A Dangerous Ride with Stunning Vistas

Journeying through Jordan on the road less traveled

Driving through the Seir region of Southern Jordan was an amazing experience. Photo by author

“Do you want to travel back the way we came, or take a different route, more dangerous but more spectacular?”

We had just left Petra, and our Jordanian guide offered us a choice. We could stay on the main highway, gliding along in relative comfort, a smooth, predictable ride conducive to sleep, or we could go where the vistas were spectacular, and risk careening off a cliff.

We trusted our driver, who had not let us down so far, so we chose the view. An hour later, we were churning along a sparsely traveled road that ribboned through the Seir Mountains and ended with a precipitous plunge toward the Dead Sea.

I tried not to think of what might happen with one missed curve, one errant wheel, or one failed brake.

Instead, I focused on the vistas stretching around us, a panorama more of hues than colors, with brown, barren rock mountains soaring skyward.

Mountains of the Petra region of Southern Jordan. Photo by author

It’s easy to believe only shades of brown make up the monochromatic palette of this region until you notice patches of green clinging tenaciously to…