Blogs from Wadi Rum, South, Jordan, Middle East - page 6

We had suggested to Phoebe the possibility of camping in the desert and regretted it soon after. Not because we didn't want to but because she hassled us mercilessly until we told her we'd booked something. We chose to spend a night in Wadi Rum with a traditional Bedouin family that host visitors usually for a one night stay. The Bedouin are a semi-nomadic, Arab ethnic group, who live in tents in the desert and traditionally herd goats. They became better known worldwide after British army officer T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. 'Lawrence of Arabia') united the Bedouin tribes (amongst others) as part of the Arab Revolt of WW1 and was apparently based in Wadi Rum for a period, describing it as “vast, echoing and god-like..” We set off at the crack of dawn from Wadi Musa on ... read more

Wow, wow and more wow. I didn't know much about what Jordan had in store for us and admittedly, I was more than a little sad to leave Dahab after what had been a wonderful few days. In fact, I was sad to leave Egypt altogether. After having long felt unnerved by the very thought of travelling to this part of the world, my love of Egypt was unexpected and took me by surprise. As we set out at 6am to drive to the ferry port 15minutes away for our crossing to Aqaba, I was already making plans to return again to Egyptian soil (and sea!) However at 530pm that evening, after a day spent at the ferry port having not so much as even sniffed a ferry which we could board, I was more than ... read more

Okay, so admittedly I promised not to get arrested illegally crossing the border into Iran. However, I didn't make any promise, pledge, or pact, regarding illegally crossing the border into Saudi Arabia, or at least getting close enough that wearing trousers and driving a car (for me) would be considered felony offences. And, since the peak of the highest mountain in Jordan happens to be within spitting distance of the Saudi kingdom, how could I resist a peek at the forbidden land of Mecca and money? (even if they have considerably less of the latter now, as I have it from a reliable source that the Saudi princes invested heavily with Citibank) But, the climb to Jebel Umm Adaami (said highest mountain) was on my second day with the Bedouin of Wadi Rum (the desert known ... read more

Our first visit to Jordan was 10 years ago. It was also the first time the three of us traveled together. We created our itinerary and cultivated our list of places we had to see and things we had to do. Kyle was most excited about seeing these very old inscriptions in Wadi Rum. He kept discussing and discussing these inscriptions that were near Lawrence of Arabia's well. His excitement seemed to swell the morning we were scheduled to go to Wadi Rum on Dec. 30, 1999. We were in the back of the jeep driving to the infamous well and Kyle kept rambling on about the history of these inscriptions. Okay Kyle, we get it! When we arrived at the well, we jumped out of the jeep and listened to our driver explain the history ... read more

The next stop on the weekend tour was Wadi Rum. I left Petra with an ingrained image of man ability to manipulate nature and make a niche. I also left with a hell of sun burn that still requires hourly-ish gallops of aloe. I feel like a lizard shedding my skin. Anyways, Wadi Rum proved to be almost the opposite of Petra. It is a barren waste land sorta of place. It leaves you wondering why people would ever what to live in such a place. The result is that there isn’t really anyone who lives here but bracelet sellers. These people set up little “booths,” which range from little shacks to a rock with a sheet on it. They all sell the same “handmade Jordanian” products. I will believe this once I see it. All ... read more