Rome to Turkey: Day Eleven: Wadi Rum

I had an excellent sleep in my hotel room. There was absolutely no noise. I had closed the window the night before and set the air conditioner to the perfect temperature. I woke up to my alarm at 8:15 am, reminding myself not to fall back asleep, which I then promptly did until I awoke again at 9:05 am.

A quick shower then downstairs for breakfast. Like most of the breakfasts in Egypt and Jordan, we were served bread, cheese slices, packaged cheese, boiled eggs, cucumber, tomatoes, (maybe olives and other types of cheese,) packaged butter, spiced jam, honey, and the addition of a sort of re-fried bean soup. We then had a group meeting at 11 am in the lobby, before boarding the bus for a day trip to Wadi Rum.

As we drove out of the Aqaba, Robbie our tour guide told us more about himself and the history of the area we were traveling through. I do not actually know the spelling of his name, and it was pronounced more like "Robia," though most of us reverted to using the phonetic Anglicized version as we just couldn't quite pronounce it correctly. Robbie was one of our main contacts when welcoming us into Jordan, though at the time guides hadn't been assigned to the two groups we were now divided into. By some fortune and an apparently quite late night out on the town, our group managed to convince him to be our guide.

Robbie was born in Jordan, raised Christian, and had spent some time in the United States. He had been a tour guide for some time and had a wealth of broad knowledge on local and international history, geography, geology, politics, and religion. He also spoke with a slight Australian accent, which came through clearly with certain words, probably an influence from the number of Australian tourists whom he would have been in contact with. He had also been a tour guide for a number of famous actors and actresses visiting Jordan, and shared a few anecdotes about these experiences.

Aqaba is Jordan's only seaport, which it shares with the neighbouring Israeli city of Eilat. It's history goes back to biblical times and even earlier, being an important location for trade routes between three continents. It is now known mostly as a resort town and its coral reefs are a world famous diving attraction.(1) As we drove out of the city, we passed vibrant concrete buildings painted white, cream, or pink, rows of palm trees dividing the highway, and caught a last glimpse of the sea as the road climbed away from the port.

Wadi Rum, Wadi meaning literally "valley" in Arabic, is a desert area 68 kilometers northeast of Aqaba. Created through a massive upheaval of the earth's surface, the desert scape is a mix of unique granite and sandstone rock formations and a valley floor of fine red sand. Now a nature reserve, Wadi Rum is a popular tourist site for day trips, overnight treks, or climbing.

As we neared the reserve, we passed the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," a large mountain named by T.E. Lawrence for its column-like rock formations. Wadi Rum has been inhabited since ancient times, going back to the 8th and 6th centuries B.C. Today, its inhabitants are two Bedouin tribes, who were encouraged to move out of the desert and into government constructed concrete homes in the village of Wadi Rum. According to Robbie, many of the Bedouin use their homes to keep their camels and pitch their tents in the dessert instead.

We parked at the Visitor's Centre and arranged for a couple four wheel drive trucks. Robbie was negotiating with two young Bedouin boys, who to our shock ended up being the drivers he hired. Our driver was maybe eight or nine years old, who had to sit extremely close to the steering wheel and could just barely see over the dashboard. A couple people in our group initially refused to let him drive, but soon conceded after some discussion and assurances. Our truck had an open flatbed, with two benches facing each other, which were challenging to stay in as the truck bounced and lurched over the sand. Our drivers tuned out to be very experienced and skilled however, so any initial reserve was soon put to rest.

Our first stop was at a water reservoir built by ancient traders who brought caravans through the dessert, traveling from Arabia toward Syria or Palestine. The Nabateans in particular were skilled in their ability to conserve and store water. Reservoirs were built into the cliffs, with the water draining naturally through several layers to a pool below, hidden under a layer of sand. Some of their water sources were natural springs, while others were built to collect and transport rainwater through the rocky hillsides. The Nabateans relied mostly on trade, using the King's Highway which made its way past Wadi Rum to transport luxury goods such as frankincense and spices from Arabia. (2)

The King's Highway was an important trade route for many ancient nations and kingdoms. Beginning in Egypt, it traveled east across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba where it then headed north through Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Damascus before reaching the Euphrates. (2) It is referred to in the Old Testament as the road Israel asks to travel on through Edom (Nb 20:17-21) (2) as well as the road Abraham takes to pursue and overtake the northern kings who had captured his nephew Lot. (Gn 14) (3) The trade route had fortifications as well as food and water storage placed strategically along it. Unable to navigate the north winds of the Red Sea, The Romans had to rely on this overland route as well for trade.

Many cultures and nations have occupied the area at one time or another, among them Greek, Roman, Hellenistic, Babylonian, Persian, and Ottoman Turks. Wadi Rum is famous in particular as the headquarters of T.E. Lawrence and Prince Feisal bin Hussein, who during World War 1 led the Arab Revolt against the occupying Turkish Ottoman empire. (4) Lawrence was particularly enamored with the desert landscape, writing descriptively about its magnificent vastness and crimson colours. It certainly did make one feel small, as the jutting rock formations towered above our trucks, casting dark shadows across the sand.

We made two more stops, the first at a small spring located in a narrow opening in one of the mountain sides. We waited for one group to leave before climbing up to a ledge and walking in single-file. We were shown ancient inscriptions and illustrations on the rocks before we had to carefully turn around and head back. The next stop was spontaneously at a large sand dune. Initially it was just to take pictures, until a couple people decided to run up it. It was hard going through deep sand, but well worth the effort for the three hundred and sixty degree view from the top. In all directions, you could see only dry dusty rock protruding from the ground, and miles of red sand. We took a small group picture at the top before running back down, taking time to empty large quantities of sand from our shoes before climbing back into the trucks.

On the way back to the Visitor Centre our two drivers decided to have a race, our truck making it there first. Along the way I had also noticed a rented four wheel drive that had gone off track slightly and was temporarily stuck in the sand until a few attempts with the accelerator dislodged it. Lunch was had at the only restaurant at the Centre, and was excellent. Servers kept bringing us more and more plates of food - salads, breads, rice, tabbouleh, tahini, noodles, fries, and chicken, until we were all stuffed. I'm not sure what they did with the leftovers, but there was plenty of it.

We boarded our bus again and headed 128 km north for the ancient city of Petra, following the ancient King's Highway. We reached Petra by early evening, turning off the main road and down into a small town built on a hillside. The village we would be staying in was referred to as Petra, though I discovered later is actually Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses.) Small concrete houses and buildings lined the hillside, many which were unfinished in construction, often with rebar extending out from the flat roofs. Robbie had explained earlier that in Egypt, the houses are left unfinished to receive tax breaks, while in Jordan, they are left in this state so that additions can be added later to accommodate family. We were greeted at our hotel with cold drinks, and then served dinner shortly after. I took a short walk through the town in the evening, following the main road that wrapped above and around our hotel. On the way back I stopped in to look at the hotel's indoor pool, thinking that I might take a swim tomorrow.

"Enlighten my eyes that I may never sleep in death."

- Psalm 12:4