Discover Aqaba in Jordan

The Gulf of Aqaba is bordered by four countries, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Egypt. The city that the gulf was named after is the most dynamically growing settlement of Jordan and a popular holiday resort. It combines the bustling colorful life of the cities, the Middle East with the cosmopolitan look of beach resorts. The city was populated as early as Bronze Age. It changed rulers and names many times. At one time or another it was controlled by the Nabateans, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, and the Turks among others.

Not far from the beach lies a medieval fortress which just like the other castle ruins in Jordan was probably built by the Crusaders although this is yet to proven by historians. Is it a coincidence that the Bible calls the city by the name Eilaf? It's separated from the Israeli Eilat Beach Resort by merely a few kilometer long empty shores.

The long-term development plans included joint beach hotel complex elects politics intervenes. Aqaba’s 20-year urban development plan has large scale improvements. The aid of the Jordan Tourism Board in various investment groups, the local government plans to create a university of tourism, a dolphinarium, a new yacht harbor, a beach resort, golf courses, a huge mall, and the style of a true Arab bazaar, a conference center along with more hotels, baths, restaurants, and cinemas.

Until then, you can still enjoy the clear water of the Red Sea and the hotels and beaches already there. And don’t forget that the coral reef of Aqaba is a diver’s paradise. The most popular souvenirs from Jordan, the small bottles filled with colored desert sand are made by skilled artists on the street as their buyers are watching how they work.