The Gulf of Aqaba, access of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the Red Sea, is characterized by low siltation, high temperature, and high dissolved oxygen content, and a highly complex coral reef ecosystem. Jordan’s Gulf of Aqaba coastline is 26.5 kilometers long. Within this short distance lies the country’s only port, industrial facilities vital to the national economy, a growing tourism industry, and a delicate marine ecosystem which has become increasingly threatened.
Nevertheless, the situation in Jordan differs somewhat from that of other PERSGA member countries. Geographically, Jordan is a relatively small country which tapers into a very narrow coast in the south. This fact make the coast considerably easier to monitor and manage. Historically, Jordanians stem from a Bedouin background who have not traditionally exploited the sea for sustenance. At the same time, Jordanians enjoy a relatively higher standard of living and development. The country also has a strong institutional structure which makes for easier and more efficient policy implementation. All these factors favourably impact all economic, environmental and awareness initiatives.
The town of Aqaba is at the northeastern tip of the Gulf with a population of 65,000 which is expected to increase to about 150,000 by the year 2020. Aqaba is the residential and commercial centre of the area and it is here that the hotels and tourist accommodations are located.
The three important economic sectors in Jordan’s Aqaba region are manufacturing and power generation, port-related activities (including maritime shipping and the correlate land transportation facilities), and tourism.
The South Coast Industrial Zone is home to Jordan’s main manufacturing facility, two power stations, and the Port of Aqaba. The fertiliser factory of the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) is made up of six separate processing plants, and the Jordan Electricity Authority (JEA) currently operates three power stations in the coastal industrial zone. The port of Aqaba, Jordan’s only access to the sea, has become an important regional shipping centre. Plans are now being made to double the port’s capacity. The industrial zone also houses a storage facility and loading terminal for potash from the Arab Potash Corporation, and the Solvochem tank farm for chemicals, oils and solvents.
Tourism is another growing sector with tremendous economic potential. Tourism has proven to be a substantial component of the Aqaba economy as the coast attracts 66 per cent of all tourists entering Jordan. Extensive development projects are planned to accommodate the growing tourism industry. The proposed South Coast Tourism Zone is expected to include two 18-hole golf courses, a Disney-style amusement park, 11 resort hotels, as well as a residential resort villa complex. Just inland of the tourism zone, a planned town named Teeba is under construction. Teeba is expected to house 100,000 people by the year 2020.
Amman, Jordan
Amman, the modern and ancient capital of Jordan, is one of the
oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. The city's modern buildings blend with the remnants of ancient civilizations. The profusion of gleaming white houses, kebab stalls with roasting meat, and tiny cafes where rich Arabian coffee is sipped in the afternoon sunshine, conjure a mood straight from a thousand and one nights.
Recent excavations have uncovered homes and towers believed to have been built during
the Stone Age with many references to it in the Bible.
Amman was known in the Old Testament as
Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites around 1200 BC, it was also referred to as "
the City of Waters".
In Greco-Roman times in the 3rd century BC, the City was renamed
Philadelphia (Greek for "The Brotherhood Love") after the Ptolemaic ruler Philadelphus (283-246 BC). The City later came under Seleucid as well as Nabataean rule until the Roman General Pompey annexed Syria and made Philadelphia part of the
Decapolis League - a loose alliance of ten free city-states, bound by powerful commercial, political, and cultural interests under overall allegiance to Rome.
Under the influence of the Roman culture, Philadelphia was reconstructed in typically grand Roman style with colonnaded streets, baths, an Amphitheater, and impressive public buildings.
During the Byzantine period, Philadelphia was the seat of a
Christian Bishop, and therefore several churches were built. The city declined somewhat until the year 635 AD. As Islam spread northwards from the Arabian Peninsula, the land became part of its domain. Its original Semitic name Ammon or Amman was returned to it.
Amman's modern history began in the late 19th Century, when the Ottomans resettled a colony of Circassian emigrants in 1878. As
the Great Arab Revolt progressed and the State of Transjordan was established, Emir Abdullah ibn Al-Hussein founder of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan made Amman his capital in 1921. Since then, Amman has grown rapidly into a modern, thriving metropolis of well over two million people.
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