Aqaba
Aquaba is the “sister” city of the Israeli city Eilat. Eilat is a beach town with non-stop parties and young people walking around barely dressed. Aquaba attracts a very different crowd. I was surprised by how many conservative Jordanians spend their vacation in Aquaba. The beach is full of women with head scarf that go into the water fully dressed. But as soon as the sun goes down, Aquaba too becomes a party city. All of a sudden, all these young and modern Jordanian women come out into the streets. They wear skirts, laugh and smoke … . The party and the music go on until 2am.
Aquaba is dead during the day. The stores close from noon until 6pm and life starts only after the sun goes down. The locals are very nice, just like anywhere in Jordan. When I got into Aquaba at 7am in the morning and was desperately trying to find my hotel everyone wanted to help me. A taxi driver stopped and wanted to give me a ride. I first told him, I don’t want a taxi, because I know my hotel must be somewhere close. After another 30 min of walking, that same taxi driver stopped again and told me, he really doesn’t like to see me lost and offered me a ride for free. In the end, it didn’t help much, since this taxi driver didn’t know the names of the streets. But he was incredibly kind and sweet. He didn’t want any money. He just wanted to help and didn’t like to see me lost at 7 am in the morning.
The main reason I came to Aquaba was to go diving and I had a wonderful experience in the red sea. My first dive was a refreshment dive. I don’t really like water but every time, I force myself to go diving and every time I come back so glad that I did it. I am always amazed at the colors and the variety of fishes in the sea. It is truely incredible, there is a whole other world down in the water that we mostly ignore in our every day life. So it is good to pause and take the time to see it. The red sea is surprisingly pleasant. It was approximately 25 degrees and for the first time, my diving experience was not freezing cold. For my 2nd dive, I went to see an enormous ship wreck. It was amazing, it felt like being in a movie when swimming around and inside the wreck. It was also interesting to see how the sea took possession of the wreck and the corals and fishes made it their home. All in all, I had a great time in Aquaba, it was a good way to start my adventure in Jordan.
