Perhaps Aqaba's greatest asset is the Red Sea itself. A maritime gateway to the world, The Red Sea offers some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving in the world. The warm climate and gentle currents have created a perfect environment for the growth of corals and a teeming plethora of marine life. Here you can swim with friendly sea turtles and dolphins as they dart amongst the schools of multi-colored fish. Night dives reveal nocturnal sea creatures, crabs, lobsters and shrimp that roam the sea floor.
The Aqaba Special Economic Zone provides a business community with world-class commercial, industrial and service environments as well as access to regional and global markets through its strategic location. Investors in the area can also make use of the preferential trade relations and the trade agreements that connects Jordan with countries in North America, Europe, East Asia, and other parts of the world.
For more information kindly visit: www.aqabazone.com
The Golden Triangle consists of Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba. The spectacular scenery of Wadi Rum lies just under an hour’s drive from Aqaba while the world wonder of Petra is only a two-hour drive away.
Tala Bay is one of the Red Sea’s premier holiday havens for the selective family. An integrated gated community, Tala Bay covers 2.7 million square meters and offers every refinement of the sophisticated good life. Tala Bay guarantees you a memorable holiday on every visit. You will certainly find what you seek on the 2km-long private sandy beach, at the Beach Club, or at the Marina Town.
Ayla is an inspirational waterfront development passionately sculpted out of the coast of Aqaba and the Red Sea. It provides an additional 17 km of waterfront living in a private community covering an area of 4.3 million sqm. Ayla’s blueprint includes a series of man-made lagoons, waterfront hotels and beach clubs, public parks, as well as Jordan’s first 18 hole golf course.
Ayla Golf Course
Ayla’s signature golf course is home to Jordan’s first 18 hole championship golf course and 9 hole golf academy. It was designed by Greg Norman, also known as the Great White Shark. With more than 800,000 sqm of rolling green fairways, golfers are welcome to enjoy this one-of-a-kind eco-friendly golf course overlooking Aqaba’s captivating mountain landscape.
The striking red sandstone desert, celebrated for its Lawrence of Arabia fame, is certainly worth a trip. Wadi Rum is best experienced with an overnight trip, where you can take in the sunset and sunrise, spend the night in a traditional Bedouin tent and learn about the unique culture and hospitality of the wonderful people who live in this desert.
A short distance inland from the corniche on the Gulf of Aqaba, the Mamluks Castle is the site of one of the most famous battles of the First World War. Part of the Arab Revolt that swept through Aqaba in 1916, this 16th century castle was built by the Mamluk sultanate and was used for centuries as a ‘khan’, or traveler’s inn, hosting pilgrims on their southward journey to Mecca for the annual Hajj.
Archaeologists in Aqaba have unearthed what they believe to be the world’s oldest church, from the late 3rd century AD. It is slightly older than the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, both of which date to the 4th century. It has since been back-filled with earth for protection.
