Haql

Ḥaql (Arabic: حَقْل) or Ḥaqal (Arabic: حَقَل)^[2] is a city in the northwest of Saudi Arabia near the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, adjacent to Aqaba across the Jordanian border. The coasts of Egypt, Israel, and Jordan can be seen from Haql.

City of Haql Arabic: مَدِيْنَة حَقْل, romanized: Madīnat Ḥaql
Haql seen from the sea, with the Midian Mountains in the background
City of Haql
Coordinates: 29°17′N 34°56′E
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Tabuk province
Population  (2010)[1]
• Total	25,649
Time zone	UTC+3
Website	www.haqlcity.com

Haql is a small city and it is not a port used for Red Sea shipping, and the relatively small Saudi population does not engage in water desalination. As a result, the reefs in this area are pristine and populated with diverse flora and fauna. The coasts of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba in this region are scenic. There are views of the mountains of the Sinai Peninsula across the Gulf of Aqaba. Shipping is limited to traffic to and from the Port of Aqaba, Jordan. It lies 5 km (3.1 miles) from the Jordanian border. It has become one of the most attractive cities to visit for diving sports and accommodation. The two most attractive factors are its climate and geographical location. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has added more than 4 attractive spots on Haql.^{[citation needed]}

Climate

Haql has a desert climate and most rainfall is in the winter. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is BWh. The average annual temperature in Haql is 24.3 °C (75.7 °F). About 24 mm (0.94 in) of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Haql
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	21.1 (70.0)	22.8 (73.0)	25.8 (78.4)	29.9 (85.8)	34.0 (93.2)	36.8 (98.2)	37.4 (99.3)	37.8 (100.0)	35.2 (95.4)	31.9 (89.4)	27.1 (80.8)	22.2 (72.0)	30.2 (86.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	10.7 (51.3)	11.7 (53.1)	14.3 (57.7)	17.8 (64.0)	20.3 (68.5)	23.8 (74.8)	25.3 (77.5)	25.6 (78.1)	24.1 (75.4)	20.8 (69.4)	16.5 (61.7)	11.9 (53.4)	18.6 (65.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	3 (0.1)	5 (0.2)	5 (0.2)	3 (0.1)	1 (0.0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0.0)	3 (0.1)	3 (0.1)	24 (0.9)
Source: Climate Data

Possible name origin

The city of Haql may have been a corruption of "Ashkelon". In the Mishnah, at the beginning of Tractate Gittin (1:2) it is written "... and Ashkelon as the south". There was a city named Ashkelon at the southern border of the Land of Israel south of the city of Elath. This city of Ashkelon is entirely unrelated to the city of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast. The researcher Haim bar Droma wrote "There was another Ashkelon in the Gulf of Eilat. This was a common practice for ancient cities, many cities were named after other cities in the same region. It may be that this is the similarity in sound between 'Ashkelon' and 'Haql'.^[3]

See also

• Midian