Day 260: Aqaba

Dec 19 - Aqaba is the only place where Jordan touches ocean trade routes (through the Gulf of Aqaba). Israel also converges on this tiny point of the gulf, with the city of Eilat. Both cities are strategic for those respective countries. The coastlines of both countries are very short, and in theory, you can travel from Aqaba, through Eilat, and on into Taba, Egypt in less than an hour (with delays for immigration). I did not choose to do this because Israeli immigration can be fickle and I did not want a grumpy immigration agent to put an Israeli stamp in my passport without asking me first.

The reader might be curious as to why it is called the ‘Hashemite Kingdom’ of Jordan. In short, in the aftermath of WWI and expulsion of the Ottomans from the region (during the Great Arab Revolt), the Republic of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the leader Abdullah I. His title was Hashemite, or ‘of the Hashims’, which was a leading family in the region. Transjordan rapidly became a British Protectorate, as European powers became firmly entrenched in many lands previously occupied by the Ottomans. It achieved independence in 1946, and changed the name from Transjordan (literally, across the Jordan), to just Jordan. The name Jordan, of course, refers to the north-south river that connects the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea.

From Aqaba, looking east across to Eilat and the border of Egypt (far left).

The Aqaba Roza Hotel, where we are staying, has a parrot.

There is a new seaside tourist complex under construction. But it looks like they gave up completing it for the moment. The only part finished is the huge Jordanian flagpole and flag installed in the central plaza.

The Aqaba Fort, which is being restored. It was built under the Mamluk Sultan Qansuh Al-Ghuri (1510-17 CE), and served as a defensive structure for the Ottomans until they were forced out of Jordan in WWI.

The two round inscriptions declare that the fort was renovated in 1587 and 1628 CE.

The oldest part of Aqaba are the ruins of Ayla. I have read that it dates from Nabatean times, though the on-site signage didn’t mention this. It does say that the founder of Ayla was Uthman ibn Affan, second cousin to the Prophet Muhammad, and third in line of a succession of rulers called the Rashidun (rightly-guided caliphs). Post-founding, the city remained important during Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid times.

Only foundations are left. The central area of this small settlement were occupied by a mosque and the house of the caliph. The project to excavate this town were conducted only in 1986.

There is a small public beach in the middle of town. The big thing here now are glass-bottom boats. I was unmoved by paying for one, but Odette really wanted to see fish, and it was going to be a big journey to go snorkeling at a place out of town to the south.

There are a few interesting wrecks near the beach. These are the remains of an anti-aircraft vehicle (the M42 ‘duster’), sunk intentionally in 1999 to provide shelter for fish.

We also saw a good number of starry pufferfish, and various other tropical fish we had seen in Dahab. They were around clusters of coral distributed across the sandy bottom.

Eat late lunch at a place with what I would call standard Arabian Peninsula food (hummus, bread, tabouleh, kebab). Many dishes go heavy on the cardamom here.

Jordan