Jordan - Aqaba / Dead Sea

---

Jordan - Aqaba

Aqaba (Arabic: العقبة‎, Al-ʻAqabah) is a coastal town in the far south of Jordan. The town is best known today as a scuba diving/ snorkeling and beach resort.

Aqaba has been an inhabited settlement since 4000 BC profiting from its strategic location at the junction of trading routes between Asia, Africa, and Europe.

"We have taken Aqaba!" (you wouldn't get it if you've never seen 'Lawrence of Arabia'):

During World War I, the occupying Ottoman forces were forced to withdraw from the town after a raid led by T.E. Lawrence and the Arab forces of Sharif Hussein in 1917, making the territory part of the Kingdom of Hejaz, under the rule of Prince Faisal. The capture of Aqaba helped open supply lines from Egypt up to Arab and British forces afield further north in Transjordan and Palestine, and more importantly alleviated a threat of a Turkish offensive onto the strategically important Suez Canal.

---