Aqaba

Jordan 's only port city facing the Gulf of Aqaba . It faces Eilat , Israel , and is southwest of the capital Amman. In 1925, the Saud family, which annexed the Kingdom of Hejaz ruled by the Hashemite family, gave up Aqaba in a peace agreement with Britain, making it Transjordan, the predecessor of Jordan , and thanks to this, Jordan barely escaped being a landlocked country . After 1965 Through a territorial exchange with Saudi Arabia, the inland desert area was given away (it was even a land with oil) and the coastal area near Aqaba was acquired, increasing the coastline. It is also the location of King Hussein International Airport .

Aqaba is a more important area in the Middle East than you might think, and is a strategic point from which you can access Egypt, Israel, Palestine , and Saudi Arabia. If war breaks out, it must pass through this area, so even though there is no port , it is a very important area in Jordan. It is the only city that is connected to all three countries by land and sea routes, and of course has three immigration checkpoints . Security is also strict and people from various countries gather here. It is also used as a base for tourism to Wadi Rum in the east.

Aqaba Church Ruins

islamic empire city ruins

It is a city so historic that it appears in the Bible as Elath.[2] During the Roman Empire , it was called Aella and the 9th Legion was stationed there (later moved to Jerusalem ). Around 300 AD, for the first time in Christian history, a building for church purposes was built from scratch. The existing churches were remodeled polytheistic temples. However, it was destroyed by an earthquake in 363 and was never restored. Perhaps because of this influence, about 5,000 Christians still live in Aqaba. The total population is about 150,000. After the Islamic conquest , the Arabs built a new city, Ayla (آيلا‎), outside the existing walls. The city that pilgrims to Mecca and merchants traveling to and from the Indian Ocean passed through also appears several times in One Thousand and One Nights . In 1116, King Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem occupied the city and built Helim Citadel. Later, Renault de Châtillon took over this place and engaged in piracy against pilgrims to Mecca, but was eventually killed by a counterattack by Saladin's younger brother Al-Adil. In 1187, Salah ad-Din occupied Aqaba.


Akaba Citadel. It was used in the Osman era.

In 1332, Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad of the Mamluk dynasty summoned his sons Ahmad, Abu Bakr, and Anak who were stationed in Karak to this place and tried to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca together, but he changed his mind and sent them back . Meanwhile, the citadel of Aqaba, which had been neglected since the Crusades , was rebuilt by the Mamluk sultan Kansu al-Guri, who was trying to resist the Portuguese who appeared in the Red Sea in the 16th century .

In the Arab rebellion , famous for Arabia's Lawrence, the first cities occupied by Lawrence and the Arab Allied forces, in 1917, the Arab Urgent Army attacked the Ottoman garrison and took over Akaba to lay the foundation for Syria. Later, he was included in the Kingdom of Hezaz , where the Kingdom of Hezaz was destroyed by Saudi Arabia in 1925, and in 1965, the border with Jordan was the only ruler of the old Heazu King .


Sharif Hussein bin Ali Mosque

On June 27, 2022, toxic gas leaked from the port of Aqaba, killing 10 people and injuring 251 people. #