picturingjordan.com/public/tags/aqaba/index.xml

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    <title>Aqaba on Picturing Jordan</title>
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      <title>Sheikh Zayed Mosque: the Pearl of Aqaba</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/sheikh-zayed-mosque-pearl-aqaba/</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 11 Oct 2016 12:06:06 +0300</pubDate>
      
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      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/DSC_0024.JPG&#34; alt=&#34;Beautiful mosque by the sea, surrounded by palm trees&#34; /&gt;
    
    
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        &lt;h4&gt;Beautiful mosque by the sea, surrounded by palm trees&lt;/h4&gt;
        
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&lt;p&gt;The best way to describe the Sheikh Zayed mosque would be &amp;ldquo;the pearl of Aqaba.&amp;rdquo; There is a lot to love about this picturesque mosque by the Jordanian seaside, but its crown jewel — to continue the analogy — is the impeccable Arabic calligraphy inlaid in its facade. Sadly, Aqaba itself &lt;a href=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/aqaba-dirty-disappointing/&#34;&gt;isn&amp;rsquo;t much to write home about&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Originally built in 1975, the mosque was refurbished in 2010 as part of a larger &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.marsazayed.com/&#34;&gt;effort to revitalize the Red Sea port city&lt;/a&gt; and was modeled after the &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.szgmc.gov.ae/en/&#34;&gt;Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque&lt;/a&gt; in Abu Dhabi.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Aqaba is Dirty and Disappointing</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/aqaba-dirty-disappointing/</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:46:23 +0300</pubDate>
      
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        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/IMG_20161002_131313.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;A picturesque view where you can&amp;#39;t see the trash on the beach&#34; /&gt;
    
    
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        &lt;h4&gt;A picturesque view where you can&amp;#39;t see the trash on the beach&lt;/h4&gt;
        
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&lt;p&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m struggling to find words to describe my trip to Jordan&amp;rsquo;s coastal city Aqaba. Initially, the contrast between dry desert, rocky mountains, and the turquoise water of the Red Sea is quite striking — imagine Matt Damon in &lt;em&gt;The Martian&lt;/em&gt;, but where he goes snorkeling on a coral reef instead of growing potatoes.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If that sounds too good to be true, it is! Sadly, I found Aqaba to be dirty — used diapers on the beach, locals arrogantly throwing trash on the street, trash floating around the reef, etc — and full of obnoxious, poorly behaved tourists.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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