Ahh - Aqaba

Jordan is land-locked except for one tiny stretch.  Until a few years ago they had only 7 miles of coast on the Red Sea.  Then they traded with Saudi Arabia to get 23 more miles of coast in exchange for some desert land.  They export phosphates, so they needed more space to build docks.  I do not think Jordan got such a good deal, since oil was discovered on the land they gave up.






Once again we were greeted with music, 10 young men in Arab garb, playing drums and an instrument which sounded like a bagpipe, and this enthusiastic young lady who wanted to dance, so I accepted the invitation.










Over half of the passengers took the 10 hour tour to Petra, but we had already been there, so we took the included tour, A Glimpse of Aqaba.  There was not any more to see than that.  The surrounding area is rugged desert.  Our tour took us from one end of the port to the other, which drive took about half an hour of slow driving.  We saw the location of the fort held by the Ottoman Empire which Lawrence of Arabia stormed in 1917 to return the area to Arab control.  It was closed for renovation.

The town has the usual minarets and small
market stalls selling souvenirs and spices.  I think we have seen enough souks that nobody was very interested in shopping.





In Roman  times, the town was called Ayla.  The ruins are in the middle of town, surrounded by huge hotels from all the major chains and McDonalds and Starbucks.

The country takes a dim view of littering.  I am not sure where I would get any radioactive material to discard, but I do not think I am going to try to find any.