Aqaba is the end of the line, and the reward is the sea. Jordan has just a few dozen kilometres of coastline, all of it on the Gulf of Aqaba at the top of the Red Sea, and this is where it is. After a long day crossing the desert from Amman, either on the fast Desert Highway or the lower, rift-valley road along the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba, you arrive in a town of about ninety-five thousand people where the water is turquoise and the hills behind it are the colour of rust.
The road in is part of the ride's character. The Dead Sea Highway drops to the lowest land on Earth, then follows the rift valley south with Israel and the Negev on the far side of the border and the mountains of Edom rising on your left, a dry, huge landscape with little shade. Winds can be strong, heat in summer can top forty degrees, and distances between fuel stops are real, so top up whenever you pass a station. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; winter is mild and comfortable.
Aqaba has a long memory. The ancient city of Ayla lay here, a trading port for Nabataeans and Romans and later an early Islamic town, and in 1917 it was captured by Arab forces from the landward side, in a surprise attack on the Ottoman garrison led by Faisal's army with T. E. Lawrence, which is why the Arab Revolt flag flies above the town on one of the tallest flagpoles in the world. The fort at the harbour is small but pleasant, and the old streets of the town have fish restaurants and sweet shops to match.
For a rider, Aqaba is practical. There is fuel, food and hotels, and the evenings are cool enough to sit outside by the water. The coral reef just off the beach is among the best in the region, and snorkelling after a hot day on the road is the best possible way to end the ride. A duty-free zone means the shopping is cheap and the town is relaxed.