Lighthouses of Jordan

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Al-ʾUrdunn in Arabic) is located in the Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia and east of Israel and Palestine. It is named for the River Jordan, which forms a large part of its western border. Formerly part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, the territory of Jordan became part of the British Mandate for Palestine after World War I. The independence of Transjordan was recognized in 1946 and the name of the country was shortened to Jordan in 1949.

Jordan has only a very short coastline, about 26 km (16 mi) long, in the southwestern corner of the country; this includes about 18 km (11 mi) it acquired in 1965 by trading a substantial chunk of its desert interior to Saudi Arabia. The coastline is on the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow northeastern branch of the Red Sea. Making the most of scarcity, Jordan has developed this coast with a major port, Aqaba, and a series of beachfront resorts.

The Arabic word for a lighthouse is mnarh or manara (منارة). Ra's is a cape, jaza'ir or jazirat is an island, and shi'b is a reef.

Aids to navigation in Jordan are maintained by the Aqaba Ports.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Lights on this page were formerly included in volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals but in 2014 they were moved to volume D with new numbers. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Jordan
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Douglas Cameron and Thomas Philipp contributed photos from Jordan.
World of Lighthouses - Jordan
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for Jordan.


Aqaba Harbor Control Tower, Aqaba, September 2023
Google Maps photo by Kurt Heise

Lighthouses
* Aqaba South (2)
2021. Active; focal plane about 16 m (52 ft); nine quick white flashes every 15 s. Approx. 15 m (49 ft) square skeletal tower. No photo of the new light is available but Bing has a satellite view. This light replaced a 9 m (30 ft) skeletal mast atop a square skeletal tower. Trabas has Philipp's photo of the earlier light and Sebastian Noethlichs has a 2014 street view. Located on a sandy point at the entrance to Aqaba harbor. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty D7298.21 (ex-E6044.7); NGA 30458.
Aqaba Harbor Control
1991. Active; focal plane 72 m (236 ft); three white flashes every 10 s. 75 m (246 ft) hourglass-shaped concrete and steel tower topped by a round control room and rising from a multistory harbor control building. Kurt Heise's photo appears above, Wikimedia has a photo, Lightphotos.net has a good 2014 photo, Trabas has Rainer Arndt's photo, a distant view from the city is available, and Google has a good satellite view. This powerful light has a range of about 32 km (20 mi). Located at the base of the main commericial quay of Aqaba harbor. Site status unknown. ARLHS JOR-001; Admiralty D7298.2 (ex-E6044); NGA 30452.
[Aqaba Flagstaff]
2004. Active (charted by Navionics); focal plane about 43 m (141 ft); flashing red light. 41 m (135 ft) giant flagstaff. Peter Goulding has a page for the flagpole and Google has a street view and a satellite view. The flag flown from the staff is not the Jordanian national flag; it is the Pan-Arab or Arab Revolt flag orginally used by Arab forces fighting against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. This was the world's tallest flagpole when it was built, although much taller ones have been built since. The base of the shaft is 2.6 m (8.6 ft) in diameter. Located on the Aqaba waterfront, north of the Harbor Control tower and near the Aqaba Museum. Site open. ex-Admiralty E6044.2. .
Royal Yacht Club South Jetty (2)
2014. Active; focal plane about 9 m (30 ft); quick-flashing green light. Approx. 9 m (30 ft) round white concrete tower. This tower replaced a 4.5 m (15 ft) tower with gallery, painted white with a green horizontal band at the top. Christian Thiessen's photo is at right, Trabas has a photo, Mohammad Azzouka has a 2018 drone view, and Google has a satellite view. Tariq Abuzaid has a closeup photo of the original light and Donald Curtis has another good photo. The Royal Yacht Club is at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba off King Hussein Boulevard. Site status unknown. Site manager: Royal Yacht Club of Jordan . ARLHS JOR-002; Admiralty D7298.1 (ex-E6044.35); NGA 30455.
 

Royal Yacht Club South Jetty Light, Aqaba, April 2022
Google Maps photo by Christian Thiessen
 

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: South: Western Saudi Arabia | West: Israel

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Posted January 21, 2008. Checked and revised October 30, 2023. Lighthouses: 3. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.