Near the centre of the modern city of Aqaba in Jordan lie the remains of the early Islamic city of Ayla [fig. 1]. It is situated in the northeastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba on the coast of the Red Sea; the subterranean waters from the wadi make Ayla an oasis between the deserts of the Negev in the West and the Hijaz in the East [fig. 2] (Whitcomb 1994, 3, 4). It was occupied from around 650 until the arrival of the Crusaders in 1116 (Whitcomb 1997, 359). Whitcomb (1990, 160) argues that Ayla was established as a misr but did not function as a garrison. Hillenbrand (1999, 82) thinks Ayla is a palatial estate due to its small size. Ayla is a vivid example of the city founded following the birth of new political and religious ideology and is, therefore, invaluable for studying mechanisms of historical and urban change at large. The essay first describes the plan of the site and changes occurring over the earliest phases before the Fatimids, then delves into a discussion about the archaeological and historical aspects of Ayla. The paper proposes Ayla was established as a misr representing the search for features of the new Islamic urbanism, but it came to function primarily as a trade centre on the pilgrim road to Mecca due to its geographical location and historic-religious significance.