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Published: September 12th 2009
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Stopping At Mars On The Way
Leaving Aqaba and the Red Sea behind, we turned back into the desert for an off planet experience.
Wadi Rum is almost like visiting Mars, so much so that nearly all the movies that need to depict Mars uses it for their set. Movies like
Mission To Mars and
Red Planet have been filmed on site, not to mention
Transformers 2 and the countless
Lawrence Of Arabia films and documentaries.
T.E. Lawrence (AKA Lawrence of Arabia) lived in the area with the Bedouins as an archaeologist before the Arabic Revolt when he took the side of the Arabs and helped set them free to run their own countries, becoming a hero of the people in the process. To this day in Jordan there are many bridges, highways, buildings and businesses that display his name as well as people naming their sons Lawrence as a sign of respect. Quite an impression!!
Wadi Rum itself is a large stretch of land that has become a reserve so as to keep it’s delicate ecosystem. Only authorised guide are allowed to drive within it’s boundaries, and that includes cars and camel tours. All vehicles must stay on
predetermined routes so as not to damage any plant life or rock formations, but this only applies to visitors of course… the native inhabitants that still can be seen in their tents with their camel trains have free reign in this stark, rugged landscape.
Once a sea bed, due to the movement of the tectonic plates that are pushing Jordan and Saudi Arabia further North while Egypt slowly slides South, the sea became land with river valleys carving their path through the limestone tops of the Rum until making it down to the granite bedrock. Eventually drying up completely, Wadi Rum is now full of amazing limestone rock formations that are still being weathered and eroded, now by sand instead of water. The way the sand and dust storms circulate the grit around the cliffs means you end up with little eddies against the cliff faces, carving hollows and often creating pillars of rock guarding the depression behind, looking like the mouths of some long gone creature. Ranging from hues of yellow to pink to orange and red, it alternates between sand dunes and mountains. Probably the most famous mountain of all within the reserve is the
Seven Pillars Of Wisdom, in reference to the seven things needed to truly be wise (don’t ask what the seven things are… I’m obviously not wise enough to know yet). Driving through the reserve in the back of a ute is a humbling experience, realising that no matter how big and strong you appear, all it takes is time and perseverance to wear anyone or anything down. The beauty comes when these elements work harmoniously together and create something spectacular. Change is not always a bad thing!!
Back on the bus for a couple more hours and suddenly we came over a rise to see
Petra. Now I know what your thinking… it wasn’t the Treasury or the Monastery, just the town I’m afraid. There has been a settlement here for centuries but it really took off in the 1800’s after in 1824, a British explorer was staying with a group of Bedouins and asked what was of note in the area. Told by the locals of a hill with a white point on the top that was supposed to be the final resting place of a Saint, he asked to be taken there. The route the Bedouins made towards the
mountain took them down through the Siq and straight through the ancient city of Petra. Now rediscovered after the crusades, the town quickly grew in size due to tourism and expanded even further in 1985 when UNESCO made the ruins a World Heritage Listed Site and the local Bedouins that had been using the ruins as a home and refuge for the last few centuries were relocated into the town.
So… tomorrow is the day!!! A
New Wonder Of The World!!! A dream becoming a reality!!! Another tick in a box!!! Will it live up to the expectation?? Tune in next week to find out….
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