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56-657: (Redirected from AILA ) Aila or AILA may refer to: Places [ edit ] Aila, the Roman and Arabic name for Aqaba , a town in Jordan, and also the Arabic name for a fortress on the nearby Pharaoh's Island Aila , village in Saue Parish, Harju County, Estonia Äila , village in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia Ailã,
112-632: A Newari alcoholic beverage Aeropuerto Internacional Las Américas , an international airport in the Dominican Republic Aila dynasty , a dynasty of kings of ancient India Aila (name) a feminine given name Cyclone Aila , a 2009 cyclone Aila (Suikoden III) , a fictional character from the PlayStation 2 video game Suikoden III Aila, an alternate name of the Tahitian Chestnut tree ( Inocarpus fagifer ) Topics referred to by
168-524: A bishopric under Byzantine rule and later became a Latin Catholic titular see after 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 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
224-516: A council attended by bishops of the Late Roman provinces of Palaestina Prima , Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia , to the last-named of which Aela belonged. A citadel was also built in the area that became the focal point of the Roman southern defense system. In the 6th century, Procopius of Caesarea mentioned a Jewish population in Eilat and its surroundings which enjoyed autonomy until
280-439: A fortified structure, occupying an area of 35 × 55 meters. 24 towers defended the city. The city had four gates on all four sides, defining two main lines intersecting at the centre. The intersection of these two thoroughfares was indicated by a tetrapylon (a four-way arch), which was later transformed into a luxury residential building decorated with frescoes dated to the tenth century. This type of urban structure, called MSIR,
336-567: A fortress on Pharaoh's Island (called Île de Graye by the Franks), the modern Jazīrat Fir'aun in Egyptian territorial waters about 7 kilometres (4 miles) west of Aqaba. The garrison of Elyn (now serving primarily as a military outpost) was further strengthened in 1142 by Pagan the Butler , Lord of Oultrejourdain , who pursued an ambitious program of castle building throughout his domain. However, there
392-541: A new Arab city was established outside its walls under Uthman ibn Affan , known as Ayla ( Arabic : آيلا ). The Early Muslim city was excavated in 1986 by a team from the University of Chicago . Artefacts are now on exhibit at Aqaba Archaeological Museum and Jordan Archaeological Museum in Amman . The fortified city was inscribed in a rectangle of 170 × 145 meters, with walls 2.6 meters thick and 4.5 meters high, surrounding
448-641: A river in Brazil which has its source at Monte Caburaí Organizations [ edit ] American Immigration Lawyers Association Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Association Internationale de la Linguistique Appliquée , the International Association of Applied Linguistics American Indian Library Association AILA, the NASDAQ symbol for Air L.A. , a former American regional airline Other [ edit ] Aila (liquor) ,
504-558: A west road leading to the Paralia and Roman Egypt . Around AD 106 Aela was one of the main ports for the Romans. The Aqaba Church was constructed under Roman rule between 293 and 303 and is considered to be the oldest known purpose-built Christian church in the world. By the time of Eusebius , Aela became the garrison of the Legio X Fretensis , which was moved to Aela from Jerusalem. One of
560-777: Is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea , east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula . Its coastline is divided among four countries: Egypt , Israel , Jordan , and Saudi Arabia . The northernmost coral reef in the world is situated near the Eilat shore. The gulf is east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian Peninsula. With the Gulf of Suez to
616-656: 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
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#1733085265304672-469: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Aqaba Aqaba ( English: / ˈ æ k ə b ə / AK -ə-bə , US also / ˈ ɑː k -/ AHK - ; Arabic : الْعَقَبَة , romanized : al-ʿAqaba , pronounced [ælˈʕæqɑba, ælˈʕæɡæba] ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on
728-649: Is the Turkish Bath (Hamam) built in 306 AD, in which locals and visitors alike come to relax after a hot day. 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 previous year. Approximately 65%, or 293,000 were Jordanians. Of foreign tourists, Europeans visited
784-623: Is typical of early Islamic fortified settlements. The city prospered from 661 to 750 under the Umayyads and beyond under the Abbasids (750–970) and the Fatimids (970–1116). Ayla took advantage of its key position as an important step on the road to India and Arab spices (frankincense, myrrh), between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Peninsula . The city is also mentioned in several stories of
840-582: The Arabian Nights . The geographer Shams Eddin Muqaddasi describes Ayla as nearby the ruined ancient city. The city was mentioned in Medieval Arabic sources as having a mixed population of Jews and Christians. It subsequently became an important station for pilgrim caravans on the way to Mecca . Baldwin I of Jerusalem took over the city in 1115 without encountering much resistance. The centre of
896-459: 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
952-517: The Gulf of Aqaba . Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative center of the Aqaba Governorate . The city had a population of 148,398 in 2015 and a land area of 375 square kilometres (144.8 sq mi). Today, Aqaba plays a major role in the development of the Jordanian economy , through the vibrant trade and tourism sectors. The Port of Aqaba also serves other countries in
1008-610: The Hejaz railway . During World War I, the Battle of Aqaba was the key battle that ended a 500-year Ottoman rule over the region of Syria . In general, the fauna in the Red Sea represents the fauna in the waters of the Indian Ocean , except that many species cannot penetrate it due to salinity and temperature limitations and some are only found in the southern part of the Red Sea. A large part of
1064-473: The fifth , the sixth , the eleventh , the twelfth and the eighteenth dynasties of Egypt , when Hatshepsut built a fleet to support the trade and journeyed south to Punt in a six-month voyage. Thebes used Nubian gold or Nub from her conquests south into Kush to facilitate the purchase of frankincense , myrrh , bitumen , natron , juniper oil, linen , and copper amulets for the mummification industry at Karnak . Egyptian settlements near Timna at
1120-539: The 8th and 4th centuries BCE. Around 735 BC, the city was conquered by the Assyrian empire . Because of the wars the Assyrians were fighting in the east, their trading routes were diverted to the city and the port witnessed relative prosperity. The Babylonians conquered it in 600 BC. During this time, Elath witnessed great economic growth, which is attributed to the business background of its rulers who realized how important
1176-527: The ASEZ had attracted $ 18bn in committed investments, beating its $ 6bn target 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: Aqaba has a number of luxury hotels, including in the Tala Bay resort 20 km further to the south, which service those who come for fun on
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#17330852653041232-493: The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority ( ASEZA ) was established which acted as the statutory institution empowered with administrative, fiscal, regulatory and economic responsibilities. Jordan is divided into 12 administrative divisions, each called a Governorate . Aqaba Governorate divides into 3 Districts , some of which are divided into Subdistricts and further divided into villages. Benefiting from its location and status as Jordan's special economic zone, Aqaba's economy
1288-995: The British to supply the Arab forces. In 1918, the regions of Aqaba and Ma'an were officially incorporated into the Kingdom of the Hejaz . In 1925, Ibn Saud the ruler of Nejd with the help of his Wahhabi Ikhwan troops successfully annexed the Hejaz, but gave up the Ma'an and Aqaba to the British protectorate of Transjordan . The Jordanian census of 1961 found 8,908 inhabitants in 'Aqaba. In 1965, King Hussein , through an exchange deal with Saudi Arabia , gave 6,000 square kilometres (2,317 square miles) of desert land in Jordanian territories in exchange for other territories, including 12 kilometres (7 miles) of an extension of prime coastline south of Aqaba, which included
1344-523: The Elat Deep, Aragonese Deep and Dakar Deep, formed between four left lateral strike-slip fault segments. Movement on one of these faults caused the 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake . Trade across the Red Sea between Thebes' port of Elim and Elat at the head of the gulf is documented as early as the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt . Expeditions crossing the Red Sea and heading south to Punt are mentioned in
1400-635: The Southwest point thereof and thence Westward on a parallel (27°54'N) to the coast of the Sinaï Peninsula". The gulf is one of two gulfs created by the Sinai Peninsula's bifurcation of the northern Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez lying to the west of the peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba to its east. Geologically, the gulf forms the southern end of the Dead Sea Transform . It contains three small pull-apart basins ,
1456-470: 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. 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
1512-471: The beaches as well as Scuba diving . Aqaba offers more than thirty primary diving locations, with the majority of them accommodating divers of all skill levels. These diving sites comprise fringing reefs that extend for over 25 kilometers, reaching all the way to the border with Saudi Arabia. It also offers activities which take advantage of its desert location. Its many coffee shops offer mansaf and knafeh , and baqlawa desserts. Another very popular venue
1568-469: The city then moved to 500 meters along the coast to the south, and the crusader fortress of Elyn was built, which allowed the Kingdom of Jerusalem to dominate all roads between Damascus , Egypt , and Arabia , protecting the Crusader states from the east and allowing for profitable raids on trade caravans passing through the area. In order to secure this strategic position, Baldwin also built and garrisoned
1624-568: The city was anciently Elath , Ailath . The name is presumably derived from the Semitic name of a tree in the genus Pistacia . Modern Eilat (established 1947), situated about 5 km north-west 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
1680-533: 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
1736-407: 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
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1792-593: The city's location was. The Persian Achaemenid Empire took the city in 539 BC. The city continued to grow and prosper which made it a major trading hub by the time of the Greek rule by 300 BC, after the Wars of Alexander the Great , it was described by a Greek historian to be "one of the most important trading cities in the Arab World". The Ptolemaic Greeks called it Berenice . The Nabatean kingdom had its capital north of
1848-475: 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. 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
1904-634: The city, at Petra . In 64 BC, following the Roman conquest, they annexed the city and called it Aela (also Haila , Aelana , in Greek rendered Αἴλα Aila ). Both Petra and Aela were under strong Nabatean influence despite the Roman rule. Aela reached its peak during Roman times, the great long-distance road the Via Traiana Nova led south from Bostra through Amman , terminating in Aela, where it connected with
1960-411: 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. The city of Aqaba has one of the highest population growth rates in Jordan in 2011, and only 44% of the buildings in the city had been built before 1990. A special census for Aqaba city
2016-644: The coastal waters of the Red Sea, the gulf is one of the world's premier sites for diving. The area is especially rich in coral and other marine biodiversity and has both accidental shipwrecks and vessels deliberately sunk in an effort to provide a habitat for marine organisms and bolster the local dive tourism industry. At this northern end of the gulf are three important cities: Taba in Egypt, Eilat in Israel, and Aqaba in Jordan. They are strategically important commercial ports and popular resorts for tourists seeking to enjoy
2072-406: The crossroads of the continents of Asia and Africa, while bordering Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Aqaba has a hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification BWh ) with mild, sometimes warm winters and very hot dry summers. Subzero temperatures can be observed every few years. The record low temperature of −3.9 °C (25.0 °F) was on January 16, 2008, as in Eilat . In August 2000,
2128-487: The forms Aila , Aela or Haila , adopted in Byzantine Greek as Άιλα Aila and in Arabic as Ayla (آيلا). The crusaders called the city Elyn . The present name al-ʿAqaba ( العقبة ) is a shortened from ʿaqabat Aylah ( عقبة آيلة ) "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
2184-602: The head of the gulf date to the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt . At the northern edge, the ancient city of Ayla (in present-day Aqaba) was a commercial hub for the Nabateans . The Romans built the Via Traiana Nova , which joined the King's Highway at Aqaba and connected Africa to Asia and the Levant and Red Sea shipping. Aqaba was a major Ottoman port, connected to Damascus and Medina by
2240-678: The investment map and challenge other centers 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 expats 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. 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
2296-658: The latter one leaving the site completely destroyed. 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. Archaeologists have investigated an Iron Age settlement at Tell el-Kheleifeh , immediately west of Aqaba, inhabited between
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2352-532: The magnificent Yamanieh coral reef . Aqaba was a major site for imports of Iraqi goods in the 1980s until the Persian Gulf War . In 1997, the Aqaba Marine Reserve was established within the southern boundaries of the Gulf of Aqaba . The city lies at Jordan's southernmost point, on the Gulf of Aqaba lying at the tip of the Red Sea. Its strategic location is shown in the fact that it is located at
2408-690: The oldest known texts written in the Arabic alphabet is a late 4th-century inscription found in Jabal Ram 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Aqaba. The city became a Christian bishopric at an early stage. Its bishop Peter was present at the First Council of Nicaea , the first ecumenical council , in 325. Beryllus was at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and Paul at the synod called by Patriarch Peter of Jerusalem in 536 against Patriarch Anthimus I of Alexandria ,
2464-403: The pass just to the north-east of the settlement ( 29°33′32″N 35°05′42″E / 29.559°N 35.095°E / 29.559; 35.095 , now traversed by Aqaba Highway ). 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
2520-474: The region. Aqaba's strategic location at the northeastern tip of the Red Sea between the continents of Asia and Africa has made its port important throughout thousands of years. 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. Aela became
2576-476: 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
2632-441: The region. However, industrial and commercial activities remain important, due to the strategic location of the city as the country's only seaport . The city sits right across the border from Eilat , likewise Israel's only port on the Red Sea. After the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty , there were plans and hopes of establishing a trans-border tourism and economic area, but few of those plans have come to fruition. The name of
2688-444: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Aila . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aila&oldid=1162013267 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2744-399: 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
2800-550: The species in the Red Sea are endemic and the proportion of several groups reaches about 30%. It is possible that some of them developed during the Tethys Sea period. The endemic species are more suitable to the conditions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eilat and therefore thrive there more than the oceanic species. The gulf is one of the most popular diving destinations in the world. About 250,000 dives are performed annually in Eilat's 11 km coastline, and diving represents 10% of
2856-418: The time of Justinian I ( r. 527–565 ). According to Ibn Ishaq , Muhammad himself reached Aila during the expedition of Tabuk of 630, and extracted tribute from the city. During the Late Byzantine or even Early Muslim period, Aila was the origin of what came to be known as the Ayla-Axum amphoras . Aila fell to the Islamic armies by 629, and the ancient settlement was left to decay, while
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#17330852653042912-571: The warm climate. Further south, Haql is the largest Saudi Arabian city on the gulf. On Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab are the major centres. The largest population center is Aqaba, with a population of 148,398 (2015), followed by Eilat with a population of 50,724 (2020). The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the gulf as "A line running from Ràs al Fasma Southwesterly to Requin Island ( 27°57′N 34°36′E / 27.950°N 34.600°E / 27.950; 34.600 ) through Tiran Island to
2968-417: The west, it extends from the northern portion of the Red Sea. It reaches a maximum depth of 1,850 metres (6,070 ft) in its central area: the Gulf of Suez is significantly wider but less than 100 m (330 ft) deep. The gulf measures 24 km (15 mi) at its widest point and stretches some 160 km (100 mi) north from the Straits of Tiran to where Israel meets Egypt and Jordan. Like
3024-461: Was carried by the Jordanian department of statistics in 2007, the total population of Aqaba by the census of 2007 was 98,400. The 2011 population estimate is 136,200. The results of the census compared to the national level are indicated as follows: Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba ( Arabic : خَلِيج الْعَقَبَة , romanized : Khalīj al-ʿAqaba ) or Gulf of Eilat ( Hebrew : מפרץ אילת , romanized : Mifrátz Eilát )
3080-474: Was never retaken by the Crusaders. The old fort was rebuilt, as Aqaba Fortress , by Mamluk sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh Al-Ghuri in the early 16th century. For the next four centuries, the site was a simple fishing village of little importance. During World War I, the Ottoman forces were forced to withdraw from Aqaba in 1917 after the Battle of Aqaba , led by T. E. Lawrence and the Arab forces of Auda Abu Tayi and Sherif Nasir . The capture of Aqaba allowed
3136-429: Was no large-scale settlement of Europeans in the area, and the region between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba remained mainly inhabited by Bedouins, who were obliged to pay tribute to the Lordship of Oultrejourdain. Despite all efforts to fortify the region, the city was captured in 1170 by a squadron sent by Saladin as he was besieging Gaza ; while it was successfully raided by Raynald of Châtillon in 1182, it
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