About 90 minutes by car from Petra in Jordan lies the desert protected area of Wadi Rum. Wadi, meaning valley in Arabic, and the name Rum means high place in Arabic. Mentioned in the Old Testament as Arum, Rum was easily one of our highlights of the Middle East if not the whole trip. The stellar rock formations, red sand dunes and endless vistas are worth coming here and staying here for at least a night. We were brought to a visitor center in the middle of a red rock walled valley where we met our bedoin driver. We hopped into the back of an rickety old Land Cruiser and were off on a three hour safari tour.
 |
| Our Land Cruiser safari truck |
The first stop was a natural spring where Camels come to drink and some old Aramaic writing can be found. Did you know camels can cover 35 kilometers a day, go many days without water and have a gestation period of 12 months? Hence the nickname “Ship of the Desert”. We loved watching the camels here in Wadi Rum, they looked amazing with such huge rock formations and vast valleys as a backdrop. Next on our safari was more Aramaic characters which pointed out the direction of water holes using pictures of camels as arrows. A couple quick photos and we were off.
A giant red sand dune to conquer was next. A few of us walked up the red dune and took some silly pictures while at the top. We then proceeded to run down the dune, filling our shoes with red sand at the time. Most people would empty their shoes right then and there, but not Pamela. Pamela saved the sand from her shoes and put it into a container, possibly for a scrapbook, possibly for something else…in either case we have the red sand that filled her shoes.
 |
The sand here is so red.
 |
Jumping on the Dunes
 |
| Pamela taking a flying leap |
|
|
Lawrence of Arabia inhabited Wadi Rum for many years. It’s said that he wrote his book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom here in Rum. We made a stop at the supposed ruins of his old house for a few paparazzi style photos and to chat with a local Bedouin. Wadi Rum is inhabited by local Bedouin tribes who also operate the camps and teahouses/souvenir shops throughout the valley. We found all the locals here very nice and a bit less pushy than the locals in Petra.
 |
| In front of the former house of Lawrence of Arabia |
The last stop on our desert safari was a large arch carved from the winds blowing through the valley. We climbed up some pretty steep rocks to reach the top of the arch for a really good photo opportunity. I (DW) got my pic from the top of the arch then climbed down to get pics from the bottom. I’m not that big of a fan of heights so I was more than happy to get off the top of the arch with the excuse that I needed to take photos.
 |
Pamela on top of the arch
 |
| Pamela showing off in the arch |
|
We reached our isolated camp, called Madalla Camp, a few minutes before sunset. We stowed our gear in the large tent, as our small group of five was the only guests there we got to pick any tent we’d like. The camp sleeps between 30 and 40 people so us five really felt like we had the place to ourselves. Gear stowed we climbed up the rocks behind the camp for one of the best sunsets I can remember. As we were watching the sunset two camels with a Bedouin rider walked by in the distance, it was magical to watch. After a few minutes of photos we climbed down and were ready for some tucker.
 |
Watching sunset from our tent camp
 |
| Our tented camp in Wadi Rum |
|
It gets really cold, really fast once the sun goes down. Thankfully the main tent was warmed with a fire so we could drink our tea and eat dinner in warmth, albeit smoky warmth. The tent wasn’t well ventilated so the place was so smoky it was hard to see, we needed to go out every few minutes to get our eyes some oxygen. The included dinner at the camp was amazing. Chicken and vegetables were cooked Bedouin style in an underground oven which had to be dug out when the food was ready. Along with the chicken we had lamb, rice, bread, vegetables and many other dishes that really gave it that home cooked feeling. It was definitely the best meal we had while in Jordan. Being on the road for so long we really miss home cooking, this gave us the taste we were looking for. Stuffed with dinner we retired to our tent where Pamela and I gathered as many blankets as we could from other tents to make our bed. We ended up with four or five big blankets to help keep us warm in the below freezing night time temperatures of the Fall. I can only imagine how cold it would be in the dead of winter. That being said in the summer it’s so hot that you can’t get cool in a tent and many people prefer to sleep outside.
 |
| Standing in front of our tent in Wadi Rum |
 |
| The cook removing our dinner from the underground stove. |
Wadi Rum is the quietest place I’ve ever been. I took a short walk in the middle of the night and to my surprise I could hear absolutely nothing, no wind, no bugs, no anything….the silence and solitude of the place was amazing. The amount of stars visible from Rum is more than any city dweller can ever imagine. We were lucky enough to not have a moon or clouds on this night so we thoroughly enjoyed our stargazing time, albeit freezing cold.
 |
Sunset with some camels walking by
 |
| A very cold morning in a very desolate place |
|
The next morning we ate breakfast and were driven back to the visitor center. It’s about a 25 minute fast jeep ride from the camp to the visitor center. On the way we marveled at the awesomeness of the place while passing camels. It was a great experience, one that anyone coming to Jordan must try.
Cheers for Now -
Pamela and Dave
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are always appreciated