2006.05.23_Wadi Rum 7

After the Khazali Canyon, our Wadi Rum experience was almost over. We did more camel riding, had a brief lunch, a short nap, and at least we rode back to Rum Village. While we waited for our hired taxi at the Visitor Centre, we went into the official Wadi Rum shop. I bought a black T-shirt with the Rum-art (ancient rock carving of animals) printed on it. We reached Aqaba in late afternoon. For some reason, we ended up having Chinese food for dinner. It was a decent size restaurant on the second floor of a commercial building. We weren't the only table there but of course it was not full. I wondered if it would ever get full. The food was fine. We were all tired and hungry. After the meal, we were quite satisfied.

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From time to time, we got off our camels to walk on the sand, or climb another rock mount, and so on. Two to three hours on the camel back was really not the most pleasant experience. Perhaps because of the heat or lack of good vegetation around, HC's camel was a little grumpy at a point that it refused to walk and kneed down all of a sudden, almost throwing HC down onto the sand. I was glad that at least my camel seemed content about what it was doing. Every time we got off the camel after about riding for an hour, we could hardly walk.

The "desert mountains" near and far dominated the landscape everywhere we went. At last we were led to the Khazali Canyon. We didn't have time to go in too deep, but deep enough to see the dramatic sunlight shone through the narrow gap high up and reached the gorge floor in a dramatic fashion. A perfect spot for some nice photos.

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We had a small breakfast when we get up. Soon after, our guide of the second day came, along with three camels. The camels were quite skinny, but tall. It was our first time to ride a camel in the desert. We were kind of excited but also worried since we had heard many painful stories about camel riding in the past. We walked to the camels. The guide made a "shuzzz" noise and successfully made the camels to knee down. One by one each of us climb onto a camel. It turned out that my camel was actually the "nicest" one, well trained and relatively well disciplined.

Forgot how long the ride really was, maybe an hour, or an hour and a half, in open desert, over rolling sand dunes. As the morning went by the desert was warming up quickly. I was always trying to find the "best" position on the camel, so that I could balance myself without killing my thighs and comfortably take pictures with my FM2. Every time we passed by scattered plants our camels would venture off a little, lower their heads to chew on the leaves, and always cause a chaotic moments by pulling all camels onto one side, since all of our camels, including the one rode by the guide, were tied together with ropes.

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Near our camp site, we climbed another rock mount where we watched the sun set behind layers of rock mountains. It was dry and windy. The desert was open and vast. Despite tired, I totally fell in love with the openness of the desert. The sun was fading. As it receded into the horizon, so as the vivid colours of the landscape. The landscape around me gradually became a world of black and white, or so it seemed to me that suddenly the desert had cooled down and the wind was a little chilly.

The dinner of lamb/chicken rice was delicious and we had a good time in the evening at the Bedouin camp site, chatting and laughing with the Bedouin host and guides.

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Our guide making tea


Our guide with another Bedouin


Our 4X4 for the day


Panorama view from where we took a short nap

Our guide from Bedouin Roads drove the Land Rover into the shade of a rock mount. We rested on a large smooth rock surface where we had our desert lunch. There were canned tuna, fresh tomato, mixed beans, cheese, bottled orange juice, and a cup of mint tea. The lunch was simple and light, reminded me of the simple nomadic lifestyle that the Bedouin must have once led. After lunch, we had a hour of nap time in the shade.

Despite circumstances after World War II that led to the majority of Bedouin sedentarisation, the myth of the desert nomads continues to inspire literature and cinema, enrich national heritage and enhance global tourism in the region. Today, most Bedouins in the Middle East live in houses or apartments. The few Bedouin tents that remain in the deserts are mainly for touristic purposes, so as many other components of the Bedouin lifestyle, such as camel caravans are very much entirely replaced by modern means of transportation. Often, it is not easy to differentiate the nomadic traditions with reconstructed lifestyles that are largely based on cultural stereotypes and romanticised interpretations.

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Inside the Toyota Land Rover


Below the Spring of Lawrence


View from Spring of Lawrence


Red sand of Wadi Rum


Rum art

At 07:30, a taxi came to Petra Moon to pick us up for Wadi Rum. At around 09:00 we arrived at Wadi Rum Visitor Centre. Attayak, our Bedouin guide, greeted us at the ticket office. After we bought our admission ticket to the desert, Attayak drove us into Rum Village, and stopped at the Resthouse Cafe. A Bedouin with blue keffiyeh came over. His name is Shaba, our desert guide for the day. We said goodbye to Attayak and left the cafe with Shaba. The first thing we did was going over to a nearby shop to get bottled water and keffiyeh for HC and me, the Jordanian type with red and white keffiyeh (or shemagh mhadab). Shaba helped us to put on the keffiyeh. We hopped onto his Toyota Land Rover and off we go to the Wadi Rum and began our first ever desert experience.

Our first stop was the Spring of Lawrence. Wadi Rum is the desert where T. E. Lawrence based himself during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks. The spring might be one of Lawrence's favorite spot where he bathed and relaxed. It was a 15 minute climb up a rocky hill, approximately 200m high, to the spring. AK, HC and I found our way up, and were a little disappointed to find the spring was no more than a tiny water pool, perhaps an outlet of underground water. Though we were delighted by the magnificent view down the desert valley.

We carefully descended back to the car. Shaba led us to a black Bedouin tent nearby where AK finally bought her set of head-scarf, a red and black combination. Again Shaba helped her to put it on. Not long after, we reached the second stop. It was a cliff where wall carving of camels, goats, and humans can be found. The wall carvings were made by Nabatean caravans 2000 years ago, depicting some of their stories. Shaba told us that Wadi Rum was once lay on the caravan route between Saudi and Damascus.