Wadi Ramm day one

Tuesday 18th December,

We left Petra today with our hangovers and drove to the entrance of the Wadi Rum nature reserve. The reserve is located south of Petra just off of the end of the Dead Sea in the SW of Jordan. It is a massive desert area - the largest Wadi in Jordan - encompassing 720 square Km. It has long been an base for Bedouin tribes and has evidence of Nabatean settlements. It is perhaps most famously linked to T E Lawrance (aka Lawrence of Arabia) who used this as his operations base during the war to liberate and has some gorgeous geography, not least of which being its amazing vivid red rock and sand. In fact, the 2000 film - the Red Planet - was filmed here in an effort to recreate the look and feel of the surface of Mars.

We arrived around midday to find a very civilized visitor centre, with shops, panoramic viewing platforms, and all sorts of amenities. We took some time to look at the famous view of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom - a rock formation T E Lawrence dubbed thusly - and then hopped in our 4x4 and got a lift to the nearby town where we were to meet our guide. The town still reflects the nomadic lifestyle of Bedouin. The houses are very basic and you get the feeling they are just used as bases in the winter, or for families to stay in. Our host, Abdulla, took us inside his house and gave us the traditional sweet, black, herb-infused tea. The house was very brightly decorated and I loved the vivid colours of the paint and the carpets. We chatted about how Bedouins are fitting into Jordan's changing culture. Abdulla explained that the Bedouin find it hard to maintain many of their traditional customs because the government is now requiring them to have permanent accommodation in order to be eligible for schooling, benifits, tax, etc.

... It is mid January and I am walking along the corniche on the sea front in West Beirut. I am with my friend Natalie and her friend, Mohammed. The air is cold and crisp and the sky is clear. The Mediterranean laps against the shore and Beirut projects an air of tranquility. Mohammed is a Jordanian Bedouin. He has been living in Beirut for sometime. He is a contemporary theatrical director. He is currently just beginning a project that he is hoping to put on in Amman in April this year. He is very passionate about trying to change the beliefs and attitudes of his countries culture. "It is very difficult to try and get people to give up their old traditions. They cling to their old ways and vehemently reject change." I ask him if he thinks what he is doing is reaching people. He thinks it is, but change happens slowly. He is still receiving death threats for his efforts and his work. He is so passionate and he believes so much in what he is doing. I can't help thinking there should be more people in the world like this...

The itinerary for today was a jeep trip around several sites in Wadi Rum. We headed off from Rum village and drove to several sites - to T E Lawrence's house (well foundations) then onward through the shadow of Khar El Arjarm, through the wine soaked landscape, up into the Sand Dunes where we stopped to see the Alameleh inscriptions. This turned out basically to be Nabataen graffiti. We then stopped and climbed the mother of all sand dunes. It was quite a trek but was rewarded by the opportunity to run all the way down it. Which I did, with much alacrity - and nearly killed myself as I simply could not stop at the bottom. Marcus and Merryl elected to walk back down. After this we headed past the other side of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom and back down to stop for lunch. Lunch consisted of a lots of stuff in tins - pilchards, tuna, tomatoes, cheese, and hummus, with lafa bread. The Bedouin way of eating is very practical. It involves tearing your bread into small scoops and picking at your food with it. It works very well.

... I am running down the sand dune. It is a very large dune. Like everything else in the Wadi it is a deep, wine-soaked red, colour. Actually to say I am running is probably a bit of an innacurate description. I am trying to stop. I have been for over 100 metres. The end of the dune is approaching very fast and I can barely keep my legs on the ground to match my pace. There are a lot of rocks at the bottom. Naturally, I am screaming...

After lunch we drove through the Burdah valley and stopped at a large rock, which looked like an elephant, to try and climb it. The young Bedouin who was with us managed it no problem. The rest of us had no chance - despite our repeated attempts (although Marcus and Merryl cheated at the end and did a bunk up). From there we drove to the impressive natural Burdah Rock Bridge. We spent some time taking in the view and climbing around the rock formations. By this point it is nearly sunset and we headed back to the camp where we were staying for the next two nights.

... Another Wadi, another sunset - and what a beautiful one it is. Marcus, Merryl, and myself are sitting above our camp on the rocks and watching the sun turn Wadi Rum into a glass of Rioja as it sets behind Um Muqur. In a short while we will head down into the camp for dinner, which is being cooked over a massive fire in the hair-skin tent in the camp. But for now we are sitting captivated...

We got to the camp and went for a short walk before sunset. Then we sat and watched the sun go down over the camp. By this time dinner was nearly ready. We ate with our two guides, their funboy cousin with his Bedouin guitar, and a French guy who was staying with us that night. We did some singing and dancing and a good time was had by all. The temperature in the desert drops ridiculously at night, however. So going to the toilet was not much fun.