This week in history: 6th July 1917
There were British concerns about Aqaba on the Red Sea coast – Ottoman occupation threatened its flank in the Middle East and it becoming a port for German U-boats would be disastrous in the Mediterranean. However, it was not with British support that T.E. Lawrence joined Sherif Nasir, Nesib el-Bekri and Auda Abu Tayi in crossing hundreds of miles of desert to surprise the Turks from the rear. Though the battle was fought 40 miles from the city, the Arab victory made a triumphal entrance into it possible.
Read more: The Battle of Aqaba—and T.E. Lawrence—Shaped the Future of the Middle East (The Archive)
Join our tour…Lawrence of Arabia
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Added: 11th July 2023
