Beautiful Wadi Rum

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As soon as you enter the area of Wadi Run you can’t help but be impressed by the magnificent scenery. We had booked a 2 day one night 4WD tour with Rum Tours. We were met by our Bedouin guide Suliman at the visitors’ centre and spent the next two days with him in an old blue Pajero. We spent the first day driving around from one beautiful scene to another, getting out of the car for short walks up dunes or rocks for better views. Had a taste of history with ancient Nabatean writing guiding caravan traders on rocks and the adventures of T E Lawrence, who spent some time in the area in the Arab Revolt. Suliman made us an excellent lunch sitting in the shade enjoying the vista. The night was spent at their small camp in comfortable tents. More excellent food in the evening shared with the other 12 guests in a big and very warm tent. We had watched the sunset from a sand dune but it was unimpressive. In fact over the two days the only thing that spoilt things was the poor visibility due to dust in the air after several days of strong winds. Did see a minimal amount of wildlife in the form of a few foxes around the camp and a semi-wild hedgehog that joined us in the dinner tent and tried to snuggle down between me and the cushion behind me, quite a prickly experience!



After more pitta, hummus and sweet tea for breakfast on the second day we set off towards the Saudi border and the very edge of the protected area of Wadi Rum for a long walk. It was a very hot day and a steep climb, rewarded at the end by panoramic views along the Jordan Rift Valley. The highest mountain in Jordan was close by too. A clearer sky would have made it spectacular. All the time in Wadi Rum the colours of the rocks and the sand is wonderful, you can't quite believe that all those colours are possible frim rocks. We had another very good lunch in a special spot on a rock plinth slightly elevated and with another stunning vista.



In the evening we travelled by taxi to Aqaba on the Red Sea Coast. Stayed in a rather run down hotel but it did have an excellent shower, much needed after two dusty and sweaty days in the desert with no means of washing! It also had a balcony with a great view over a mosque and across the big sweep of Aqaba bay. We watched a much better sunset from here than in the desert. Aqaba seemed grubby and busy after such enjoyable days out in the desert. We had another big feed for 3.5 JD and breakfast the next morning for just 2JD withexcellent fresh mint tea.

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