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Aqaba Governorate

Governorate of Jordan

Summary

Governorate of Jordan

Field	Value
name	Aqaba Governorate
native_name	محافظة العقبة
image_skyline	Aqaba.jpg
image_caption	The city port of Aqaba
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Jordan
image_map	Aqaba in Jordan.svg
map_caption	Location of Aqaba Governorate in Jordan
leader_title1	Governor
leader_name1	Fawaz Irshaidat
seat	Aqaba
seat_type	Capital
area_total_km2	6905
population_as_of	2012
population_total	139,200
population_density_km2	auto
timezone1	GMT +3
area_code	+(962)3
blank_name	Urban
blank_info	86%
blank1_name	Rural
blank1_info	14%
blank_name_sec2	HDI (2021)
blank_info_sec2	0.721
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Aqaba ( al-ʻAqabah) is one of the governorates of Jordan, located south of Amman, capital of Jordan. Its capital is Aqaba. It is the fourth largest governorate in Jordan by area and is ranked 10th by population.

Aqaba, the port at the Red Sea, plays an important role in the economic life of Jordan. Two of Jordan's top three tourist destinations lie in Aqaba Governorate, Wadi Rum, and the port city of Aqaba. The port is Jordan's most important import/export hub. The industrial port lies about 15 km to the south from the beaches and the Aqaba city center.

Geography

Aqaba Governorate lies in the south western tip of Jordan, it borders Ma'an Governorate from the east, Tafilah Governorate from the north, Saudi Arabia from the south, Israel from the west, and the Gulf of Aqaba from the southwest. There are two international crossing points in Aqaba Governorate, the Durra Border Crossing and Wadi Araba crossing.

The Jordanian-Saudi border originally ran a few kilometers south of Aqaba. In 1965 the late King Hussein exchanged 12 km of the valuable coastal strip for areas in the desert.

History

The city of Aqaba was inhabited since 4000 BC, it reached its peak during the Roman era, when the Romans constructed the Via Traiana Nova route that terminates in Aqaba. Aqaba (known then as Ayla) was also the garrison of the Roman 10th Legion of the Sea Strait (Legio X Fretensis).

Aqaba was also the site of some of the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor in the famous Arabian Nights.

In modern history, the city of Aqaba is known for Lawrence of Arabia and the Battle of Aqaba, one of the key battles in World War I in the Middle East.

The greatest archaeological treasure of the region is Petra. Petra lies on the eastern slope of Mount Hor in Wādī ʻAraba, a section of the Rift Valley that runs from the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea to the Dead Sea.

The oldest script written in Arabic alphabets was found in Wadi Rum in Aqaba Governorate, and dates back to the 4th century.

Economy

The governorate's population depends heavily on tourism as a major source of income. The port of Aqaba is the only sea port for Jordan. Almost all of Jordan's foreign trade comes through Aqaba. During the Iraqi-Iranian War, Iraq used the port of Aqaba for its foreign trade.

Administrative divisions

Aqaba Governorate is divided into three departments according to article 15 of the Administrative Divisions System of the year 2000 by the Ministry of Interior:

Department	Arabic Name	Subdivisions	Administrative Center
1	Capital Department (Al-Qasabah)	لواء قصبة العقبة	includes the city of Aqaba and three nearby villages
2	Wadi Araba Department	قضاء وادي عربة	includes nine villages
3	Al-Quwairah Department	لواء القويرة	includes 15 villages

Demographics

The population of districts according to census results:

District	Population
(Census 1994)	Population
(Census 2004)	Population
(Census 2015)	Aqaba Governorate	79,839	102,097	188,160
Al-Qūaīrah	12,736	17,132	29,142
Qaṣabah al-'Aqabah	67,103	84,965	159,018

Gallery

File:AqabaVueDeLaMer.JPG|The city of Aqaba is the capital of Aqaba Governorate File:Wadi Rum2.jpeg|Wadi Rum File:Aqaba Railway Corporation BW 1.JPG|A train coming from the port of Aqaba File:Aqaba Subdistrict Map.png|Aqaba Subdistrict Map

References

"Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".
"Jordan: Administrative Division, Governorates and Districts". citypopulation.de.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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