The main road from Aqaba to the Dead Sea in the north is a sealed two lane highway which snakes its way along the valley floor before rising into the foothills of the mountains. It is a very busy transport route and today we shared the road with oil tankers, huge trucks laden with goats and other goods, four-wheel drives, motor bikes, buses and sedan vehicles. The road was roughing places due to the heavy, fast vehicles travelling it day in, day out. Strewn along the roadside for kilometre after kilometre was a glistening spangle of tossed plastic water bottles, cans, papers and other refuge. Sadly the highway has become a dumping ground for all the " tossers" that pass through. As Aussies we were shocked but also grateful that our governments and local councils have set up recycling and garbage facilities and imposes fines for littering and dumping - however we still need to educate and encourage all of our citizens not to be "tossers" as Australia still has areas that need to be cleaned up too. We may seem to be proactive and ahead of the game in this area but it only takes one thoughtless, careless "tosser" to begin a downward spiral and we could end looking like the area of Jordan that we travelled today.
Much of the route we drove today passed through the dry, Arabian desert where no homes existed, though we sometimes passed small village settlements and camel herds meandering across the desert. At no time did we see people near their homes so we assumed it was because of the heat of the day that families stayed indoors. Often we passed side roads heading way off into the distance towards mining areas where marble, precious stones and oil are mined.
One thing we noticed was that there was a strong police presence on our route. Our coach was searched at two checkpoints just after we left Aqaba and throughout the trip many police cars flagged cars over to a side bay to search for drugs, contraband and people smugglers. There is clear signage on the highway and radar police are vigilant about speeding drivers. Our driver said that fines are very high in Jordan so every time we came to a speed bump he slowed slowed down and often he'd spot a police presence far ahead on the road and he'd drop his speed long before the moment when we passed the waiting police car.
From time to time we'd pass isolated Bedouin tents pitched beside beside the road or near a town settlement. Sometimes the Bedouins gained temporary work to supplement their desert trading activities but many still prefer to live a nomadic way of life even today.
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