Aqaba Adventures

Aqaba Welcomes you
Aqaba is a fusion of history, nature, and city life surrounded by picturesque mountains and blue sea. Bathing in its year-long warm sun, Aqaba invites you to relax on its beaches, partake in the exhilaration of its water sports, and explore the coral reefs of the Red Sea, home to hundreds of different types of corals and sponges with their wealth of colored fish.


Aqaba Adventures

Diving
Whether your a professional or an amateur diver, you can go diving in over 20 diving spots with a variety of coral reefs, marine life, and interesting wrecks.  Some of these spots are accessible from the shore, others require a boat. Contact one of the diving centers.
Night diving! At night, the fish and corals take on a special beauty. This is suitable for professional divers.

Snorkeling 
You will be amazed by the colors and sea life you can see from the surface. Children can snorkel too, so bring them along. You can either rent or buy equipment at the Aqaba Marine Park gift shop, diving centers, or shops downtown.

Glass Boats
View the hidden treasures of the red sea from a glass bottom boat. Boats start their trips from the hotel beaches, the Aqaba Marine Park, and the public beach. This is a fun and exciting activity for all.

The Pharaoh's Island  
Go on a full day cruise to the Pharaoh’s Island in Egypt and visit Saladin Castle.

Acting  
Visit the Red Sea Institution for Cinematic Arts (RSICA), the “first and only accredited M.F.A in cinematic arts for the Middle East and North Africa Region”. RSICA hosts acting classes for the public on a weekly basis.


Fly Aqaba 
Have a bird’s eye view of Aqaba. You can hire an ultra light plane for 30 minutes over Aqaba, and can also extend your flight to Wadi Rum or Petra.
Take a family or a group tour in a Cessna 206 over Aqaba, Wadi Rum, or Petra. Five passengers are allowed per flight.

Go Fishing
The Aqabawi fishermen usually leave at dawn and have a tradition of playing music and telling stories about their adventures at sea, throughout the fishing trip.  However, fishing is restricted to certain spots on the north beach to protect Aqaba’s precious corals reefs and marine life.

Up The Mountains  
Aqaba’s mountains enclose a desert of hills and adventure, rent a buggy for 2 or 4 hours and have a moonlit adventure.

Water Sports 
From having fun on a banana boat or a ring with your friends, family, or partner. 
Take a canoe and pedal at your own speed, relax and enjoy the sun and view. 
Speed up: Jet Ski, water ski, or rent a speed boat with a professional driver or even catch the waves and wind surf. 
Soar above the sea and take a breath of excitement, try para-sailing alone or with a partner. 

Aqaba

Aqaba is a fusion of history, nature, and city life surrounded by picturesque mountains and blue sea.

Bathing in its year-long warm sun, Aqaba invites you to relax on its beaches, partake in the exhilaration of its water sports, and explore the coral reefs of the Red Sea, home to hundreds of different types of corals and sponges with their wealth of brilliantly colored fish.

Around its quiet streets and between its modern structures, Aqaba holds special monuments with a rich history beginning in the Iron Age, and continuing across ancient civilizations, from the Edomites, Nabateans, Romans, and Byzantines to Muslims.

A blend of cultures and traditions, and a long history as a trading center are reflected in the warm welcome the city extends to all visitors.  But that is not all, the striking desert landscape of Wadi Rum and the Nabatean city of Petra, among the World’s Seven Wonders, are a short drive away.

Aqaba, with its excellent accommodation and entertainment options, is an ideal hub from which to explore these sites.

Mount Nebo

Mount Nebo is one of the most revered holy sites of Jordan, located 10 km west of the Roman Byzantine town of Madaba, for this is where Moses (pbuh) was buried. The site's association with the last days of Moses is described in moving words in Deuteromony (34:1-7). The episode of Balak and Balam (2:13-26) also took place here.

Mount Nebo is 817 meters (2,680 feet) above sea level, and thus more than 1km (0.6 mi) above the neighboring Dead Sea. It is a site holy to both Christians and Jews: Moses is said to have died on or near the mountain some time after God had showed him the Holy Land from its summit. 

You can still enjoy the prophet’s view today – gaze out over the sea lying under a saline haze, the ancient city of Jericho and, if you’re lucky, all the way to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. On Siyagha (one of the mountain’s twin peaks), you can see the remains of mosaics from a Byzantine monastery.

Wadi Rum

A journey to Wadi Rum is a journey to another world. A vast, silent place, timeless and starkly beautiful.. Wadi Rum is one of Jordan's main tourist attractions being the most stunning desertscape in the World, lying 320 km southwest of Amman, 120 km south of Petra, and only 68 km north of Aqaba.

Wadi Rum is a very spectacular desert resort  and very famous for its high mountains and pink sand.  A popular tourist attraction for those whom nature provokes them to explore it and its desert beauty. 

As a desert area, Wadi Rum has its unique characteristic as a remote and peaceful area. Because it's located in the desert, you will find numerous tourists camps, which offer tourists with the special Bedouin experience in the desert and give them the chance to sleep under the stars. 

Umm Qais

Umm Qais, situated 110 km north of Amman on a broad promontory 378 meters above sea level with a magnificent view over the Yarmouk River, the Golan Heights, and Lake Tiberias, this town was known as Gadara, one of the most brilliant ancient Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis; and according to the Bible, the spot where Jesus (pbuh) cast out the Devil from two demoniacs (mad men) into a herd of pigs (Mathew 8:28-34)

The city reached its peak of prosperity in the 2nd century AD. New colonnaded streets, temples, theaters and baths sprouted. Meleagros compared Gadara with Athens, which testifies to the city's status as a creative center of Hellenism in the ancient Near East.

Umm Qais's charm still lingers today. A large portion of the western Roman Theater has survived history's upheavals. Vaulted passageway supports its rows of seats, built of hard basalt stones. A row of elaborately carved seats for dignitaries stand near the orchestra, and in the center was a large headless white marble statue of Tyche, goddess of fortune and of the city, now displayed at the local museum.

Across from the theater is the main colonnaded street (cardo), which was in all likelihood the town's commercial center. Also, near the black basalt theater is the Terrace, which hosts a courtyard, a church and a basilica. Further west of the Terrace and along the east-west colonnaded street (decumanus), ruins of the Nymphaeum, a bath complex and a well-preserved Roman Mausoleum can be seen. After a few hundred meters one can barely make out remains of what was once a Hippodrome.

Umm Al Jimal

The provincial town of Umm al-Jimal, 50km northeast of Amman, was garrisoned by Roman soldiers from about 200 AD onward. This triggered an expansion of trade and commerce, until by 500 AD the town could boast a population of three or four thousand people. The precincts were gradually abandoned following the 7th century Arab conquest and 8th century earthquakes, although they were briefly re-occupied by the French Army in the 1920s, and by the Druze in the 1930s.

Little is known of pre-historical times in Umm el-Jimal, aside from few scattered remains of what appear to be settlements of wandering nomadic/hunting tribes. In some of these places it is possible to find chert napping stones and some prehistoric tools.

Al Shawbak

A twelfth century castle on the way to Petra, Shawbak enjoys a superb location in the midst of sharp rock ridges, well protected from any invading forces that might arrive. Nowadays the castle is in poor repair, but receives scarcely a visitor, despite its beautiful setting and the opportunities to walk alone through the imposing remains.

Although Karak grabs the headlines, Shobak Castle, a short way further south, was in fact the Crusaders’ headquarters in Jordan, and the first castle they built in the region. Known then as Montreal – or the Royal Mountain – Shobak dominates the folded, semi-arid hills on the approaches to Petra.
The legacy of widescale rebuilding work in the 1290s, under Mamluke control, is everywhere, most notably in the carved stone panels adorning the external walls and towers, which feature strikingly beautiful Arabic callligraphy.

Roam the ruins to discover the original Crusader chapel, a palace complex and even a set of secret passages, one of which heads down a flight of steep and crumbling steps into blackness, eventually emerging through a small gateway at the base of the castle hill.

Petra

Petra (from the Latin word 'petrae', meaning 'rock') lies in a great rift valley east of Wadi 'Araba in Jordan about 80 kilometers south of the Dead Sea. It came into prominence in the late first century (BC) through the success of the spice trade. The city was the principal city of ancient Nabataea and was famous above all for two things: its trade and its hydraulic engineering systems.

Evidence suggests that settlements had begun in and around Petra in the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1550-1292 BC). It is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir. 

Though the city was founded relatively late, a sanctuary existed there since very ancient times. Stations 19 through 26 of the stations list of Exodus are places associated with Petra. 

This part of the country was Biblically assigned to the Horites, the predecessors of the Edomites. The habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. 

Although Petra is usually identified with Sela which means a rock, the Biblical references refer to it as "the cleft in the rock", referring to its entrance. The second book of Kings xiv. 7 seems to be more specific. In the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply "the rock".

According to tradition, the Petra area (but not necessarily the site itself) was populated by Edomites and the area was known as Edom ("red"). Before the Israelite incursions, the Edomites controlled the trade routes from Arabia in the south to Damascus in the north. Little is known about the Edomites at Petra itself, but as a people they were known for their wisdom, their writing, their textile industry, the excellence and fineness of their ceramics, and their skilled metal working. 

Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale

 Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die". And it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourist attraction.

Map of Petra

Ma'in Hot Springs

Lying 264-meters below sea level, Ma’In Hot Springs is the inspired site for the well appointed Evason Ma’In Hot Springs. Set like an oasis in the dramatic terrain, the location is easily accessible and defines the resort and spa experience in the Middle East - making it a destination of choice for those seeking the perfect retreat to relax and be pampered whilst enjoying the therapeutic benefits of Ma’In hot spring waterfalls.

The hot thermal springs at Hammamat Ma’in and Al-Himma are a great way to relax and get great befits from the Hot Springs and also dont forget to take time out to visit some of the historic architecture of the area.
Close by are two sites linked by tradition to Herod the Great. One is the palace at Mukawir (Machaerus), where Salome traditionally danced, and where John the Baptist was beheaded. King Herod was said to have bathed in the medicinal waters of the springs and people have come here for thermal treatments, or simply to enjoy a hot soak, since the days of Rome.

The Jordan Valley is a great place for thrill-seekers of all ages and abilities. The hills, valleys and waterways that lead down to the Dead Sea, provide a natural playground for a multitude of outdoor activities, including leisurely walks, exhilarating horseback rides, and challenging climbs. Almost all activities take place under Jordan’s strict code of nature conservation that all visitors are expected to respect.

Karak

Al-Karak, also spelled Kerak ,  town, west-central Jordan. It lies along the Wadi Al-Karak, 15 miles (24 km) east of the Dead Sea. Built on a small, steep-walled butte about 3,100 feet (950 metres) above sea level, the town is the Qir-hareseth, or Qir-heres, of the Old Testament and was one of the capitals of ancient Moab. Its ancient name means “Wall of Potsherds” in Hebrew, or “City of Potsherds” in ancient Moabite.

The town is built on a triangular plateau, with the castle at its narrow southern tip. The castle is some 220m long, 125m wide at the north end, and 40m wide at the southern end where a narrow valley deepened by a ditch separates it from the adjoining and much higher hill – once Saladin's favourite artillery position. Throughout the castle, dark and roughly-shaped Crusader masonry is easy to discern from the finely-crafted blocks of lighter and softer limestone used in later Arab work. 

An ancient Crusader stronghold, Karak sits 900m above sea level and lies inside the walls of the old city. The city today is home to around 170,000 people and continues to boast a number of restored 19^th century Ottoman buildings, restaurants, places to stay, and the like. But it is undoubtedly Karak Castle that dominates.

While the castle we see today essentially dates back to the 12^th century, Karak has been a fortress since biblical times. The Bible relates how the King of Israel and his allies from Judah and Edom ravaged Moab and besieged its king Mesha in the fortress of Kir Heres, as Karak was then known.

Jerash

In its heyday, Jerash (known in Roman times as Gerasa) had a population of 15, 000 to 20, 000 inhabitants and, although it wasn't on any major trade route, its citizens prospered from the good agricultural land that surrounded it. The ancient walled city that survives today was the administrative, commercial, civic and religious center of Jerash. The bulk of the inhabitants lived on the eastern side of Wadi Jerash (now the modern town of Jerash) and the two centers were linked by causeways and processional paths.

The city's golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theaters, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates.

Beneath its external Graeco - Roman veneer, Jerash also preserves a subtle blend of east and west. Its architecture, religion and languages reflect a process by which two powerful cultures meshed and coexisted - The Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean basin and the traditions of the Arab Orient.

Ajloun

Ajlun (or Ajloun) is just a short journey from Jerash, so it can be combined with an easy day trip from Amman. It is filled with pine forest and olive groves and boasts scores of ancient sites, including watermills, forts and villages, all in the beautiful hills and valleys of northern Jordan.
In Ajlun town the mosque, just southwest of the main roundabout, has a minaret dating back some 600 years.

As the countryside of pine forest and olive groves is good for hiking and is popular with picnicking locals in summer, when the surrounding hills are a few degrees cooler than the rest of Jordan. If possible, visit on a clear day - the views are superb.

While Ajlun Castle (Qal'at Ar-Rabad) is the place that must not be missed, it was built by one of Saladin's generals in 1184 AD to control the iron mines of Ajlun, and to deter the Franks from invading Ajlun. Ajlun Castle dominated the three main routes leading to the Jordan Valley and protected the trade and commercial routes between Jordan and Syria; it became an important link in the defensive chain against the Crusaders, who, unsuccessfully spent decades trying to capture the castle and the nearby village. 

The original castle had four towers, arrow slits incorporated into the thick walls, and was surrounded by a moat averaging 16m in width and up to 15m deep.

In 1215 AD, the Mameluk officer Aibak ibn Abdullah expanded the castle following Usama's death, by adding a new tower in the southeast corner and a bridge that can still be seen decorated with pigeon reliefs.
The castle was conceded in the 13^th century to Salah ed-Din Yousef Ibn Ayoub, ruler of Aleppo and Damascus, who restored the northeastern tower. These expansion efforts were interrupted in 1260 AD, when Mongol invaders destroyed the castle, but almost immediately, the Mameluk Sultan Baybars re-conquered and rebuilt the fortress.

Nearby is the Ajlun Nature Reserve, a 13 sq. km protected area of outstanding beauty and diverse wildlife. Within the reserve are two nature trails and chalet-style accommodation. The reserve is managed and maintained by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN).