Wadi Rum - Day 16 Thursday March 24

Today's adventure took us deep into the captivating landscapes of Wadi Rum. "Wadi" is an Arabic term that refers to a valley and "Rum" refers to the high mountains surrounding the valley. This is the largest Wadi in Jordan (Sadly, there was no actual rum at Wadi Rum). The area is also known as the Valley of the Moon.

We asked Elias to use our scarves as traditional head coverings, so be prepared.

Wadi Rum may be best known for its connection with British officer T. E. Lawrence, who passed through it several times during the Arab Revolt. His book “The Seven Pillars” takes its name from this impressive rock formation.

Lawrence set up British camps in this area with the Bedouins as they fought against the Turks. The area was immortalized in the 1962 epic film "Lawrence of Arabia" whose desert scenes kicked-started Jordan's tourism industry. Other movies filmed here include: The Martian, Star Wars, Dune, and Aladdin (live action), along with many others.

These photos will let you know why this landscape could pass as Mars.

Just look at this sand.

The rock minerals can give the sand different colors, as illustrated over the ridge, where the sand appears to be blue...or could it be a mirage?.

Unlike Lawrence, we traversed this desolate region in a 4 WD pick-up truck. I thought it best not to ask why there was a Saddam Hussein air freshener in the truck.

The vistas were magnificent - sandstone and granite mountains rise sheer-sided from wide sandy valleys to reach spectacular heights of 4,000 feet.

Then, it was time to channel our inner Lawrence of Arabia on our second camel ride. We could have ridden for an hour, but settled on 30 minutes as a compromise between my vote for 60 minutes and Charlie’s vote for zero. To my horror, there was no step stool or stirrup, so the mounting was an undignified challenge that is best left to the imagination. Once mounted and upright, we both truly enjoyed the ride (at least Charlie and I did…I dare not speak for the camel.). We rode for about a half hour and I did hum a little “Lawrence of Arabia” soundtrack.

At Khazali Canyon, we took a hike to see ancient Nabataean inscriptions and drawings (lots of human and antelopes).

Here are some photos taken of us making sure that our feet were on solid rock.

Isn't this beautiful?

Some additional vistas before lunch.

Our touring ended with a traditional lunch in a Bedouin home. We were served mansaf, which is a dish with rice, lamb, and parsley, wrapped in a Bedouin pita. When served, a “Bedouin yogurt”, which seemed more like a buttery sauce, is poured on top.

The meal was capped with hot sweet tea.

We enjoyed talking to the young men who worked as a team. I will add that I did not see a single Bedouin woman the whole time that I was there.

We experienced a few sandstorms across the highway on our long ride back to Amman. When the winds kick up, there is nothing to stop them.

We returned to the W Hotel, where we took the necessary COVID test for our departure from Jordan tomorrow. They actually came up to our hotel room to administer the test, and we had the (thank God) negative results by 9:30 PM.

We had a light meal at the hotel. I had a fig and feta cheese salad and Charlie had his favorite, a club sandwich with fries.

Pick-up tomorrow for the airport is 6 AM. Jordan is a beautiful, clean country and we have seen amazing things. The people are very welcoming. I am so happy that we decided to come here, but we miss our family and friends and we are ready to head home. (Not to mention tired!)

Photos are tagged Jordan and Wadi_Rum