Aqaba - Dead Sea 1 of 7

We docked at Aqaba about 6am on 12th June and we were amazed to be able to see 3 adjoining countries, all at the same time from our cabin balcony on the portside. We looked across the sea and we were able to see Egypt, Israel and Jordan from the deck of the Sea Princess. The sky was so clear that we could make out the buildings and some of the streets from our vantage point. Then from the starboard side we were able to see Saudi Arabia which has huge areas of desert. Aqaba was founded in 1300 BC and was originally the main town of the ancient Edomite peoples who are often spoken about in the Bible. Aqaba lies at the Northeastern point of the Red Sea, across the border from Eilat in Israel.

Aqaba is at the crossroads of Asian, African and European trade routes and for over three millennia it has always been a very busy seaport town and a strategic and commercial centre.

It has been under the rule of many world powers throughout its long history. These rulers included the Romans and the Byzantines before  From the 7th to the 12thcentury Aqaba was tossed back and forth between the Christians and Muslims. Then in the 16th century the Turkish, Ottaman Empire ruled the area right up to 1917 when Lawrence of Arabia (an Englishman ) won the city back for the Arabs when he led them in a revolt and established it as a Muslim city. 

We passed through this port city last year on our way to Petra the stunning ancient city with its famous "Treasury Tomb", carved rose-coloured sandstone cliff face back as far back as 6000BC. We still have vivid memories of the 6 hours we spent there exploring this fascinating archaeological site. This year we booked a Cruise Critic trip from Aqaba to The Dead Sea where we planned to "swim" and "float".  

The climate in Aqaba is pleasant desert climate all year round with warm winters and hot summers where temperatures range from 32 to 40 degrees Celsius. 

We joined 32 other passengers on our trip to the Dead Sea and whilst it was about 32C when we left at 8.30 am the airconditioned coach made the 4 hour trip pleasant. Besides there was much to see in Jordan be it mostly desert all the way. 

Aqaba township is sprawled across the coastal desert valley floor with a backdrop of high mountains in the distance. We passed many residential buildings, clusters of white stone homes, some small commercial hubs and office blocks. The land surface of Aqaba township is mainly a golden brown except for some patches of greenish-yellow grassed areas with stunted trees, palm trees and a desert-resistant shrubs  It would must be so hard to keep gardens and parklands in such a waterless country as Jordan.

As we left the town via the main highway the landscape became even drier and the colours of the earth varied from shades of browns, beige and khaki and the vegetation was sparsely spread. Across the land. Some trees looked really parched as there has not been any rain for some months.

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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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The long 4 hour  trip was broken up by comfort stops at small tourist outlets where our fellow passengers used the bathroom facilities, bought a cool drink or an icecream and enjoyed haggling for trinkets, clothing  or  pieces of artwork to take home as mementos of their visit to the Dead Sea and Aqaba. 

Don't you just love the name of these respite stop off points! 'The Desert Bazaar' and 'Pillars of Jerusalem' to name just two of the four we visited. Within these oases of the desert one could buy anything from a needle to high class furniture, gold and silver, precious stone jewellery and food and drink to satisfy the hungriest and thirstiest oversees and 'local' travellers.

Continuing on our coach trip we once again watched the brown, yellow grassed, dry landscape pass by.  Occasionally the scene was interspersed with a tiny desert hamlet of homes and or lowstrung bedouin tents, a lone shepherd trekking across the parched hillsides with his herd of black and white sheep but the parched landscape continued displaying it dry barren desert colours up to the foothills which would take us up and over the mountains that led down to the southern part of the Dead Sea.

As we zig-zagged up and over the mountain pass we looked back at the vast barren Arabian Desert valley we had travelled through. There were some green oasis patches but the vista was mainly brown, desert hills and valleys for as far as we could see.

We could also see the road we'd travelled winding through the desert landscape like a thin ribbon and ahead of us lay the Dead Sea, surrounded by desert lands as well.

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Atop the mountain we stopped to photograph  a "Welcome to Jordan" sign. We had left Aqaba at sea level and now we were high on the mountain pass at 860 metres and about to descend to -390 metres. As the crow flies we were only 25km from Jerusalem and a sign nearby pointed to a road leading to the site on the Jordan where John the Baptist baptised Jesus. so much Biblical history in this country. 

Ken and I watched an altitude app on his I-phone as we descended towards the Dead Sea. It was weird to watch the numbers on the screen go below sea level. This is the lowest level we had ever been at and contrasts with our high altitude treks in the Himalayas where we once stood at 1800 feet- ( equal to Xxx metres)

We arrived at our destination spot in the Dead Sea area. It was a very modern resort hotel and sport complex which overlooked the Dead Sea. The complex was on several levels with conference rooms, several restaurants and accommodation suites. We had come here to swim in the Dead Sea but first we were treated to a wonderful middle-eastern smorgasbord. The choice was endless. Soup, breads of all descriptions, a fantastic array of salads, soya bean savoury dishes, spicy cardamom and turmeric rice, chicken and fish dishes, thinly sliced barbecued lamb steaks and several flavours of humus dips. To follow we had a huge range of fresh fruits, dates and tiny samples of many delicate cakes and slices. It was a banquet "fit for a King" and we savoured every morsel - one thing we didn't do was to over eat since we were going to swim in the sea. 

We headed outside to walk to the sea side. There before us  was the pool complex where families were enjoying the cooling off in many of the pools which varied from lap pools to waterslide and splash pools. Our guide assured us that we would not get sunburnt even though the sun felt warm. He stated that because we were so far below sea level the sun' s Ray's would not harm our skin. Umph! We were not sure this was scientifically accurate so we still downed cream. Will have to check this notion out some time in the future when we have Internet connection. 

Looking out across the pools we spouted the Dead Sea. It lay way down below the resort's pool area and were we flabbergasted to learn that in 2000 the Dead Sea shoreline was only 5 metres from the pool area. Sine 2000 Israel has been draining water from the Jordan which feeds into the Dead Sea. Through a process of desalination water from the Jordan provides fresh water for drinking and watering crops in Israel.  The effect on the water level of the Dead Sea result is dramatic. When we asked our guide what can be done, he shrugged his shoulders and replied," what can we do, Israel does what she wills" we have a similar problem with our river system where some farmers have been withdrawing water for their cotton crops at the expense of farmers lower down the river course. 

Our government is looking at fining these farmers but again Australia being a dry continent needs to take care to share water resources responsibly and to ensure that our rivers are not compromised in the future. In this part of the world tensions run high over many international issues and water is but one of them.

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We took the long walk down from the resort pool area to the Dead Sea shoreline. You can see the distance from the shoreline and the desert sandy stone landscape of the area. The government recognising this area as a tourist Mecca have laid cement stairs down the steep terrain to make it 'easy' for tourists to negotiate the pathway. They have also installed a fresh water shower so that swimmers can rinse off the heavy salt residue that the sea deposits on bodies. The stony shoreline was extremely hot when we attempted to enter the water. So with quick " ouch!" movements we hopped into the sea.

The water was warm and a little slimy due to its extremely high salt mineral content. We'd been warned not to put our heads under the water or let water get into our mouths, ears and eyes because of the saltiness. However Ken did get one splash of water in an eye and immediately felt the sting of the droplet. I managed to get to shore - not an easy task as the thickness of the water makes  the going slow. Ken washed his eye with fresh water from our water bottle and all was fine. Later I splashed a droplet of Dead Sea water in my mouth and it was like $500% salt to taste in the single droplet. No wonder there is NO animal or plant ion life in the Dead Sea! Just a bunch of curious tourists.

The strangest thing was that when we tried to sit in the sea our feet floated to the top of the water and it was impossible to sink. We bobbed like corks and could not sink. Even when we stood in a depth way over our heads we found that we could not sink. Looking  back I should have taken a photo of us standing in deep water with our hands above our heads because even then we did not sink. It seems that nothing sinks to the bottom of this sea! 

We spent about half an hour in the sea doing all kinds of actions, including trying to swim, dog paddle sand treading water. Swimming washers except for breast stroke because we didn't want to splash water about. Treading water wasn't really necessary because even when we stood still we didn't sink, but I did it for an exercise activity. Don't really know why because the long uphill walk back would prove to be an exercise in itself. Some of our fellow travellers took the offer of a mud bath from mud provided at the shoreline. It!s supposed to be rejuvenating but we gave it a miss as removing the mud took some effort under the showers. Most people who tried it said they felt no difference but we told them they looked 20 years younger.  Surprisingly, the sea-salt water seemed to have no ill effect on the dermatitis rash I have developed over the past years. I had half expected it to be aggravated but I've suffered no ill effects.

We took a refreshing cold shower under the open public showers and headed up the hill to the resort area. We still had 40 minutes before we needed to board our coach for the return four hour return journey back to the Sea Princess in Aqaba so we spent the next 25 minutes swimming in the cool, fresh chlorinated pools. It was a lovely way to end our visit to the Dead Sea.

Aqaba - Dead Sea 6 of 7

We headed from -390 metres below sea level up over the mountains and back down the same desert highway we'd traversed earlier in the day. We passed tiny hamlets of shanty towns, camels wandering " home"  as the sun began to lower in the sky. The desert colours changed to darker ochre colours, shadows grew longer and there was an abundance of workers travelling to their abodes, trucks trying to reach destinations before nightfall and families could be seen harvesting hay, rounding up their goats and sheep herds. 

It was fascinating to observe as we trundled along in our coach. 

We stopped at least twice at bazaar comfort spots  on our return journey. Again people bought drinks and snacks, trinkets and clothing and we tested some Dead Sea salts that the bazaar owners insisted would remove our dead skin and make our flesh look and feel like that of a new baby. It did feel good at the time but I wasn't prepared to spend $50 on a jar (even though if we spent $50 we got a second jar free) Besides that I'd need to use the salts at least twice a week - where would I find the time? Then took when the jars ran out how would I get new supplies? Main reason I resisted is that I was not convinced that " what was promised" would happen and also growing old is inevitable, slowing down the progress can happen by eating and sleeping sensibly and exercising regularly.

At one bazaar stop I enjoyed talking with a Jordanian lass who spends her days creating intricate mosaic designs on wall hangings, coasters and other memorbillia for  tourists. She offered to describe the process and even asked me to try and break a tiny chip of coloured stone for her creation. Try as I did I found it took all of my arm strength to crack the stone shard. Sulla made it look SO easy and effortless. She has a lovely smile and we discussed one of her designs which she named the 'Tree of Life'. I asked her what the tree of life meant to her and she explained that God as creator gives life to all of his creation. I told her I agreed that God is a wonderful creator who loves His creation and especially mankind. Sulla smiled and said God bless you. I greeted her with these words too and added, let's keep thanking and trusting in His love and caring for us. We talked for a while longer re her single status. Sulla wants to marry for love and not agree to an arranged marriage and since she is the youngest in the family she is not pressured to marry at the moment. She enjoys her job and is able to assist her parents financially and in practical ways so she is content to wait for the man of her choosing. I was surprised Sulla shared so openly be it at a whisper sound since her employers were never far from our side.

Some of the furniture was inlaid with pearly shell patterns. These are bought as wedding gifts and are highly prized and priced. I didn't dare sit at one of the coffee table and chair sets even though their cushions were covered in protective plastic. I wanted to know how comfortable they'd be. 

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We again passed the turn off sign to the John the Baptist site and continued in our homeward drive .

As we neared Aqaba we noticed ironic scenes of lowly nomadic herders tents perched beside 20th century electricity towers. Ancient  abodes which have no need of the electrical powerlines above them.  Sure many nomadic herdsmen use generators to power lights and devices but they do and have lived without modern facilities for thousands of years. They are not restricted or controlled by the need for electricity and see it as a convenience not a necessity for life as they know it, to continue. I wonder how the next generation will  far?  We also saw may tent camps in fields where hay was being gathered. One surprising camp we passed was in the centre of a huge round about. The circular central area housed a Bedouin tent, a high hay stack with a young harvester on top and other workers resting below the stack. It seems that the bedouins are allowed to harvest grasses in paddocks and land areas that others see as wasteland. Any grazing land or grasslands awaiting resting is an opportunity too good to be missed by Bedouin herders.

As the sun began to set  over the desert and night began to fall the temperature began to drop and across the ,a scale twinkling lights flickered as families gathered for their nightly medals. Along the highway police cars continued to check speedsters and heavy vehicles.  Sometimes small wayside cafes appeared along the side of the road to meet the needs of the many night truckers and to provide another means of income for families who live in these isolated desert communities. What an enterprising people there are in Jordan!

Our last memories if this terrific excursion to the Dead Sea are of the sunset over the desert. Enjoy!

We arrived back tired but full of great memories at about 8.45pm. It had been a long and adventurous day. For each of us.