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Published: April 13th 2024
Milky Way
A view that was definitely worth walking into the dark at 4.00am for.Something that I had always wanted to try and get a picture of is the Milky Way, but I had never been anywhere dark enough before. We had been advised during our star-gazing that it would be at its most visible at 4.00 in the morning, so at 3.45 I headed out of our little hut into the darkness.
It's difficult to set-up the tripod and camera, select the correct settings, line the camera up in the right direction and focus it correctly in pitch darkness. After several blurred, over/under exposed and lopsided photographs, I got some that I was pleased with.
There was no point in going back to bed as I also wanted to be out for the sunrise a couple of hours later. The restaurant building was unlocked and surprisingly has wifi, so I squatted there for a while before going back out. At least I could see where I was going now. Once the sun came up and started to light-up the rocks, it was serene and beautiful. With that scenery and the almost total silence, it would be great to forget about the photography and just sit and enjoy it. Needless to say, I
Desert Sunrise
Enjoying the changing colours from the rising sun. didn't forget about the photography.
A couple of Japanese tourists had also come out to see the sunrise and had walked up to this fantastic vantage point. What a great idea, I'll head up there also thank you very much.
Now I will go back to bed, but first I sat on the seat at the front of our hut to enjoy the amazing view. I doubt there are many hotel room views that would rival this.
After a sleep and a shower we had a buffet breakfast, which was very similar to breakfast yesterday (and to dinner for that matter). Now I like humous and olives, but after having them for every meal, that's starting to waver slightly.
Excluding my early morning photography outings, our day started with a jeep ride around the desert. Well I say "jeep ride", it was, of course, in the back of a pick-up truck. Before we arrived, we had been expecting a jeep like the one we went on in Sedona (see
The Pink Jeep Tour), but once here, we guessed what is was going to be in. If anything, the back of a pick-up truck was more fun.
We headed
Footprints
Walking up to a helpfully revealed vantage point. out across the sand and made a number of stops at various places. The first was to see some 2,000 year old writings marking the old camel caravan route from Arabia to the north. Next was a canyon where there were some 1,000 old inscriptions from the Quran and previously some pools where the caravans used to stop to water the camels. The water is now mainly underground and, despite how dry it appears on the surface, the region provides much of Jordan's water supply.
We also stopped at a rock that was shaped exactly like a human head. Finally we stopped at the Lawrence of Arabia canyon, where the man himself had apparently stayed in 1917. There was a gift shop, which always seems to be inevitable on these tours, where we were given a glass of Arabian coffee to try. Our wives did a little bit of shopping, but forgot what the guide had told of previously and rather than bartering the prices down, they rounded them up, which seemed to confuse the hell out of the shopkeeper.
We could see many other campsites similar to ours. Apparently, there are around 200 and the view of
Hotel Room View
Enjoying the view our room in Wadi Rum at sunrise. our camp owners is that there are too many and it has got over competitive. We did have a bit of tent envy as some sites had these pod like tents, the front of which were transparent for the views. I bet their customers got some privacy when using the toilet. All of the sites seemed to blend in well to their surroundings though.
The pick-up then took us back to the reception centre where Achmed was waiting for us to continue our tour on to Petra, which would take about two hours, with a quick stop at an old train station to walk round some rusty, derelict old train engines. He looked completely different as he had now been able to have a shave (prohibited during Ramadan), which included the top of his head as well as his beard.
We discovered that Achmed is actually Palestinian. His parents were both exiled to Kuwait as refugees in 1967, where he was born. His father now lives in the West Bank and his mother and the rest of his family now live in Jordan, where all Palestinian refugees have an automatic right to live. He would like to return
Waiting Area
Enjoying the view and the peace whilst we're waiting for our jeep (pick-up truck) tour. to Kuwait, but despite being born there, he does not have the automatic right to go back. Injustices all round it seems.
Apparently, the population of Jordan is 11 million, of which only five million are Jordanian. The remainder are a combination of Palestinian and Syrian refugees, along with immigrants from Bangladesh and other countries in that region.
Petra is in a place called Wadi Musa where Achmed dropped us at our hotel. Three nights and three separate hotels. It's a very nice hotel, but let's just say that the view is not a patch on what I had sat out enjoying in the morning. We had a few hours, which was effectively our first free time since we had arrived. The others went up to the roof-top pool and I went to the Petra Museum, which (along with the entrance to Petra itself) is only five minutes' walk from our hotel.
The history of Petra goes back to the Nabataean State, which dominated the area in the third century BC. Petra (then known as Raqmu) was their capital at the intersection of important trade caravan routes between the Mediterranean, Arabia, Africa and Mesopotamia. Trade was mainly
Camel
Wandering by our hut. in Arabian frankincense and myrrh (now where have I heard of them before?) and Indian spices.
At some point, although I'm not exactly sure when, the city was given its current name of Petra, which is the Greek word for rock or stone - so, I'd guess it was sometime around the peak of the Greek civilisation.
This was followed by conquests by the usual suspects, namely the Romans and the Ottomans (see
Our Last Taste of The Malta Experience), although there was no mention of us British. Our rampaging all over the world was all a lot more recent than the period covered in the museum, so no doubt we'd have invaded Jordan at some point or another. The city was abandoned following an earthquake in the third century AD and seemingly remained 'lost' until it was 'found' again in 1812 - at least on the assumption that somewhere is lost until a Westerner 'discovers' it.
It's probably just me, but I found the information boards more interesting than the ancient artifacts that were on display. I'm ashamed to say, but if I've seen one pot I've seen them all.
We all met up back at the hotel for an evening
Wadi Rum Road Junction
The junction is where ever they want to make it. meal that, for the first time, did not include flat bread, humous and olives. If I'm missing them too much, I'm sure I'll be able to have some for breakfast tomorrow! We were able to have some beer, although they were alcohol free, sadly. Note, we are not alcoholics and are perfectly happy coping in this alcohol free country. The fits and outbursts are completely unconnected.
We had booked to see Petra by night, so at 8.00 we all headed down there and followed the pathway into the darkness of the canyons, which was lit by literally hundreds of little paper oil lanterns along the mile and half to the treasury, which was made famous by the Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade movie.
Surprisingly, I was allowed to take my camera and tripod, so I obsessed about getting some photographs when, again, it would have been better just to sit and enjoy the experience. I was very pleased with the photographs though, particularly those looking towards the Treasury through the canyon. It really is quite special to come around the corner and see the Treasury emerge through the gap, just as it did for Indiana Jones.
Lawrence of Arabia
A carving in the rocks where he once stayed. A host gave an introduction speech that included an impassioned plea about wars turning into peace, to the applause of everyone there. After that, there was some traditional flute music, whilst the Treasury was lit by a cycle of coloured lighting.
At the end, and rather inappropriately, a Russian woman insisted on also singing and, quite surprisingly, the host let her. We couldn't understand what she was singing, but, given the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, I hazard a guess that it was either something very pro-Putin or very anti-Putin.
We walked back along the lantern trail to our hotel, where we were welcomed with some Arabian coffee, although we were reassured that it does not contain any caffeine, so there should be no problem sleeping. After the hectic couple of days we have had, not sleeping really wasn't a possibility.
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