Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ayla
RUIN
(Corniche; 24hr)
Located along the Corniche, and incongruously squeezed between
the marina and the Mövenpick Resort, Ayla is the site of the ancient port of Aqaba. The
ruins are limited, but noticeboards in English pinpoint items of interest. At the back of the
parking space behind the JETT bus office is another small section of the old city, includ-
ing the city wall and the ruins of an ancient church.
Aqaba Fort
FORT
(King Hussein St; admission JD1, includes Aqaba Museum; 8am-4pm Sat-Thu,
10am-4pm Fri)
This squat fortification, at the other end of the Corniche near to the giant
flag, measures around 50m by 50m, and is unusual in having sides of slightly uneven
length. The castle was built between 1510 and 1517, as attested by the Arabic inscriptions
inside the monumental gateway, and was used as a khan (travellers' inn) for pilgrims on
their way to Mecca. The Ottomans occupied the castle until WWI when, in 1917, the fort-
ress was substantially destroyed by shelling from the British Royal Navy. The Hashemite
coat of arms above the main entrance commemorates the Arab Revolt that swept through
Aqaba, ousting the Turks.
Aqaba Museum
(Museum of Aqaba Antiquities; West of King Hussein St; admission JD1; 8am-4pm
Sat-Thu, 10am-4pm Fri)
The museum, part of the Aqaba Fort complex, was previously
the home of the great-great-grandfather of the present king, Abdullah II. The collection of
artefacts includes coins, ceramics and 8th-century Islamic stone tablets. Anyone who has
travelled the King's Highway may be interested to see an inscribed milestone from the
Trajan Rd (the Roman incarnation of this famous thoroughfare). There's a small tourist in-
formation centre housed at the museum.
MUSEUM
