Where is Aqaba located?

Where is Aqaba located?

Aqaba is considered one of the Jordanian cities located on the Red Sea coast in the far southern part of Jordan, and it is the center of the Aqaba Governorate, and it is approximately 330 km away from the Jordanian capital, Amman. The center of the borders of Durra and Egypt, and with the city of Eilat through the Wadi Araba crossing, and Aqaba is famous for its beaches that overlook the Red Sea, and for being a diving area, and its population is approximately 148.398 people, according to 2015 statistics.

Aqaba history

In the era of the Greeks and Romans

Many peoples settled in the Aqaba region about four thousand years ago, due to its strategic location overlooking the sea, and being located at the intersection of roads linking Asia, Africa, and Europe, and it is noteworthy that it was one of the most important cities of the Nabataeans who inhabited the region and expanded In it, it was also a passage for international trade routes going and returning to the country of the Hijaz, and the south of the Arabian Peninsula towards Egypt or the Levant.

The Greeks called this city Bernais, and the Romans called it Ella or Elena. In the Roman era, the Vianovatriana Road was heading to the southern side of Damascus, passing through Amman to Aqaba, and this road was connected to the western road that leads to Palestine and Egypt.

In the Islamic era

During the era of the Messenger Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, this city was subject to Islamic rule, and it was ruled by many ruling dynasties, represented by the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and Mamluks. Pharaoh located seven kilometers from Aqaba.

Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi restored Aqaba and Pharaoh's Island from Crusader control in 1170 AD, but it returned under Mamluk control in 1250 AD, and during their period of control they built a fort, and with the beginning of the sixteenth century AD, Aqaba was subject to Ottoman control, which made it lose its importance, and thus turned into a small village Its inhabitants live on fishing.

in the First World War

In World War I, the Ottoman forces forcibly left the city at the hands of the Arab army under the leadership of Sharif Hussein bin Ali, who annexed it at that time to his kingdom in the Hijaz, and this opened the supply and support lines coming from Egypt to the Arab and British forces present in Jordan and Palestine.

Tourism in Aqaba

Tourism is active in Aqaba, as it is a coastal region located on the Red Sea, and there are many tourist places in it. Such as: Aqaba Bird Watching Station, which is the most important eco-tourism project in it, as it attracts tens of thousands of migratory birds between Europe and Africa during the migration season in the fall and spring. The project also has forests for trees, gardens, and large water bodies, and this is what made it attract many Visitors who wish to observe these birds come to it, as it contains a marine science station, and an exhibition of marine life that enables the visitor to see many marine creatures; Like fish, and coral.