Jordan: Wadi Rum

The past 2 days we spent camping in the Wadi Rum desert. Originally I was not too excited to go but always going with the flow and it turned out to be the best thing we have seen in Jordan so far and in the top of my experiences ever. Since we were not sure what to expect we loaded up our tiny rental car with mostly blankets & pillows, a change of clothes, and food. It was a 4-hour drive toward to Saudi boarder.

This is how Wikipedia describes it (so it’s gotta be true): Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southwest Jordan. It is the largest wadi (valley) in Jordan. The name Rum most likely comes from a root meaning 'high' or 'elevated'.

Their website says: Wadi Rum is a protected area covering 720 square kilometers of dramatic desert wilderness in the south of Jordan. Huge mountains of sandstone and granite emerge, sheer-sided, from wide sandy valleys to reach heights of 1700 meters and more. Narrow canyons and fissures cut deep into the mountains and many conceal ancient rock drawings etched by the peoples of the desert over millennia. Bedouin tribes still live among the mountains of Rum and their large goat-hair tents are a special feature of the landscape. There are many ways to enjoy the attractions of Rum, including jeep, camel and hiking tours and you can stay overnight in a Bedouin tent and gaze at the amazing panoply of stars. To safeguard its unique desert landscape, Wadi Rum was declared a protected area in1998 and an intensive conservation programme is now underway.

When we got there we went to our hotel, okay so tent. It was a place called the Rest House where they had small tents set up for people to stay in for only 3JD a person/a night. It was a lot nicer than expected, there were mattress pads in there and blankets and pillows in these 2 man tents. We laughed that the mattress there was softer than our ones at home.
We arrived at about 4, got things organized for our tour the next day and then took a couple mile walk (in soft sand) to a spot where our book suggested was good to watch the sunset. We sat on a rock and started to watch a not so exciting setting of the sun when a man (who we could tell was a resident) in a tour jeep pulled up and asked us if we wanted to be taken to a sunset spot a ways away for free (he had to check on some tourists and was going that way and back anyways). Of course free was the key word so we jumped in the back and off we went. It was a very bumpy ride on the sand (and later found out he was driving extra fast so we didn’t miss the sunset). He dropped us off on a sand dune where we could watch, oh yeh, and then left us… near the Saudi boarder The sunset was amazing however we were a little worried we wouldn’t have a ride back and would be sleeping there that night. Well he DID come back and then drove us all the way back to our camp. Once it got dark the stars and moon were the best I have ever seen them look. It was a beautiful night and all against the mountain was unbelievable. I kept saying how a picture can’t even start to do justice to what it was like being here so I’m sorry that you all will not get even a fraction of the experience. Anways, the guy who came back for us was a very nice guy and invited us to have tea with him, so we did. We found out he was a climbing guide and his name was in our tour book as being the best. He owned a Bedouin resort for tourist to stay in (this was another option for a place to stay but they usually charged 20-60JD a night hence why we opted for the tents) and his place was book for the next 6 months. He lived in a house there and owned a camel for fun, as well as I think 6-7 trucks that people who worked for him used. He seems like a real nice guy who just wanted to show us a nice view and chat over tea. After a while 3 other guides came up to sit with him and I started giggling at the fact that here we were the 5 of us sitting at a table having tea with 4 locals in their white dress-like robe thinger and their turban looking hats. Way cool. By this time it was getting late and we still hadn’t had dinner. We had brought a tiny grill, which was an adventure to light and make work. Eventually we got it and had a nice meal of steak & veggies on skewers with baked potatoes. After that we went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and met our driver/guide for an 8-hour jeep ride around Wadi Rum, which would hit most of the prime spots. He was one of the guys that we had met the night before while having tea. The jeeps were pretty cool, decked out with 2 benches in the back and a canopy over top. Our driver’s name was Mohammed (which we like since ½ the people here are named that). We had a great time going around seeing a siq, rock bridges, sand dunes, Lawrence’s house (from Lawrence from Arabia), and things like that. He encouraged us to climb things with him (barefooted), which was so fun and really cool. The mountains that we climbed (except in the siq) were pretty easy to step up so we were able to get to the tops of them pretty easily. He took us to a Bedouin “house” or tent where we got to sit on mats and drink tea with a guy and his son that lived there. He also played us a little music. It was cool to get to mingle with locals. You will all have to look at my pictures so get a better idea of what our 8 hour tour was like but again you can never see it ½ as well as being there. All in all it was a great trip and again one of the coolest things I have done yet. We drove back that night and now it is the weekend.
This next weeks schedule is looking good! We start back at school Sunday and then take the day off for Atonement (one of our church holydays) on Monday and then school Tuesday & Wednesday AND THEN we leave for Thailand on Thursday! Justin, Jamie & Jonathan are all leaving on Tuesday and will be there before us on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at like 1-2 a.m. We get there Friday at 11 a.m. We are so looking forward to it!

So instead of littering this page with pictures I have a whole photo album dedicated to Wadi Rum (there are over 100) CLICK HERE!