We left Petra in good time this morning for the two hour drive to Wadi Rum – Wadi meaning valley and Rum unfortunately seems to have nothing to do with Caribbean sugar cane. The trip was through the high desert east of the riff valley between the Asian and African tectonic plates. We saw a few sheep and goats, and eventually as we neared our destination, camels. And yes, there are the “camel crossing” signs.
Wadi Rum is a World Heritage Protected site,
and the home for a time of Laurence of Arabia. The mountains are soft
sandstone, not unlike around Petra, but filled between by the fine sand that
you might dream of for a beach. The mountains tower over a thousand feet,
shaped by erosion to fantastic forms. There is an “other worldly” sense to the
place. I was expecting to hear the sound track from the movie slowly swell from
behind one of the mountains.
While on our jeep tour, we had the
opportunity to ride a camel, and many of the troupe did just that. One of the
tricks is to really hang on when the camel gets up, and goes down… you wouldn’t
want to kiss the sand!
Of course there was the inevitable
opportunity to purchase goods (how many scarves does one really need?). But the
prices were good here… in the middle of nowhere.
A wonderful meal of chicken, rice, salads
and fruit finished off our morning. It was certainly worth the visit… but no
one was really keen about the 5 hour commute to the Dead Sea.
Sobering thought for the day: we are half
way through our journey…
