Jordan sinks military hardware for underwater museum
Kingdom hopes tanks, ambulance, troop carrier, anti-aircraft battery, guns and a combat helicopter, submerged in a ‘tactical formation,’ will attract tourists to Aqaba
This picture taken on July 24, 2019 shows a decommissioned Jordanian Armed Forces' AH-1 Cobra helicopter being submerged into the waters of the Red Sea off the coast of the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba, as part of preparations for a new underwater military museum. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
AQABA, Jordan — Sunken tanks, a troop carrier and a submerged helicopter: Jordan on Wednesday opened its first underwater military museum off its Red Sea coast.
The kingdom is hoping the 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, submerged at depths up to 28 meters (92 feet), will attract tourists to the already popular diving resort of Aqaba.
The Underwater Military Museum Dive Site includes several tanks, an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, an anti-aircraft battery, guns and a combat helicopter, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) said.
The sunken items have been “stationed along the coral reefs imitating a battle tactical formation,” ASEZA said in a statement.
This picture taken on July 24, 2019 shows a decommissioned Jordanian Armed Forces’ AH-1 Cobra helicopter being submerged into the waters of the Red Sea off the coast of the southern Jordanian port city of Aqaba, as part of preparations for a new underwater military museum. (Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP)
The museum aims to offer a “new type” of museum experience combining “sports, environment and exhibits” for divers, snorkelers and visitors on glass-bottomed boats, it said.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
The launch was marked by a ceremony with music from the Jordanian Armed Forces band and a local folk group, AFP photographers there said.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
