The southernmost city in Israel, Eilat is blessed with the glorious waters of the Gulf of Aqaba – the eastern tip of the Red Sea. In Biblical times King Solomon’s fleet sailed out of “Ezion-geber which is by Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea” to bring back 420 talents of gold from Ofir, thought to be either Ethiopia or India (1 Kings 9).
Today Eilat is again a serious port, providing the country with a trade route to Asia, but it has bloomed most as the Israeli riveria. Sunny and warm in winter and hot but dry during the summer, Eilat is a year round paradise for holiday-makers-and the entry-point to Egypt’s Sinai desert (pages 30-33).
Bare desert mountains line the coast in stark contrast to the deep-blue waters and the multi-colored coral reef just yards from the shore. This can be experienced snorkel or scuba diving, explored from a glass-bottomed boat, or marveled at in the Underwater Observatory.
This page is part of the book The Holy Land of Jesus
Follow News from JerusalemShare this page with your friends