Shortly before the October 7 Sinai bombings at Taba and Nueiba, inhabitants of the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat noticed some strange goings-on across the bay in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. Cement trucks were seen dumping their loads along a section of coastline where the Jordanian royal villa nestles among giant palm trees. Other trucks unloaded huge pipes, which giant cranes hoisted into position. Could it be a new Jordanian watchtower to keep an eye on the Gulf of Aqaba? Or perhaps Jordan was building a new military or communications installation?
The answer to the riddle was not long coming. One morning, they awoke to the sight of an enormous flag flying from a 136 meter- (446 foot) high pole. The flag, measuring 80 meters (262 feet) by 44 meters (144 feet), was almost the size of an American football field, a towering presence even against the backdrop of the 1,200 meter (3,900 feet) -high mountains behind Aqaba.
|