Lawrence of Arabia country - Wadi Rum desert

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We had the morning to explore Acaba, so Dan and I walked down by the beach out onto a pier where we took a few photos of Elat, the Israeli town that was just across the water. It was amazing to be so close to Israel. Apparently, Jordan gave land to Israel in exchange for more beachside land. In the land that Jordan gave away, Israel found oil. There is no oil in Jordan and the only exports that the country has is minerals including uranium.

Later that day, we met up with a Sheik and his team at Wadi Rum Village, where we transferred our bags into 4WDs that took us out into Wadi Rum desert. From here we ventured out to see the sights of the desert.

We visited Khazzalah Siq (Canyon) which was used by Lawrence of Arabia during his campaigns against the Turks. He used this spot as a refuge and set up sharp shooters on the mountain. It is said that he could hold off the Turkish army with only 2 sharp shooters, while the rest of his Bedouin army climbed out the other side of the mountain and circled back round behind the Turks to slaughter them. We saw Arabic inscriptions in the canyon, one was a small verse from the Koran and the other was a curse warning the Turks to stay out or they would be doomed to wander the desert till they died.

Another site that we visited is a big dune area that was formed by the wind in the last 30 years. The dunes were moved by a large sand storm that lasted for 4 days and now they are still getting bigger every year. We walked to the top which gave us a great view and were told to run down the slope, but we took it easy with a slow run on a lesser angle of the dune. The landscape around is dramatic and so different to what we have seen. The desert and mountains within it, ranges in colour with the different minerals that make up the sands and sandstone.

In the evening, we stayed in a Bedouin camp with communal tents. The Bedouin men cooked us a meal underground in the sand and we roasted marshmallows on a small fire in the centre of the camp. After dinner, the men joined hands and and sang us a song, bobbing up and down and clapping their hands. It was a good performance. We slept outside on mattresses layed across mats under the stars. Dan and I must have eaten something bad for lunch and so were sick all evening and most of the next day.

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Photos

Dressed in a head scarf
Visited a Bedouin tent for tea and Rache was dressed by the guy selling his wares.

Our Bedouin camp for the night
We slept on these mats under the stars.