Aqaba sinks airplane for new artificial reef

On Monday, 26 August 2019, the former airliner slipped slowly below the surface, just south of Aqaba's main port, to become the latest addition to the already substantial number of artificial reefs along Jordan's stretch of Red Sea coastline.

On Monday, 26 August 2019, the former airliner slipped slowly below the surface, just south of Aqaba's main port, to become the latest addition to the already substantial number of artificial reefs along Jordan's stretch of Red Sea coastline.
Travel & Trips

The TriStar plane is a commercial airliner that has been out of service and parked at King Hussein International Airport for several years. The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) recently purchased the plane with the intention of sinking it, and it was transferred to the main port to prepare it for is final role. The TriStar is the second aircraft to become an artificial reef off Jordan's coastline. In November 2017, a Hercules C130 was scuttled a bit farther down the coast.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Aqaba: Diving Jordan's Artificial Reefs

My relationship to the Middle East is like a long-running but complicated love affair. I keep being attracted to it and keep coming back. Each time I step out of the airplane when I arrive there, I am embraced by a pleasant, complex, and—dare I say—almost sensual scent so full of notes, most of which I have never been able to identify. There seems to be a whiff of charcoal and smoke from shisha (the molasses-based tobacco concoction smoked in a hookah) mixed in with scents of spices, flowers, trees and the sun-baked sand. It is a very characteristic compound smell, which I find pleasant. Also, people are just nice and welcoming.

Words:
Peter Symes
Images:
C130 Hercules aircraft, Aqaba, Jordan. Photo by Wolfgang Riess.
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Travel & Trips

I have always felt reassuringly safe in Jordan—which is in stark, but nice, contrast to the impressions frequently painted by the press that makes a living reporting on strife. It does frequently torment me, not only that lasting solutions to the conflicts elsewhere in the region remain so elusive, but also that these headlines tend to discolour the general perception of what the region has to offer visiting travellers—which is a lot.

Jordan and Israel reach agreement on restoring Dead Sea

A desalination plant will be built in the southern Jordanian port of Aqaba on the Red Sea and will provide water to both Israelis and Palestinians. The brine that is a byproduct of the process will be sent north through a pipeline to the Dead Sea.

Ecology & Science

The Dead Sea has been found to be receding at a rate of more than 3.3 feet (1 meter) every year.

The idea of linking the two bodies of water has been around for more than a century. The project began to move ahead two years ago after the World Bank determined it is possible to use the Red Sea to replenish the shrinking Dead Sea after years of studying whether such a connecting lifeline could work.

The desalination plant will produce at least 80 million cubic meters annually. Israel will buy at a cost up to 40 million cubic meters. The rest will go to Aqaba.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Jordan

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is just soaked in this special ambience that dreams and adventures are made of—the air scented with traces of spices, desert flowers, charcoal and tobacco smoke from the water pipes and where the past and the present seamlessly weave together. It’s a mystic place that seems to exist in a time and dimension of its own. Relaxed, exciting and always intriguing, Jordan is a true getaway, yet also a place that plays with all six senses.

Words:
Peter Symes
Images:
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Travel & Trips

This first impression has stayed with us ever since. With great topside adventures and sights to balance easy and wonderful diving, Jordan is clearly one of the most under-appreciated dive destinations around.

Petra

The Rose City

The ruins of Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabatea empire is one those marvels that captivates even the most seasoned traveller. Hidden and forgotten for centuries in a hollow among the rose sandstone and limestone hills, lies one of the most extraordinary and fascinating monumental complexes of the ancient world.  

“Here’s a perfect moment in a perfect world”

The Dead Sea

You’re in “History Land”, a place where almost every human has a link, a bond, a root. Welcome to Jordan. A few miles away is Mount Nebo surrounded by olive trees. From this point, you can stare at the Dead Sea and the Promised Land... In this place, you can feel history in the ground, in the stones, in the air...

 

 

Lawrence of Arabia

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO, Legion of Honour (1888 –1935) gained international fame for his role as a British liaison officer during the Arab Revolt of 1916-18.

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