Who Wouldn't Want To Visit an Underwater Military Museum?

The internet is going crazy over Jordan's viral underwater military museum that opened on 31st july,2019 off its red sea coast. Military museums are not uncommon, but the middle eastern country of Jordan has build what just might be the weirdest of them all: an underwater military museum.

 The ex-military vehicles are all from the Jordanian Army. A former British-controlled territory, Jordan was for a long time a heavy user of U.K. military hardware.  The state believes that the 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, eight vehicles were settled between 15-20 metres below the surface, according to the JORDAN times. Eleven others can be found at a depth of 20-28 metres.it  includes sunken tanks,  an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, an anti-aircraft battery, guns and a combat helicopter, sunken in a simulatory battle formation, formation, include a U.K.-built Chieftain main battle tank (known as Khalid Shir in Jordan) with 120-millimeter tank gun, an unarmed FV104 Samaritan tracked military ambulance, U.S.-made M42 Duster anti-aircraft gun with twin 40-millimeter Bofors guns, FV701 Ferret armored car, and a South African Ratel (“Honey Badger”) 6 x 6 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle. 

Jordan believes this will attract tourists to the already popular diving resort of AQABA.

The sunken items have been “stationed along the coral reefs imitating a battle tactical formation”, ASEZA (AQABA SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE AUTHORITY ) said in a statement.

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.

The launch was marked by a ceremony with music from the JORDANIAN ARMED FORCES BAND and a local folk group. The northern red sea is popular with divers attracted by its coral reefs, which are in relatively good health despite global reef depletion due to global warming.

ASEZA said it had removed “hazardous materials” from the hardware to protect the marine ecosystem.

It said the museum would allow the creation of artificial reefs and promote the recovery of the area’s natural reefs by "drawing visitors away to an alternative site."

Hola people! I am Arya Kapoor. I am an English hons. student pursuing the course from University of Delhi. I have a keen interest in science and technology as well as I love writing, may it be contents for any social cause or current affairs etc. People who hang around with me find me singing the whole day long.