|
King's Highway (ancient)
The King's Highway was a trade route of vital importance in the ancient Near East, connecting Africa with Mesopotamia. It ran from Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba, then turned northward across Transjordan, to Damascus and the Euphrates River. After the Muslim conquest of the Fertile Crescent in the 7th century CE and until the 16th century, it was the ''darb al-hajj'' or pilgrimage road for Muslims from Syria, Iraq, and beyond heading to the holy city of Mecca.Lonely Planet, ''Jordan'' In modern Jordan, Highway 35 and Highway 15 follow this route, connecting Irbid in the north with Aqaba in the south. The southern part crosses several deep wadis, making it a highly scenic if curvy and rather low-speed road. Route The Highway began in Heliopolis, Egypt and then went eastward to Clysma (modern Suez), through the Mitla Pass and the Egyptian forts of Nekhl and Themed in the Sinai desert to Eilat and Aqaba. From there the Highway turned northward through the Arabah, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Levant Routes
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history covers all continents inhabited by humans in the period 3000 BCAD 500. The three-age system periodizes ancient history into the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age, with recorded history generally considered to begin with the Bronze Age. The start and end of the three ages varies between world regions. In many regions the Bronze Age is generally considered to begin a few centuries prior to 3000 BC, while the end of the Iron Age varies from the early first millennium BC in some regions to the late first millennium AD in others. During the time period of ancient history, the world population was already Exponential growth, exponentially increasing due to the Neolithic Revolution, which was in full pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highway 35 (Jordan)
Highway 35, also known as the King's Highway, is a north–south highway in Jordan. It starts in at the Syrian border north of Irbid and leads to Highway 15 in the Ma'an Governorate. History The route of Highway 35 is over 5,000 years old. This highway was first constructed by the Romans, and was part of the Via Nova Traiana. It is one of the most historic highways in the world (see historic King's Highway). Tourist attractions This highway runs north–south from Irbid down to the Desert Highway in Ma'an Governorate. The interesting hilly highway passes the castle of Kerak and Shobak and passes Wadi Musa Wadi Musa ( ar, وادي موسى, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra. I ..., the city most close to the ruins of Petra. {{Roads in Jordan Roads in Jordan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Jebel al-Madhbah, Jabal Al-Madbah, in a Depression (geology), basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of Nabataean Kingdom, their kingdom as early as the 4th century BC. Archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC, by which time Petra had become their capital. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub. The trading business gained ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabah
The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use up to the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called the Jordan Rift Valley, running in a north–south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea at Aqaba– Eilat. This included the Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone. Geography The Arabah is in length, from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. Topographically, the region is divided into three ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The city is considered a tourist destination for domestic and international tourists heading to Israel. Eilat is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arabah, adjacent to the Egyptian resort city of Taba to the south, the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to the east, and within sight of Haql, Saudi Arabia, across the gulf to the southeast. Eilat's arid desert climate and low humidity are moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed in summer, and in winter, while water temperatures range between . Eilat averages 360 sunny days a year. Name The name ''Eilat'' was given to ''Umm al-Rashrāsh'' () in 1949 by the Committee for the Designation of Place-Names in the Negev. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An-Nakhl Fortress
The Fortress of an-Nekhel is a Ksar (castle) located in the Nekhel Municipality of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It holds a strategic location at the exact center of the peninsula. Excavations at the site have revealed remains dating from Ancient Egypt. It has historically been an important stop and staging ground for Muslim pilgrims undertaking the Hajj or Umra, holy Muslim pilgrimages. Mamluk era A fortress was built on the site by the Circassian Mamluk sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri. A group of Christian pilgrims (including Felix Fabri) in 1483 recorded that there was a great well at an-Nekhel which was called the "Well of the Sultan" because during the pilgrimage season the Sultan employed a man with two camels to draw water all day for the pilgrims. The Frenchmen were on their way to Saint Catherine's Monastery and avoided the well due to uncertainty of the reception they might receive. Ottoman era The existing fortress was built by Sultan Selim in the sixteenth centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitla Pass
The Mitla Pass ( ar, ممر متلة, he, מיתלה) is a pass snaking in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, wedged between mountain ranges to the north and south. It is located about east of Suez. It is the monotonous ride through here and Nekhel, a wilderness that provides the shortest route between Nuweiba and Cairo. Buses carrying tourist to Mount Sinai, St. Catherine's Monastery, and Feiran Oasis travel through there. Wars between Israel and Egypt Mitla Pass is a site of major battles between the militaries of Egypt and Israel during the wars of 1956, 1967, and 1973. Mitla incident during the Suez War During the Israeli invasion of Egypt in the Suez War of 1956 the pass was captured by the 202nd Brigade of the Israeli army, commanded by Ariel Sharon, without the approval of the Israeli leadership. Sharon faced elements of the Egyptian 2nd Brigade, which had prepared an ambush within the pass. Egyptians pinned down such famous Israelis as Mordechai Gur and Uri Dan under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez Governorate. It has three harbours, Adabiya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities. Together they form a metropolitan area, located mostly in Africa with a small portion in Asia. Railway lines and highways connect the city with Cairo, Port Said, and Ismailia. Suez has a petrochemical plant, and its oil refineries have pipelines carrying the finished product to Cairo. These are represented in the flag of the governorate: the blue background refers to the sea, the gear refers to Suez's status as an industrial governorate, and the flame refers to the petroleum firms of Suez. The modern city of Suez is a successor of the ancient city of Clysma (, meaning "surf, waves that break"; ; ), a major Red Sea por ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clysma
Clysma ( el, Κλῦσμα, Κλειυσμα) was an ancient city and bishopric in Egypt. It was located at the head of the Gulf of Suez. History Clysma was founded or rebuilt by Emperor Trajan in the second century AD to protect travellers and merchants as it lay at the junction of roads from Sinai, Palestine, and Egypt. This was done in conjunction with the construction of the '' Amnis Traianus'', a canal that linked the Nile and the Red Sea and had its outlet near Clysma. It has been suggested that the port was used for the exportation of textiles and grain produced in the Arsinoite '' nome'' as they were better adapted to transportation via the ''Amnis Traianus'' to Clysma than overland to the southern ports of Berenice Troglodytica and Myos Hormos. Clysma is first recorded in Lucian's ''Alexander Pseudomantis'' in the early 2nd century AD, and by Ptolemy in ''Geographia'' in the mid-2nd century, in which he described Clysma as a '' phrourion''. In 179, soldiers of the ''Ala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)
Heliopolis (I͗wnw, Iunu or 𓉺𓏌𓊖; egy, I͗wnw, 'the Pillars'; cop, ⲱⲛ; gr, Ἡλιούπολις, Hēlioúpοlis, City of the Sun) was a major city of ancient Egypt. It was the capital of the 13th or Heliopolite Nome of Lower Egypt and a major religious centre. It is now located in Ayn Shams, a northeastern suburb of Cairo. Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, occupied since the Predynastic Period.. It greatly expanded under the Old and Middle Kingdoms but is today mostly destroyed, its temples and other buildings having been scavenged for the construction of medieval Cairo. Most information about the ancient city comes from surviving records. The major surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the obelisk of the Temple of Ra-Atum erected by Senusret I of Dynasty XII. It still stands in its original position, now within Al-Masalla in Al-Matariyyah, Cairo. The high red granite obelisk weighs 120 tons (240,000 lbs) and is believed to be the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
