Aqaba

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 01:22 PM

Aqaba is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan.
To all who have seen David Lean's film (1962) Lawrence from Arabia, this little story I will remember will be familiar.

Last week my wife and I were on vacation visiting Jordan and we spent two days in Aqaba.
Of course we wanted to bathe in the Red Sea, but I could not pass up the opportunity to visit an important place in the history of the First World War on the stage of the Middle East.
The place is incredible, because from the beach on the Jordanian shore, you have right in front of you Israel (Eilat) and Egypt (Taba) and on your left about eight kilometers away Saudi Arabia.

The green dot on the map I've made points to the approximate place of our hotel.

We arrived at Aqaba by road from Petra and crossed over the railroad tracks that the Hiyaz line, that Turks used to transport their supplies and troops, which Lawrence's rebels constantly exploded by derailing the trains and killing their occupants

Aqaba's strategic location at the northeastern tip of the Red Sea between the continents of Asia and Africa, has made its port important over the course of thousands of years.
At the beginning of World War I, Aqaba was an important Ottoman position, established in an old fortress or castle, built centuries ago. In addition to this main position, the Turks had other minor positions that formed their defensive line in the territory
The history of the battle of Aqaba is well known
By 1917, the Ottoman garrison had grown to 300 troops, mainly Ottoman-Arab Gendarmerie.
The truth is that the Turkish artillery was oriented towards the sea, since its function was to reject the possible attacks of the Royal Navy.
Lawrence and his rebels pretended to move away from the area towards Damascus, but in reality what they did was to cross the desert behind Aqaba, appear outside the city and attack with a cavalry charge (and camel troops)

Image of a rebel flag bearer during the capture of Aqaba

The rebel Arabs thus conquered the fortress and subsequently the remaining auxiliary positions.
The strategic importance of this victory was great, since the Royal Navy could thus have a seaport from which to supply the rebel troops.

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 01:28 PM

A few photographs of the Ottoman fort conquered in 1917 by the bold attack of Lawrence's rebels, photos taken on October 26, 2019.

A few meters from the castle, there is another tourist attraction in the city: the flagpole square of the Arab revolution.
It is a 130 m flagpole. high on top of which flies a gigantic flag, but not that of Jordan, if not that of the Arab revolution.
Unfortunately the day of our visit the flag was not placed (my wife joked that they should be washing it). So then I upload a couple of photos found on internert.

An explanatory image of the two different flags and another of the book written pot T.E. Lawrence.

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 01:34 PM

The only remarkable thing we saw besides the castle and the flag square was the Sharif Hussein Bin Ali Mosque.

The sunset over the Egyptian Sinai, seen from the beach in Jordan

Being so close to the border with Saudi Arabia, we went to take some pictures. The Jordanian soldier who was photographed with me, knowing that we were Spanish and as a football fan asked us the typical question: Are you from Real Madrid or Barcelona?

We really liked the country, we found the food pleasant, and its people are very friendly and polite. Highly recommended.

The most popular beer I guess the philies fans will like. Although it is quite expensive.

A couple of images of road signs during different moments of the trip.

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 01:37 PM

Unfortunately as a collector of militaria, this was the closest I was to Jordanian military decorations, next to a poster of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.

See you all in my thread: Geography of the USSR. Kiev under German occupation. In the forum section: History and Research Third Reich and WW2. After this holiday week I continue uploading more images
Best regards.

Santi

**Tinhat** · 11-01-2019, 04:19 PM

Nice thread, I did a similar trip earlier this year with the family, also stayed in a resort in near the Saudi border. Empty handed on the militaria front though.

Steve

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 07:08 PM

Thanks Steve.
Surely we were in the same resort, by the way most of their guests were Russian or Ukrainian families. And certainly throughout Jordan, nothing militaria.

Santi

**Aldo** · 11-01-2019, 08:11 PM

Santi, thank you for this wonderful thread. That film is my favorite of all time and I never tire of seeing it. I envy you for the opportunity to visit that historic location.

Best Regards, Al

**TabsTabs1964** · 11-01-2019, 08:35 PM

Hi Aldo!
It has always been also one of my favorite movies.
The day after returning to Spain, I saw it again on DVD because now I knew what the Wadi Rum desert really was. So I especially enjoyed the scene when Lawrence first entered the desert with the Arab who will be killed by an accurate shot Sheriff Ali (the character played by Omar Shariff), for having drunk from his well without permission.

The guides explained to us that in that area everything is called something of Lawrence. Lawrence Mountain, Lawrence Pass, Lawrence Wadi, Lawrence Road, etc., etc.
The Bedouins carved that rudimentary portrait of Lawrence on a rock in a resting place for travelers.

Best regards again.