The Magnificence of Wadi Rum
By Ahmad Hallak
Believe it or not, this will have been my first trip to Wadi Rum ever! Quite honestly, as much as I’ve heard people enthuse about it and extol its wondrous proportions, I can’t say that I’ve ever been tempted to visit it. What an awesome mistake!
Day 1
Having spent the better part of three hours traveling along the winding up-and-down road that leads to Wadi Rum from Amman (the capital), my friend and I finally reached the tiny village of preceding the vast expanse of Wadi Rum. It was pitch-black dark except for the lights of the local tourist rest house and we met up with the rest of the group (Rakan, Tala and another friend) in an empty parking lot. We then transferred into Rakan’s pick-up truck for the rest of the journey to our desert camp. The drive through the tiny village took less than a minute and suddenly the paved road ended and the limitless expanse of desert began.
Driving in total darkness but with the jagged silhouettes of the surrounding mountains rising up ominously around us, thus began the bumpiest ride of my entire life. It seemed that we twisted left and right relentlessly whilst frequently dipping down sand dunes and rising up small hills on a trajectory that would seemingly lead us straight for the stars. I marveled at how Rakan could navigate through a landscape that seemed to repeat itself endlessly and I must confess that I doubted if it was even humanly possible for us to find our way in the dark. After 40 minutes of this unpredictable roller coaster of a ride we seemed to enter a narrow gorge which was highlighted by the lights of our pick-up. The gorge twisted to the right then to the left before abruptly rising into a flat pain and depositing us miraculously at the doorstep of our campsite!
Opening my door I climbed down weakly and sank my feet into soft desert sand. As the blood began to circulate into sore and stiff muscles, a man stood up from the fireplace next to the huge Bedouin tent before us and strode over. After exchanging “As-Salamu Alaikum’s” [which means Peace Be Upon You and is a formal greeting in Arabic] we walked over to the fireplace where a number of European tourists had been lounging and who now had sat up politely. The small fire that was being tended by our Bedouin hosts was enclosed by several rocks and had two candles either side. On one side of the fire was a huge teapot which
Day 1
Having spent the better part of three hours traveling along the winding up-and-down road that leads to Wadi Rum from Amman (the capital), my friend and I finally reached the tiny village of preceding the vast expanse of Wadi Rum. It was pitch-black dark except for the lights of the local tourist rest house and we met up with the rest of the group (Rakan, Tala and another friend) in an empty parking lot. We then transferred into Rakan’s pick-up truck for the rest of the journey to our desert camp. The drive through the tiny village took less than a minute and suddenly the paved road ended and the limitless expanse of desert began.
Driving in total darkness but with the jagged silhouettes of the surrounding mountains rising up ominously around us, thus began the bumpiest ride of my entire life. It seemed that we twisted left and right relentlessly whilst frequently dipping down sand dunes and rising up small hills on a trajectory that would seemingly lead us straight for the stars. I marveled at how Rakan could navigate through a landscape that seemed to repeat itself endlessly and I must confess that I doubted if it was even humanly possible for us to find our way in the dark. After 40 minutes of this unpredictable roller coaster of a ride we seemed to enter a narrow gorge which was highlighted by the lights of our pick-up. The gorge twisted to the right then to the left before abruptly rising into a flat pain and depositing us miraculously at the doorstep of our campsite!
Opening my door I climbed down weakly and sank my feet into soft desert sand. As the blood began to circulate into sore and stiff muscles, a man stood up from the fireplace next to the huge Bedouin tent before us and strode over. After exchanging “As-Salamu Alaikum’s” [which means Peace Be Upon You and is a formal greeting in Arabic] we walked over to the fireplace where a number of European tourists had been lounging and who now had sat up politely. The small fire that was being tended by our Bedouin hosts was enclosed by several rocks and had two candles either side. On one side of the fire was a huge teapot which
ظ‹Welcome to the blogging world Terhaal , am sure you will enjoy it.
Good Luck:p
Every native as well as foreigner is impressed of the spectacular scenes in such a tiny country.