Aqaba Traditional Arts Festival 2027

The Aqaba Traditional Arts Festival brings together folk performers, craftspeople, and storytellers from across Jordan and neighbouring countries for four days each year at the Aqaba Cultural Palace. The festival is one of the few regular stages where Bedouin music, Circassian dance, Palestinian embroidery, coastal Aqaba heritage traditions, and live folk performance are all represented together - a genuine cultural exchange rather than a tourist showcase.

Source note: The festival runs annually in February, confirmed by Hidden Mediterranean’s Jordan events database (hiddenmediterranean.net). Exact 2027 dates within the month have not yet been officially announced. Check the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) cultural listings and the Jordan Tourism Board for confirmed dates when released.

Programme highlights

The festival runs from around 10:00 am to late evening each day, mixing daytime workshops with evening performances. Daytime activity centres on the handicraft market and demonstration areas, where artisans demonstrate traditional weaving, pottery, silver jewellery making, and calligraphy. Visitors can purchase directly from makers - the festival is oriented toward genuine craft exchange, not souvenir traffic, and prices reflect that.

Evening performances in the main hall feature musical ensembles playing traditional Jordanian and Arabic folk styles: dabke group dancing, Bedouin percussion, poetry recitation, and storytelling sessions. Past editions have included guest ensembles from Egypt, Palestine, and Lebanon alongside Jordanian performers. The 2027 programme will be confirmed closer to the event via the ASEZA cultural listings.

Getting to Aqaba

The Aqaba Cultural Palace is centrally located in the city, within walking distance of the main hotels along the corniche. Aqaba is reachable by flight from Amman (Queen Alia International to King Hussein International, approximately 50 minutes), or by road in around 3.5 to 4 hours via the Desert Highway. For full transport options, our getting around Jordan guide covers road, air, and bus connections in detail.

The city is also a popular base for Red Sea diving and water activities, making it easy to combine the festival with a few days on the water. Our guide to diving in Aqaba covers the main reef sites and dive operators if you want to extend your stay.

Practical information

Entry to the festival grounds is typically free or priced at a nominal JOD 2–3 day pass; individual performance tickets for headline evening shows may be sold separately. Exact pricing is released in advance via the ASEZA cultural listings. The weather in Aqaba in February is mild and pleasant, averaging around 20 degrees Celsius during the day and around 12 degrees in the evening - a light jacket is useful for daytime visits, and a warmer layer is recommended for late evening shows.

Good restaurant options surround the Cultural Palace and the corniche area, catering to most budgets. If you are staying in Aqaba for the festival, book accommodation a few weeks in advance - February falls in the shoulder season, cooler and quieter than summer peak, but still popular with visitors making the most of Aqaba’s mild winter climate. Browse hotels in Aqaba to compare options near the waterfront and Cultural Palace.

Beyond the festival, Aqaba has a full slate of activities year-round - browse Aqaba tours and activities through GetYourGuide to add snorkelling, glass-bottom boat trips, or a guided reef dive to your visit.

Combining the festival with Aqaba’s other highlights

Aqaba’s position at the northern tip of the Red Sea makes it one of the few places where you can snorkel in the morning and attend a cultural performance in the evening on the same day. The festival typically runs in February when sea temperatures in the Gulf of Aqaba hover around 21–23°C - cool enough to want a wetsuit for extended dives, but comfortable for a short snorkel session. The main reef sites, including the Japanese Garden reef and the accessible South Beach reef flat, are reachable from the city’s public beach area or through dive operators based near the waterfront.

For visitors building two or three days around the festival, combining a morning on the water with the afternoon craft market and an evening performance creates a satisfying daily rhythm. The city is compact enough that the Cultural Palace, the beach area, and the main restaurant strip along the corniche are all within easy walking distance of each other.

February in Aqaba is also one of the best months for birdwatching at the Aqaba Bird Observatory, located at the northern edge of the city near the Saudi border crossing. The spring migration period begins in late February, and a morning visit before the festival opens makes good use of the early hours. The observatory is free to enter and attracts both local birdwatchers and visiting naturalists.