Dead Sea – Getting There

The Dead Sea is not far from Amman. About a 40 minute drive, and that’s driving at reasonable speeds… there were a lot of police out… so we just lazily mosied from the house to the hotel. Pretty much used no gas at all, except to run the AC in the truck. Amman is at an elevation of approximately 1000m above sea level, the hotel was around –380 meters below sea level. We simply backed out of the driveway, put it in neutral and coasted downhill the whole way there…  (almost).

I suppose you want to see some Dead Sea photos? Well, be patient. Half the fun is getting there.

I like photos of the scenery along the way. I think it’s one of those things you take for granted … until you’re gone and it’s too late. You may have your postcard copy photos of the sights, but the things you see along the way are equally interesting. At least in my opinion!

Growing up in a flat place means that I never get tired of the hills and valleys around here.

Brian looked out at this big open valley and said “I wish I could fly”… yea, I could see that! (Might want to wait until night time and cooler temps though!)

This tree seems to say “None shall pass!” and it would be good to listen to it… nothing but straight down beyond it…

Tropicana is one of the themes of the drive. As it was incredibly hot this weekend, these signs were very tempting!

Heading toward a small town along the way, still down hill.

Not sure why this little hill needs so much protection, but they weren’t taking any chances… retaining walls everywhere!

After the town, we get out towards very arid land.

Rocks and hills and sand and things… all we need is a horse with no name…

Rock rock rock sand sand rock house rock rock sand sand bush sand…

Jordan is good with signs. We found our way with no map or GPS. Just got in the car and drove.

We wondered who saw this barren hill of jaggedy rocks and thought it might be a good idea to climb up there and build a house?

Well, if it’s your kinda thing, the one in the middle here is for rent.

Another theme of the day… brightly colored floaties!!! It was terribly hot and hazy as we drove down, and back for that matter, and these little roadside stores were happy shining bits of colorful fun!

A very lovely golden mosque.

We went through some agricultural land, believe it or not.

And saw camels parked randomly along the sidewalks.

There was a lot of green in many places, especially as we got closer to the Dead Sea.

More camels, loitering on the side of the road.

One of the first hotels we passed.

And another camel watching the world go by; a pretty white camel.

Signs of tourist things to come…

Not all camels were parked.

Like Amman, there is a lot of new construction in the area.

Overlooking the beach. Those tiny specks waaaaay down there are people in the water. And yes… still very hot.. still very hazy…

We stopped at a pull-out to look (way) down at the water. Looking out across the sea, it was very humid and hazy. (doesn’t help that the camera lens appears to be smudged… ooops!…)

 
But looking straight down at the water (we were quite high up), it was very clear blue! And yes, the white stuff on the rocks is salt and minerals. Amazing!

Me and my little band of intrepid adventurers. (Intrepid meaning ‘melting’ here…)

These photos were taken at a turn-out, south of the hotels quite a ways. A lovely view!

All around us, at this lowest point on earth, is nowhere to go but up.

Anyway… next time… photos of our stay, and some of the drive back as well.