Wadi Rum! The spirit of Lawrence of Arabia lives on!
Why would you want to sleep in a rag Bedouin tent in a searing hot desert for a night? Why did the eccentric Lawrence of Arabia come here to regenerate his troubled soul? What is the fascinating attraction?
Sharon, Jean and I had just finished a grueling adventure packed 10 day trip through mysterious Syria and lively Lebanon and wanted to add on a trip to Petra, the lost Nabataean temple site featured in the action packed Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Sharon, recently retired from Stanford University, is an avid outdoor enthusiast and is always keen to explore new places. Jean, a psychiatrist, is from Alaska and spends her time in Mexico in the mountains. She also is an avid traveler and interested in getting the most out of our trip.
We tried to book two nights at a hotel in Petra, close to the entrance to the World Heritage site, but could only secure one night. We were given the option of a second night in a Bedouin tent in the desert 40 miles from Petra. Why not? It was not cheap, so we felt it would be upscale….somewhat?
We had camped with Bedouins in Palmyra, Syria but it was with a group of 40 people, all sharing two tents. Not an ideal situation, but we got through it. It was worth it to get up early the following morning to experience the Roman ruins from the crusader fort from above the oasis.
When we arrived in Petra in the late afternoon, we hurried around to see what transportation options are available to get us to Wadi Rum. With no buses, we ended up haggling with Mohamed (everybody seems to be called Mohamed) to pick us up at hotel the next day at noon, after we will have toured the temples in the blistering hot sun.
We loaded up the yellow taxi (feeling like it was imported from New York) and headed down the divided super highway which connects the gulf port of Aquba with Amman. It was not long before we saw the Arabic sign to Wadi Rum, with a little addition at the bottom in English.
We had a slight problem on arrival as we did not have the full name of the Bedouin we were to meet, nor his cell phone (everybody over the age of 12 has a cell phone!). We figured that this place in the desert could not be that big and the tribesman will be looking for us. Wrong! We were swarmed by hawkers looking for tourists that do not have reservations, or those that they can steal away from others. Our driver was doing his best to find the Bedouin named Mohamed hired by the tour company. We kept repeating we are with “Terhaal eco tours”. We almost got shipped off to the wrong guy and then our guide Khalid arrived like an apparition in the desert. He was in his early 20’s, dressed immaculately in an ultra white robe and a red checked headdress to protect him from the late afternoon blistering sun. He had a sparkling white smile to greet us. We knew we would enjoy this experience.
Our rough and ready transport was a converted 4 wheel drive pickup truck that had been retrofitted with a canopy and seats in the back. It looked well used, but practical as there were no roads where we were headed.
Off we went, into the blazing hot sun which seemed to be reflecting off the shimmering hot red sands of the desert. Wadi Rum (meaning valley near mount Rum which rises up to 1800 meters) is inhabited by Bedouin tribes which now have active tourist camps for hiking and rock climbing. It became famous when Lawrence of Arabia used it as his base during the First World War. It was also used for the film in the ‘60’s.
We toured the Lawrence spring, which was dry as they have not had rain, and saw the ingenious water capturing techniques. We went to a cave where there were descriptive lifelike petro graphs from the Nabeteans done around 100 AD. By this time the huge golden shimmering sun was setting over the Wadi and we headed for the camp.
Khalid offered us “Bedouin wine”, sweet tea which was hot and refreshing and we settled into our “rooms” in the tent. Each was partitioned off into double rooms and very comfortable with mats on the woven rug floor and a door which we would leave open to view the magnificent clear starry night.
There was a Swiss couple who were touring the Middle East on a motor bike to share the wine with, they had been in the camp for four days and found it most relaxing. Soon, the sun started setting so we climbed up on the rocky outcrop above the camp to view the golden globe dropping gently behind the craggy multicolored mountains around the Wadi. It was a spectacle of color and light which gently turned into twilight of pinks and grey shadows.
When we returned to the camp we were told to go out in the desert and find our supper! I was the first to spot the mound in the sand not far from the camp. Khalid laughed and dug up our dinner out of the sand. It is similar to the cooking method used by the Australian Aboriginals, burying food in coals and having the food simmer for a few hours. It was delicious!
We slept well under the stars which were prolific in the darkness of the desert. Morning came early and we headed out to do some climbing and touring in the four wheel drive. It was an exciting trip which was well organized and presented the Bedouin lifestyle in its best light. We were picked up by our driver mid afternoon to take us back to Petra which would be the end of our travels in Jordan. We are left with some special memories of Bedouin hospitality, searing desert heat, cool starry nights and a spectacular Wadi experience!
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