rift Valley. ... The Dead Sea (Hebrew: ; Arabic: ‎) is both the lowest point on Earth at 418 metres (1,371 ft) below sea level and falling[2], and the deepest hypersaline lake in the world at 330 m (1,083 ft) deep and 799 m (2,621 ft) below sea level. ... Sinai Peninsula, with the Gulf of Aqaba (east) and the Gulf of Suez (west), as viewed from the Space Shuttle STS-40. ...

The Arabah is 166 km (103 miles) long from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From the Gulf of Aqaba northward, the land gradually rises for 77 km (48 miles), reaching a height of 230 m (755 feet) above sea level. From this height at the Dead Sea/Red Sea watershed divide, the land gradually slopes down to a point 15 km south of the Dead Sea. From there, the Arabah drops sharply to meet the Dead Sea, which at 417 m (1373 feet) below sea level is the lowest point on earth. Location of the Red Sea Image:Red Seaimage. ... A water divide, or watershed, is relatively high ground between water basins. ...

The Arabah is very hot and dry, and consequently only lightly populated; there are almost no settlements on its Jordanian side and just a few kibbutzim on the Israeli. The oldest kibbutz in the Arabah is Kibbutz Yotvata, founded in 1957. Yotvata was named for an ancient town in the Arabah that is mentioned once in the Bible. Kibbutz Lotan, which is one of Israel's newest kibbutzim, has a bird-watching center. Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective intentional community. ... Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective intentional community. ... Kibbutz Yotvata (Hebrew: יטבתה) is a kibbutz along the Arava road in the southern Negev in Israel. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kibbutz Lotan is a Reform kibbutz in the Arava Valley in the Negev desert in the Southern half of the state of Israel. ...

In ancient times, the Arabah region was more settled than it is today. In Biblical times the area was a center of copper production; King Solomon apparently had mines here. The Arabah was home to the Edomites (Edom was called "Idumea" in Roman times). East of the Arabah was the domain of the Nabateans, the builders of the fabulous city of Petra. It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ... 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. ... 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 Treasury at Petra Petra (from petra, rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. ...

The Arabah is very scenic; there are colorful cliffs and sharp-topped mountains. Israel's Timna National Park is notable for its prehistoric rock carvings, some of the oldest copper mines in the world, and a convoluted cliff called King Solomon's pillars. On the Jordanian side is the famous Wadi Rum, where parts of Lawrence of Arabia were filmed. Wadi Rum Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in south west Jordan. ... Lawrence of Arabia is an Academy Award-winning film based, with some licence, on the life of T. E. Lawrence, starring Peter OToole as the title character, directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel, from a script by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. ...

The governments of Jordan and Israel are promoting development of the region. There is an off-and-on plan to bring water from the Red Sea to the Arabah through a tunnel. Since most of the Arabah is below sea level, the Red Sea water could be desalinated without any net input of energy.

The Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty was signed here on October 26, 1994. The Israel-Jordan peace treaty was signed at the southern border crossing of Wadi Araba on October 26, 1994, and made Jordan only the second Arab country (after Egypt) to normalize relations with Israel. ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ...

External links

• Wadi Araba Archaeological Research Project (cultural landscape)

• Wadi Arabah Project: Crossing the Rift