Taba (Arabic: طَابَا Ṭābā, IPA: [ˈtˤɑːbɑ]) is an Egyptian town near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba.

[2][3] When the Ottomans began plans to extend the Hejaz railway to the Gulf of Aqaba,[4] potentially challenging British dominance in the Red Sea via the Suez Canal,[5] Britain dispatched Lieutenant Bramly with a small Egyptian force to establish police stations in the region.

The Ottomans refused, threatening to open fire,[7] which led the British to deploy the battleship Diana to the area.

As part of this subsequent agreement, travelers are permitted to cross from Israel at the Eilat–Taba border checkpoint, and visit the "Aqaba Coast Area of Sinai", (stretching from Taba down to Sharm el Sheikh, and including Nuweiba, Saint Catherine's Monastery, and Dahab), visa-free for up to 14 days, making Taba a popular tourist destination.

[13] Twenty-four days later, an inquiry by the Egyptian Interior Ministry into the bombings concluded that the perpetrators received no external help but were aided by Bedouins on the peninsula.

[14] In February 2014, a coach taking tourists to Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai exploded in Taba shortly before crossing the border to Israel.

[17] On 27 October 2023 a drone, most probably launched by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on its way to Israel, crashed near a hospital building injuring six people.

[24] Located just southwest of Taba is a 3,590 km2 (1,386 sq mi) protected area, including geological formations such as caves, a string of valleys, and mountainous passages.

More recently, Al Nakb Airport, located on the Sinai plateau some 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Taba, was upgraded and renamed Taba International Airport (IATA: TCP, ICAO: HETB), and now handles half a dozen charter flights a week from the UK as well as weekly charter flights from Belgium, Russia, Denmark, and the Netherlands.