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The name of the city was anciently Elath, Ailath. The name is presumably derived from the Semitic name of a tree in the genus Pistacia.[16] Modern Eilat (established 1947), situated about 5 km northwest of Aqaba, also takes its name from the ancient settlement. In the Hellenistic period, it was renamed Berenice (in Greek Βερενίκη), but the original name survived, and under Roman rule was re-introduced in the forms Aila, Aela or Haila, adopted in Byzantine Greek as Άιλα Aila and in Arabic as Ayla.

The present name al-ʿAqaba is a shortened from ʿaqabat Ayla “the mountain-pass of Ayla”, first mentioned in the 12th century by Idrisi, at a time when the settlement had been mostly reduced to a military stronghold, properly referring to the pass just to the north-east of the settlement (29.559°N 35.095°E, now traversed by Aqaba Highway).

The ancient city was called Elath, adopted in Latin as Aela and in Arabic as Ayla. Its strategic location and proximity to copper mines made it a regional hub for copper production and trade in the Chalcolithic period.[8] Aela became a bishopric under Byzantine rule and later became a Latin Catholic titular see after the Islamic conquest around AD 650 when it became known as Ayla; the name Aqaba is late medieval.
The Great Arab Revolt’s Battle of Aqaba, depicted in the film Lawrence of Arabia, resulted in victory for Arab forces over the Ottoman defenders.

Aqaba’s location next to Wadi Rum and Petra has placed it in Jordan’s golden triangle of tourism, which strengthened the city’s location on the world map and made it one of the major tourist attractions in Jordan.
The city is administered by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, which has turned Aqaba into a low-tax, duty-free city, attracting several mega projects like Ayla Oasis, Saraya Aqaba, Marsa Zayed and expansion of the Port of Aqaba.
They are expected to turn the city into a major tourism hub in the region.
However, industrial and commercial activities remain important, due to the strategic location of the city as the country’s only seaport.

Nearby Chalcolithic sites

Excavations at two tells (archaeological mounds) Tall Hujayrat Al-Ghuzlan and Tall Al-Magass, both a few kilometres north of modern-day Aqaba city, revealed inhabited settlements from c. 4000 BC during the Chalcolithic period, with thriving copper production on a large scale.
This period is largely unknown due to the absence of written historical sources.
University of Jordan archaeologists have discovered the sites, where they found a small building whose walls were inscribed with human and animal drawings, suggesting that the building was used as a religious site. The people who inhabited the site had developed an extensive water system in irrigating their crops which were mostly made up of grapes, olives and wheat. Several different-sized clay pots were also found suggesting that copper production was a major industry in the region, the pots being used in melting the copper and reshaping it. Scientific studies performed on-site revealed that it had undergone two earthquakes, with the latter one leaving the site completely destroyed.

Early history

Elath
The Edomites, who ruled over Edom just south of the Dead Sea, are believed to have built the first port in Aqaba called Elath around 1500 BC, turning it into a major hub for the trade of copper as the Phoenicians helped them develop their maritime economy. They profited from its strategic location at the junction of trading routes between Asia and Africa.

Tell el-Kheleifeh

Archaeologists have investigated an Iron Age settlement at Tell el-Kheleifeh, immediately west of Aqaba, inhabited between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE.

Benefiting from its location and status as Jordan’s special economic zone, Aqaba’s economy is based on the tourism and port industry sectors.
The economic growth in Aqaba is higher than the average economic growth in the country. Under the special economic zone status, some investments and trades are exempted from taxation, as a result, new resorts, housing developments, and retail outlets are being constructed. New projects such as Tala Bay and Saraya al Aqaba are constructed aiming at providing high-end vacation and residential homes to locals and foreigners alike.

Aqaba’s location next to Wadi Rum and Petra has placed it in Jordan’s golden triangle of tourism, which strengthened the city’s location on the world map and made it one of the major tourist attractions in Jordan.
The city is administered by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, which has turned Aqaba into a low-tax, duty-free city, attracting several mega projects like Ayla Oasis, Saraya Aqaba, Marsa Zayed and expansion of the Port of Aqaba.
They are expected to turn the city into a major tourism hub in the region.
However, industrial and commercial activities remain important, due to the strategic location of the city as the country’s only seaport.

Over US$20 billion have been invested in Aqaba since 2001 when the Special Economic Zone was established. Along with tourism projects, Aqaba has also attracted global logistic companies such as APM Terminals and Agility to invest in logistics, which boosted the city’s status as a transport and logistics hub. There are numerous hotels that reside in Aqaba but new hotels are also under construction.

Aqaba is the only seaport of Jordan so virtually all of Jordan’s exports depart from here. The heavy machinery industry is also flourishing in the city with regional assembly plants being located in Aqaba such as the Land Rover Aqaba Assembly Plant. By 2008 the ASEZ had attracted $18bn in committed investments, beating its $6bn targets by 2020 by a third and more in less than a decade. The goal was adjusted to bring in another $12bn by 2020, but in 2009 alone, deals worth $14bn were inked.
Some projects currently under construction are:

Marsa Zayed a $10 billion is the largest mega mixed-use development project ever envisioned in both Jordan and the region. Marsa Zayed will host facilities including residential neighbourhoods, commercial outlets and amenities, entertainment venues, financial and business facilities, and a number of hotels. Additionally, the property will feature marinas and a cruise ship terminal. Marsa Zayed will encompass 6.4 million square meters of built-up property.
Saraya Aqaba, a $1.5 billion resort with a man-made lagoon, luxury hotels, villas, and townhouses that will be completed by 2017.

Ayla Oasis, a $1.5 billion resort around a man-made lagoon with hotels, villas, an 18-hole golf course designed by Greg Norman. It also has an Arabian Venice theme with apartment buildings built along canals only accessible by walkway or boat. This project will be completed by 2017.
Tala Bay, Tala Bay was developed in a distinctive architectural style that blends Jordanian and regional architecture with a total cost of US$680 million. Another distinguishing feature of this single community resort is its two-kilometre private sandy beach on the Red Sea.
The Red Sea Astrarium (TRSA), the world’s only Star Trek themed park, worth $1.5 billion would have been completed by 2014 but cancelled in 2015.

Port relocation. Aqaba’s current port will be relocated to the southernmost part of the province near the Saudi border. Its capacity will surpass that of the current port. The project costs $5 billion, and it will be completed by 2013.
Aqaba will be connected by the national rail system which will be completed by 2013. The rail project will connect Aqaba with all Jordan’s main cities and economic centres and several countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria.
The Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) handled a record 587,530 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2008, an increase of 41.6% on the previous year. To accommodate the rise in trade on the back of the increasing popularity of container shipping and the stabilising political situation in Iraq, the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) has announced plans for a new port. The port relocation 20 kilometres (12 miles) to the south will cost an estimated $600m and will improve infrastructure while freeing up space for development in the city. Plans for upgrading the King Hussein International Airport (KHIA) and the development of a logistics centre will also help position Aqaba as a regional hub for trade and transport.

Aqaba has a number of luxury hotels, including in the Tala Bay resort 20 km further to the south, which serves those who come for fun on the beaches as well as Scuba diving. It also offers activities that take advantage of its desert location. Its many coffee shops offer mansaf and knafeh, and baklawa desserts. Another very popular venue is the Turkish Bath (Hamam) built in 306 AD, in which locals and visitors alike come to relax after a hot day.

A beach in Aqaba.
In 2006, the Tourism Division of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) reported that the number of tourists visiting the Zone in 2006 rose to about 432,000, an increase of 5% over the previous year. Approximately 65% or 293,000 were Jordanians. Of foreign tourists, Europeans visited the Zone in the largest numbers, with about 98,000 visiting during the year. The division has financed tourism advertising and media campaigns with the assistance of the European Union.

During national holidays, Jordanians from the north, particularly Amman and Irbid, flock to Aqaba’s luxury resorts and sandy beaches. During these holiday weekends, hotel occupancy reaches 100%.

Aqaba has been chosen for the site of a new waterfront building project that would rebuild Aqaba with new man-made water structures, new high-rise residential and office buildings, and more tourist services to place Aqaba on the investment map and challenge other centres of waterfront development throughout the region.

Aqaba was chosen as the Arab Tourism City of 2011.

During the 5-day holiday at both the end of Ramadan and Eid Al-Adha, Jordanian and western ex-pats flock into the city with numbers reaching up to 50,000 visitors. During this time the occupancy rate of most hotels there reaches as high as 90%, and are often fully booked.

It is to be noted that the several development projects (i.e. Ayla, Saraya etc.) now taking place in Aqaba provide “opportunities of empowerment” for local populations that want to expand their agency within the city. According to Fulbright scholar, Kimberly Cavanagh development projects will help exhibit the ways global-local partnerships and the resultant cultural exchanges, can result in mutually beneficial outcomes.

Aqaba’s gulf is rich with marine life, around 500 species of fish inhabit the gulf, many of which are residents, like lionfish and octopus, while others are migratory, appearing mostly during the summer, such as the worlds fastest fish, the sailfish, as well as the worlds largest fish, the whale shark. Marine mammals and reptiles also inhabit the gulf during summer, hawksbill sea turtles, and bottle-nosed dolphins call Aqaba’s gulf home as well. A large number of predatory shark species used to inhabit Aqaba’s gulf, due to overfishing and pollution, the shark population in Aqaba is in a decline, which are mostly deep water sharks such as tiger sharks, thresher sharks, and a small number of reef sharks. The short-fin mako shark is the most common shark caught by fishermen in Aqaba, which is also the world’s fastest shark, whereas whale sharks have the most common sightings, locally known as Battan. Conservationists are working hard to protect Aqaba’s shark population.

Divers commonly stumble upon yellow-mouthed moray eels, blue-spotted stingrays, eagle rays, napoleon wrasse, frogfish, groupers, barracuda, clownfish and many other colourful and exotic species.

The gulf of Aqaba hosts more than 390 bird species including migratory birds such as the greater flamingo, great white pelican and the pink-backed pelican.

The Port of Aqaba is the only port in Jordan. Regular ferry routes to Taba are available on a daily basis and are operated by several companies such as Sindbad for Marine Transportation and Arab Bridge Maritime. The routes serve mainly the Egyptian coastal cities on the gulf like Taba and Sharm Al-Sheikh.
In 2006, the port was ranked as being the “Best Container Terminal” in the Middle East by Lloyd’s List. The port was chosen due to it being a transit cargo for other neighbouring countries, its location between four countries and three continents, being an exclusive gateway for the local market and for the improvements it has recently witnessed

Aqaba is connected by an 8,000 kilometres (5,000 mi) modern highway system to surrounding countries. The city is connected to the rest of Jordan by the Desert Highway and the King’s Highway that provides access to the resorts and settlements on the Dead Sea.
Aqaba is connected to Eilat in Israel by taxi and bus services passing through the Wadi Araba crossing. And to Haql in Saudi Arabia by the Durra Border Crossing. There are many bus services between Aqaba and Amman and the other major cities in Jordan, JETT and Trust International are the most common lines. These tourist buses are spacious and installed with air conditioning and bathrooms.

King Hussein International Airport is the only civilian airport outside of Amman in the country, located to the north of Aqaba. It is a 20-minutes drive away from the city centre. Regular flights are scheduled from Amman to Aqaba with an average flying time of 45 minutes which is serviced by Royal Jordanian Airlines and Jordan Aviation Airlines. Several international airlines connect the city to Istanbul, Dubai, Alexandria, Sharm el-Sheikh, and other destinations in Asia and Europe.

From Amman to Aqaba around 4 Hours By desert Highway.

From Amman to Aqaba around 4 Hours By dead Sea Highway.

From Amman to Aqaba around 8 Hours By Kingshighway.

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From Dead Sea to Aqaba around 3 Hours By dead sea Highway.

From Dead Sea to Aqaba around 4.5 Hours By Desert Highway.

From Dead Sea to Aqaba around 7 Hours By Kingshighway.

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From Madaba to Aqaba around 3.5 Hours By Desert Highway.

From Madaba to Aqaba around 4 Hours By Dead Sea Highway.

From Madaba to Aqaba around 7 Hours By Kingshighway.