Aqaba

History

Aqaba is the site of a settlement inhabited since 4000 before J-C, in particular because of its strategic position to the crossroads of trade route between the Asia, the Africa and the Europe. The original settlement is known under the name of Elath ( אֵילַת ) in Hebrew (and undoubtedly in édomite). It was an Arab center Édomite then nabatéen.

The Bible mentions the place: " The King Solomon also built boats with Ezion-Geber, close to Elath in country édomite, at the edge of the Red Sea " . This verse probably refers to a port of the Âge of Iron builds on the current location of Aqaba.

Under the dynasty of Ptolémée, the Greek called the city Berenice , then the Romains Aila and Aelena . During the Roman occupation, the Via Nova Traiana which went from Damas to Amman finished in Aqaba, where it joined the road which went from the Palestine to the Egypt.

Shortly after the death of Mahomet, Aqaba became member of the Califat, and passed successively between the hands of the Omeyyades, Abbassides, Fatimides and Mamelouks. The beginning of the Moslem era saw the construction of the town of Ayla , described by the geographer Shams Eddin Muqaddasi as being right beside the original establishment, then in ruins. The ruins of Ayla (revealed in the years 1980 by a américano-Jordanian archaeological team) are located at short distance of the sea front.

At the 12th century, the Crusaders occupied the city and built the fortress Helim, which remains relatively well preserved today. In addition to building a fort in Aqaba, the Crusaders strengthened the named small island Île of Graye (now known under the name of Île of the Pharaon , with 7 kilometers of the coast). The island is from now on in Egyptian territory. As of 1170, Aqaba and the Île of Graye had been reconquered by Saladin. The Mamelouks took the city in 1250 and rebuilt the fort at the 14th century during the reign of one of the last sultans Mamelouks, Qansah Al-Ghouri.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the dynasty Mameluke and the area were under Othoman influence. Under the Othomans, the influence of the city declined to become soon only one simple village of fishermen of no importance.

During the First World War, the Othoman forces was forced to withdraw city in 1917 after a raid carried out by Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab forces of Hussein ibn Ali. The area was then annexed by the kingdom of the Hijaz. The catch of Aqaba helped the provisioning starting from Egypt, of the Arab and British forces combatant more in north, in Transjordanie and Palestine. Aqaba was yielded to the British protectorate of Transjordanie in 1925.

In 1965, the king Hussein of Jordan tried to widen the territory around Aqaba by exchanging grounds with the Saudi Arabia. In exchange of 6000 square kilometers desert in central Jordan, Saudi Arabia gave 12 kilometers of coast to the south of Aqaba. In addition to allowing the extension of the port, this exchange also gave access to the Jordan to the splendid coral of Yamanieh.

Until the War of the Gulf, Aqaba was one of the major importers of Iraqi goods .

The August 20th 2005, an attack with the rocket aimed two boats of the U.S. Navy (the US Ashland and the US Kearsarge) at quay. The attack misses the boat but damaged nearby buildings. The attack aimed also the Israeli city close to Eilat .

Economy

Nowadays, the city is a seaside resort and a center of diving. However, there remain many industrial activities in the zone, like sugar and oil refineries. It exports in particular Phosphate and shells. Aqaba is also an important administrative center in the south of Jordan.

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