Gulf of Aqaba

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Sinai Peninsula, with the Gulf of Aqaba (east) and the Gulf of Suez (west), as viewed from the Space Shuttle STS-40.

The Gulf of Aqaba, in Israel known as the Gulf of Eilat. (Arabic: خليج العقبة; transliterated: Khalyj al-'Aqabah), (Hebrew: מפרץ אילת, transliterated: Mifratz Eilat) is a large gulf of the Red Sea. It is located to the east of the Sinai peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland. Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia all have coastlines on the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Gulf of Aqaba is one of two gulfs created by the Sinai Peninsula's bifurcation of the northern Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez lying to the west of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba lying to its east. The Gulf of Aqaba measures 24 km at its widest point and stretches some 160 km north from the Straits of Tiran to a point where the border of Israel meets the borders of Egypt and Jordan. At this northern end of the Gulf are three important cities: Taba in Egypt, Eilat in Israel, and Aqaba in Jordan. All three cities serve both as strategically important commercial ports and as popular resort destinations for tourists seeking to enjoy the warm climate of the region. Further south, Haql is the largest Saudi Arabian city on the gulf. On Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab are the major centers.

The Gulf of Aqaba, like the coastal waters of the Red Sea, is one of the world's premier sites for snorkeling and scuba diving. The area is especially rich in coral and other marine biodiversity and contains a number of underwater wrecks, some accidental shipwrecks, others vessels deliberately sunk in an effort to provide a habitat for marine organisms and bolster the local dive tourism industry.

Geologically, the Gulf of Aqaba is an integral part of the Great Rift Valley that runs from East Africa through the Red Sea and northwards towards the rift valley containing the Dead Sea.

There is some evidence that the Gulf of Aqaba was the body of water crossed during the Passage of the Red Sea as told in the Book of Exodus.