Eilat
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| Hebrew | אילת |
| Founded in | 1951 |
| Government | City (from 1959) |
| District | South |
| Population | 45,800 (CBS end of 2006) |
| Jurisdiction | 80,000 dunams (80 km²) |
| Mayor | Meir Yitzhak Halevi |
Eilat (Hebrew אֵילַת, Standard Hebrew Elat, Eylat), pop. 46,000, is Israel's southernmost city (located at ), in the Southern District of Israel. Adjacent to the Egyptian city of Taba and Jordanian port city of Aqaba, Eilat is located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is the eastern sleeve of the Red Sea (the western leading to the Suez Canal). Eilat is named after the Biblical Elath, which now corresponds to modern neighboring Aqaba.
Eilat's weather is very hot and dry due to its proximity to the Negev, Sinai, Arabian and Sahara deserts. Temperatures at summer are often in excess of 40°C, and in winter of 22°C, both very high even for the relatively hot Israel. However, the relatively cool (22°C-25°C) and clean waters of the Red Sea, which are the habitat of a large number of tropical marine species, and the exotic beauty of the landscape surrounding the city make it a favorite tourist attraction, Israel's most popular.
The Port of Eilat has high strategic and economic significance. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and in violation of international law, Egypt denied passage through the Suez Canal to Israeli-flagged vessels and to non-Israeli flagged vessels carrying cargo to Israeli ports. This made Eilat crucial to Israel for access to markets in East Africa and Southeast Asia, and for the import of oil. Without recourse to Eilat, vessels sailing from Israel would have to journey through the Mediterranean and around the Cape of Good Hope to reach Southeast Asia. Such a situation took place in 1967 when Egypt's unlawful closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping effectively blockaded the port of Eilat and was cited by Israel as a casus belli leading to the outbreak of the Six-Day War.
Eilat became a free trade zone in 1985. Eilat has a domestic airport [1] (domestic code: ETH, international code: LLET). International flights to the city are served at Ovda International Airport [2] (code: VDA), situated some 50 km north-east of the city.
Eilat holds various attractions, such as the Coral World Underwater Observatory, the Coral Reserve which is the most northerly coral reef in the world, "What's Up" The Observatory in Eilat, an IMAX theatre and scuba diving at Dolphin Reef. The city has a "party type" atmosphere much of the time, as many Israelis and tourists come to Eilat to relax. See also Eilat travel guide from Wikitravel.
Eilat's population includes a large number of foreign workers, estimated at over 10,000, often working in the construction trade.
From Eilat you can see four countries: Israel itself, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: |
 The IMAX 3D theatre |
 The Underwater Observatory |
 Hilton Queen of Sheeba |
[edit] History
Eilat is mentioned as one of the stations of Bnei Yisrael after The Exodus from Egypt. The original colony was probably in the northern tip of the Sea of Reeds which is now on the border with Jordan. Eilat was a commercial port city and a center for copper. King David conquered Edom and took over Eilat as well.
Kings 2 14:21-22: "And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers".
Kings 2 16:6: "At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath to Aram, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Edomites came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this day".
The area of Eilat was designated as part of the Jewish nation in the 1947 UN Partition Plan.
During the War of Independence Eilat or Umm Rashrash in Arabic was conquered on March 10, 1948 as part of Operation Uvda. The Negev Brigade and Golani Brigade took part in the operation. They raised an ink-made flag ("The Ink Flag") and claimed Umm Rashrash for Israel which officially became Eilat.
[edit] Sister cities
Eilat's sister cities are:
Eilat has streets named after Durban and Los Angeles.
[edit] External links
- A film about Eilat in 1960 (Hebrew) commentary
- Eilat - The 48th Soul The story of the Israeli navy battle-ship "Eilat" that was named after the city
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| Cities | Arad · Ashdod · Ashqelon · Beersheba · Dimona · Eilat · Netivot · Ofaqim · Qiryat Gat · Qiryat Mal'akhi · Rahat · Sderot |  |
| Local councils | Ar'ara BaNegev · Hura · Kuseife · Laqye · Lehavim · Meitar · Mitzpe Ramon · Omer · Segev Shalom · Tel Sheva · Yeruham | |
| Regional councils | Abu Basma · Beer Tuvia · Bnei Shimon · Central Arava · Eshkol · Hevel Eilot · Hof Ashkelon · Lachish · Merchavim · Ramat Negev · Sdot Negev (Azata) · Shaar HaNegev · Shafir · Tamar · Yoav | |
