At the bottom near Aqaba, tanks, guns and helicopters stand in formation, as if awaiting the order to attack. However, instead of soldiers, fish swim around them, and instead of a battlefield, there are coral formations and sandbars. This is Jordan's underwater military museum in the Red Sea.
Initially, 19 decommissioned military vehicles were sunk in 2019. Two more objects were later added, bringing the collection to 21 exhibits. They are located in a tactical battle formation off the southern coast of Aqaba, at a depth of mainly between 18 and 28 meters. The two shallower jeeps can also be viewed from a glass-bottomed boat, and most of the museum is designed for diving.
What's under the water
The collection includes tanks, armored cars, transport vehicles, field and anti-aircraft guns, a military ambulance, and two AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. Among the most impressive exhibits is a British Chieftain tank, known in Jordan as the Khalid. There is also an American M42 Duster self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with two 40 mm Bofors cannons.
Divers can also see the Ferret and Ratel armored vehicles, the Samaritan medical vehicle, the Chieftain repair and recovery vehicle, and heavy field guns. The military equipment was provided by the Jordanian army after it was decommissioned.
From weapons to artificial reef
Before being sunk, the machines were stripped of fuel and hazardous materials. The location was chosen in an area with little coral and limited marine life, so as not to damage the natural reefs.
“This will reduce the pressure on the natural coral reefs by creating new artificial places“, Abdullah Abu-Awali, head of the beach administration at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, told DIVE Magazine. This is the second reason for the project, after attracting tourists.
Over time, the metal hulls begin to act as reefs. Corals and various marine organisms settle on them, and passages of fish move between the turrets, chassis and gun systems. Soft and hard corals, scorpion fish and stingrays have already settled near the older M42 Duster tank, which was sunk in 1999 at a depth of about six meters.
Why the equipment is there
The idea is both touristic and environmental. The underwater museum is conceived as a new attraction for divers and as a place to absorb some of the visits aimed at the natural coral reefs near Aqaba.
“The military museum is the first project of its kind in the region, and in my opinion in the world“, says Nayeh Bakhit, chief commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, quoted by DIVE Magazine.
A similar fate has already befallen other machines in the area. In 2017, a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft was sunk near Aqaba, and the separate shallow-water site with the 1999 M42 Duster has become an easily accessible place for novice divers and snorkelers.
Thus, the equipment created for war is gradually becoming a haven for marine life and an unusual museum, which is viewed not by walking between display cases, but with a mask, fins and air underwater.
Sources: discoverwildlife.com, divemagazine.com, divernet.com