Arabah

The Arabah ( , HaArava ; , Wādī ʻAraba ), also known as Aravah , is a section of the Great Rift Valley lying between the Dead Sea in the north and the Gulf of Aqaba in the south. It includes nearly half of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The Arabah is 166 km (103 mi ) in length from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern shore of the Dead Sea. Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From the Gulf of Aqaba northward, the land gradually rises over a distance of 77 km (48 mi ), and reaches a height of 230 m (750 ft ) above sea level, which represents the watershed divide between the Dead Sea and Red Sea . From this crest, the land slopes gently northward over the next 74 km (46 mi ) to a point 15 km (9.3 mi ) south of the Dead Sea. In the last section, the Arabah drops steeply to the Dead Sea, which at 417 m (1,368 ft ) below sea level, is the lowest point on earth (and historically falling). The Arabah is very hot and dry and virtually without rain; consequently, it is only lightly populated. The Jordanian administrative district of Wadi Araba is reported to have a population of 6775. Five major tribes comprise eight settlements on the Jordanian side. These tribes are: Al-S'eediyeen ( ), Al-Ihewat (الإحيوات), Al-Ammareen (العمارين), Al-Rashaideh (الرشايدة), and Al-Azazmeh (العزازمة), as well as smaller tribes of the Al-Oseifat (العصيفات), Al-Rawajfeh (الرواجفة), Al-Manaja'h (المناجعة), and Al-Marzaqa (المرزقة), among others. The main economic activities for these Arabah residents revolve around herding sheep, agriculture, handicrafts, and the Jordanian Army. On the Israeli side there are a few kibbutzim and moshavim . The oldest kibbutz in the Arava is Yotvata , founded in 1957, and named for an ancient town in the area mentioned once in the Bible. Kibbutz Lotan , which is one of Israel's newest kibbutzim, has a bird-watching center. The oldest Moshav in the central Arava area is Ein Yahav . In Biblical times the area was a center of copper production; King Solomon apparently had mines here. The Arabah was home to the Edomites (Edom was called "Idumea" in Roman times). East of the Arabah was the domain of the Nabateans , the builders of the city of Petra . The governments of Jordan and Israel are now promoting development of the region. There is a plan to bring sea water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through a canal ( Red–Dead Seas Canal ), which follows along the Arabah. This (long envisioned) project was once an issue of dispute between Jordan and Israel, but it was recently agreed that the project shall be constructed on and by the Jordanian side.

Arava landscape The Arabah ( , HaAravah , lit. "desolate and dry area"; , Wādī ʻAraba ), known in Hebrew as Aravah , is a geographic name used with two different meanings in antiquity and in modern times. The old meaning, which was in use up to the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what is today 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 at Aqaba / Eilat . This included the Jordan River Valley between Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what is commonly called today the Wadi Arabah or Arava Valley. The modern use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone. In both cases, it forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east.

Area south of the Dead Sea basin in Israel and Jordan Arabah landscape The Arabah ( , Wādī ʻAraba ), or Arava / Aravah ( , HaAravah , lit. "desolate and dry area" ), as it is known by its respective Arabic and Hebrew names, is a 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 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.

Area south of the Dead Sea basin in Israel and Jordan Araba landscape The Arabah , Araba or Aravah ( , hāʿĂrāḇā ; , Wādī ʿAraba ; lit. "dry area" ) is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert , 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.

Area south of the Dead Sea basin in Israel and Jordan Date palm plantation in the Israeli Arava Southern tip of the Arava with King Hussein International Airport , Aqaba and the Gulf of Aqaba seen from Israel The Arabah / Araba ( Arabic : وادي عربة , romanized : Wādī ʿAraba ) or Aravah / Arava ( Hebrew : הָעֲרָבָה , romanized : hāʿĂrāḇā , lit. ' dry area ' ) is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert , 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 around 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.