Akabah

Akabah, The Gulf of, is the E. bifurcation of the Red Sea at its N. end. It extends for 100 miles with a breadth of 12 to 17 miles. The steep mountains of Arabia Petraea hem it in, and the Golden Port, 29 miles E. of Mount Sinai, is the only safe harbour. Akabah, a village near its head, is supposed to be the ancient Elath, and some ruins in the sea close by are conjectured to mark the site of Eziongeber.