Eilat

North Beach, Eilat, from southwest

North Beach, Eilat, from east

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Eilat (Hebrew אֵילַת, Standard Hebrew Elat, Eylat), pop. 55,000, is Israel's southernmost city (located at [29.55° N 34.95° E]), in the Southern District of Israel. Adjacent to the Egyptian city of Taba and Jordanian port city of Aqaba, Eilat is located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is the eastern sleeve of the Red Sea (the western leading to the Suez Canal). Eilat is named after the Biblical Elath, which now corresponds to modern neighboring Aqaba.

Eilat's weather is very hot and dry due to its proximity to the Negev, Sinai, Arabian and Sahara deserts. Temperatures at summer are often in excess of 40°C, and in winter of 25°C, both very high even for the relatively hot Israel. However, the relatively cool (22°C-25°C) and clean waters of the Red Sea, which are the habitat of a large number of tropical marine species, and the exotic beauty of the landscape surrounding the city make it a favorite tourist attraction, Israel's most popular.

The Port of Eilat has high strategic and economic significance. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and in violation of international law, Egypt denied passage through the Suez Canal to Israeli-flagged vessels and to non-Israeli flagged vessels carrying cargo to Israeli ports. This made Eilat crucial to Israel for access to markets in East Africa and Southeast Asia, and for the import of oil. Without recourse to Eilat, vessels sailing from Israel would have to journey through the Mediterranean and around the Cape of Good Hope to reach Southeast Asia. Such a situation took place in 1967 when Egypt's unlawful closure of the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping effectively blockaded the port of Eilat and was cited by Israel as a casus belli leading to the outbreak of the Six-Day War.

Eilat became a free trade zone in 1985. Eilat has a domestic airport [link] (domestic code: ETH, international code: LLET). International flights to the city are served at Ovda International Airport [link] (code: VDA), situated some 50 km north-east of the city.

Eilat holds various attractions, such as the Coral World Underwater Observatory, the Coral Reserve, "What's Up" The Observatory in Eilat, an IMAX theatre and scuba diving at Dolphin Reef. The city has a "party type" atmosphere much of the time, as many Israelis and tourists come to Eilat to relax.

Eilat's population includes a large number of foreign workers, often working in the construction trade.

Eilat is also an official Sister city to Los Angeles and Durban, South Africa and has streets named for those cities.

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