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Our Camp
to the left is the main camp, and to the right (the white tents) was where we stayed that night 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 a minibus to Wadi Rum. We arrived at the Wadi Rum visitor centre and were greeted by Naill, a tall, thin, dark Arab wearing a flowing white robe, red keffiyeh (mens head-dress), and aviator sunnies....quite a sight! We jumped into his 4x4 and spun off into the desert at a cracking pace.
Our camp was set in a stunning landscape, just underneath a
Before we set out
Looking all fresh and spritely large rock formation that provided shade for most of the day. We were introduced to the rest of the family, Salim, Naill's younger brother, and running around were Hannah, aged 6 and Hallah aged 4. It didn't take long for Phoebe and the girls to strike up a friendship, and despite knowing hardly a word of each others language, set to playing in the sand under the shade of the rock. Later on we were introduced to 'Uncle', whose name we never found out as he was constantly referred to as Uncle by everyone at the camp. He immediately took a liking to us and made us fell very welcome and able to relax in the camp (as that was our main plan for the day). Uncle's wife never got a look in for introductions, and mostly worked behind the scenes shying away from visitors. I assumed this was because of the Muslim custom of women only socialising with female members of their family. After Uncle inquiring about where we lived, we (probably foolishly) told him that we were renting, currently had no 'home' so to speak, and would rent something when we got back. With the language barriers he
Nick and Uncle = BFF
= best friends forever took this to mean that we were homeless, and was shocked and saddened by this fact. He immediately offered his camp as a place to live, and told us we could earn good money in Jordan being tour guides. He said it without humour and was totally genuine; it was very heart-warming, however we politely declined.
After a breakfast of 'fuul' (fried fava beans - so delicious, I have already found a recipe) and flat bread, we thought we'd head off on a camel ride. They had enlisted the help of Ramesh, a boy from a neighbouring camp, whose parents had given him two camels (the babies of their camels) and told him to earn some money. We rode for an hour, and I have to say, I think walking would have been easier, those camels are hard work! But Phoebe loved the novelty and it cured her of asking for any more rides on various animals for the rest of our time in Jordan. We did a round trip and saw some fabulous scenery, this was hardly surprising as everywhere you go in Wadi Rum offers fabulous scenery. Halfway we stopped at a rock which had a carving
Phoebe after a 4x4 drive
there is no wind blowing right now...that's just how her hair looks!! of Lawrence of Arabia. It seems the locals are rather enamoured of T.E. Lawrence and I suspect the popularity of the film (it was filmed in Wadi Rum) has not exactly hurt the tourism industry.
After the camel ride we settled in at camp, chatting with Uncle and Salim, while drinking copious amounts of sweet Bedouin tea. Uncle made it his duty to make sure our tea glasses were never empty, and any pause in the conversation (as invariably happened due to language barriers) would invariably lead to “Tea?”, and then without a response he would be over filling up our glasses. I'm not a huge one for sweet drinks, and by the end of our sitting I was feeling bloated and slightly nauseous. In the afternoon Uncle took us to a spot a small climb up some rocks, overlooking camp. We laid down a rug and chatted for a while, then each one of us fell into a blissful slumber as the cool wind blew over us.
As the sun set Phoebe, Hannah and Hallah had a race up the sand dunes opposite camp, while Nick and I climbed the camp rock to admire the views and watch the sun set. Due to the openness of the desert, we could shout out to Phoebe and our voices would carry across all the way to the sand dune where Phoebe was. She could then squeak back at us in her little voice and we would get every word perfectly.
Once the sun had set another couple joined us for dinner, Tia from New Zealand and Donald from India. They were travelling the world making a TV series about inspirational world leaders (they were in Jordan to interview Queen Rania....see I told you she was awesome). Wow, and we're just writing blogs! We chatted with them and later in the night retired around the fire to listen to Naill and his cousin strum the oud and sing Arabic songs. Uncle decided that Donald and Nick's jeans looked a tad uncomfortable and hurried away, coming back with two white robes for them to wear. They spent the remainder of their time leaning back on arm rests, gracefully tucking their feet behind themselves, apparently not so used to the experience of wearing a robe *cough* dress.
Staying a night in Wadi Rum was an unforgettable experience, and enjoyed so much by us, not only because of the stunning scenery (and it is just so spectacular), but also because of the absolutely genuine and welcoming people we all got to meet and spend time with. Despite stiff competition, this was probably the most enjoyable and memorable time we spent in Jordan.
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birgit
non-member comment
wow!!!!
i was soaking up (or is it in?)every single word,how marvellous this experience must have been.looks like i will have to decide between wadi rum and the sahara desert for my 50th birthday(that sounds pretty scary).....i definitely want to spend it in the desert.....and in 3 years time my finances should be stocked up again.by the way, where are the shots of the men in dresses?lots of love, birgit and lukas(who likes phoebies hairstyle and is all into harry potter now)