Highway 65, also known as the Dead Sea Highway, is a north–south highway in
Jordan. It starts in
Aqaba passing through
Wadi Araba, and adjacent to the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
and the
Jordan Valley to the western suburbs of the city of
Irbid
Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...
in Jordan's northern tip.
Development
The first part of the highway was conceived in 1974 as the
Safi-Aqaba Highway. After the highway had reached Safi (in 1977), further plans were developed for a Dead Sea Highway to the north. For a long time however, there was an incomplete section between Mazra'a to Zara.
Later, Highway 65 became included in the Jordanian 25-year plan to build an extensive road network which travels around the country. It involves building
beltways around major cities such as
Irbid
Irbid ( ar, إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in ...
,
Salt or its
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
,
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
. This project's road-improvement investigation is expected to reach US$1.8 billion when complete.
Tourist attractions
This highway runs north-south from
Irbid Governorate along the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank ...
. North from the Dead Sea is a place called
Potash City Potash City is a small town in Jordan near the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea. It is located near the salt mining facilities of the Arab Potash
The Arab Potash Company (APC) is a company that is primarily involved in harvesting minerals from ...
, down to
Aqaba.
See also
*
Highway 15 (Jordan)
*
Highway 90 (Israel–Palestine)
Highway 90 is the longest Israeli road, at about , and stretches from Metula and the northern border with Lebanon, along the western side of the Sea of Galilee, through the Jordan River Valley, along the western bank of the Dead Sea (making it t ...
– the parallel road on the Israel–Palestine side of the border
*
References
Nyazi Tours, Jordan
* ttp://www.jordaninvestment.com/IndustrySectors/TransportationSector/tabid/102/language/en-US/Default.aspx#597 Jordan Investment Board - Transportation
{{Roads in Jordan
Roads in Jordan