We docked at Aqaba about 6am on 12th June and we were amazed to be able to see 3 adjoining countries, all at the same time from our cabin balcony on the portside. We looked across the sea and we were able to see Egypt, Israel and Jordan from the deck of the Sea Princess. The sky was so clear that we could make out the buildings and some of the streets from our vantage point. Then from the starboard side we were able to see Saudi Arabia which has huge areas of desert. Aqaba was founded in 1300 BC and was originally the main town of the ancient Edomite peoples who are often spoken about in the Bible. Aqaba lies at the Northeastern point of the Red Sea, across the border from Eilat in Israel.
Aqaba is at the crossroads of Asian, African and European trade routes and for over three millennia it has always been a very busy seaport town and a strategic and commercial centre.
It has been under the rule of many world powers throughout its long history. These rulers included the Romans and the Byzantines before From the 7th to the 12thcentury Aqaba was tossed back and forth between the Christians and Muslims. Then in the 16th century the Turkish, Ottaman Empire ruled the area right up to 1917 when Lawrence of Arabia (an Englishman ) won the city back for the Arabs when he led them in a revolt and established it as a Muslim city.
We passed through this port city last year on our way to Petra the stunning ancient city with its famous "Treasury Tomb", carved rose-coloured sandstone cliff face back as far back as 6000BC. We still have vivid memories of the 6 hours we spent there exploring this fascinating archaeological site. This year we booked a Cruise Critic trip from Aqaba to The Dead Sea where we planned to "swim" and "float".
The climate in Aqaba is pleasant desert climate all year round with warm winters and hot summers where temperatures range from 32 to 40 degrees Celsius.
We joined 32 other passengers on our trip to the Dead Sea and whilst it was about 32C when we left at 8.30 am the airconditioned coach made the 4 hour trip pleasant. Besides there was much to see in Jordan be it mostly desert all the way.
Aqaba township is sprawled across the coastal desert valley floor with a backdrop of high mountains in the distance. We passed many residential buildings, clusters of white stone homes, some small commercial hubs and office blocks. The land surface of Aqaba township is mainly a golden brown except for some patches of greenish-yellow grassed areas with stunted trees, palm trees and a desert-resistant shrubs It would must be so hard to keep gardens and parklands in such a waterless country as Jordan.
As we left the town via the main highway the landscape became even drier and the colours of the earth varied from shades of browns, beige and khaki and the vegetation was sparsely spread. Across the land. Some trees looked really parched as there has not been any rain for some months.
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