A Desert Adventure

Leaving Safaga, during the night Silver Wind proceeded north through the Gulf of Aqaba, which branches off the Red Sea.  By dawn, we were approaching the cities of Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Jordan at the north end of the gulf. We docked at a small cruise port and by mid morning a small group of eight tourists, including the hotel director Gianni, boarded a large tour bus for the drive to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a Jordanian national dessert park known for its scenery. It is beloved by filmmakers and trekkers, rock climbers and desert lovers worldwide.

 

Camels Browsing an Empty Field
Bedouin Village in Background

Our tour bus climbed upward through a series of wadis (dry stream-beds) that were clogged with gravel and stone deposits from the recent spring flooding.  Each year spring rains in the mountains create flash floods that fill the stream-beds to overflowing and affect everything downstream as far as Aqaba where the water flows into the sea. 

Eventually we began to see small Bedouin communities of cement blockhouses.  There were fenced green areas and sheep and goats wandered about outside the living compounds.  

Our tour bus stopped at a small railroad station where our Bedouin guide showed us a 1910 steam train used in the filming of “Lawrence of Arabia.”  This station was in the actual area T.E. Lawrence passed through several times during the Arab Revolt of 1917-18.  Today the rail line moves mostly phosphates and potash from inland mines to the Port of Aqaba for export.  The old train and the station are a tourist attraction as there is no longer passenger service between Aqaba and Amman, Jordan’s capitol 200 miles to the north. The scene was striking.

Wadi Rum Station
Even though it is no longer used,it is guarded day and night.

1910 Train

Michael Really Loves Trains

At the Wadi Rum Visitor Center, we boarded two four-wheel drive trucks for our trek into the desert. Watching older folks climb in and out over the tailgate of a small truck isn’t pretty but most of us did it repeatedly during our three-hour tour of the Wadi Rum Preserve.  I was concerned that the rear bumper, which was wobbly, would break off and one of us would fall to the ground.  Fortunately, the truck held together and we were all o.k. I have noticed that everywhere in the world, small pickups, many barely running, have replaced donkeys, camels and other animals as the primary mode of transportation for all who can afford them.

Off into the Desert
Rock Formation is Called  the
Seven Pillars of Wisdom After
T E Lawrence Memoir

The Wadi Rum Preserve is a series of small valleys carved by wind and water into the highest plateau in Jordan.  We visited a sand dune where we were encouraged to walk barefoot in the soft sand.  I declined, even though our guide claimed that it was therapeutic for the skin.  Next, we had tea in a Bedouin tent.  Our tour guide demonstrated how coffee is ground in a wooden vessel and then boiled on an open fire.  We moved on to view some petroglyphs pointing the way for travelers on the ancient caravan trail through the desert.  Near the petroglyphs was an encampment of Bedouins with twenty or more camels.  Camel rides anyone? 

I Climbed Halfway up this Sand Dune

Our Tour Guide Demonstrating How Bedouins Grind Coffee Beans

Camels and their Handlers Waiting for Business

Directions to the Caravan Route

We saw spectacular scenery with Bedouin tents here and there at convenient spots for camping.  All of them had unobtrusive, sand colored outhouses nearby. I gather that camping in a Bedouin tent in the desert is a big tourist business.  All of the Bedouin tents we saw were essentially for tourists.  The real Bedouins now live outside the Preserve in cement block houses with indoor plumbing, electricity and satellite dishes on the roof.  There is usually a truck or two parked by a shed out back.  Our guide told us the Bedouins may use a small tent while moving flocks of goats or sheep from one sparse pasture to another. Otherwise they live in small towns.

Green Patches in the Distance are Irrigated Land

Gianni Contemplating the Desert While We Take Pictures

Getting Ready to Climb Back into the Trucks

Coming Down a Hill to the Camel Race Track

Our visit to Wadi Rum concluded with tea and dates at an empty hotel made of Bedouin tents.  The hotel was next to a race track used once or twice a year for camel races.  The camel races and the associated betting are apparently big business and attract tourists from many Arab countries.  The hotel was empty except for us. The electric generator was turned off and nearby solar panels were not yet completely installed. Hotel director Gianni anxiously awaited the arrival of box lunches prepared on the ship that morning.  Our tour bus carrying the lunches was at least a half hour late to the rendezvous. By the time, we returned to the port and Silver Wind, I was exhausted and needed a nap. Perhaps my tiredness had something to do with a twelve-hour tour the day before.

The Tent Hotel

Local Entertainer Sang American Songs in Arabic
As We Waited for Our Lunches

Most of the Silver Wind’s passengers had gone to Petra, Jordan’s prime tourist attraction several hours further away from the port than Wadi Rum.  Petra was an eleven-hour long trip into the center of Jordan.  Accordingly, the ship stayed late in port.  This gave Michael and me an opportunity to dine on the pool deck and watch the lights come on in both Eilat and Aqaba.  The weather was perfect. We could see massive numbers of lights from Israel and Jordan. There were a few lights from Egypt’s Sinai to the southwest and a glow from a Saudi port to the southeast.  Not often does one get to see four countries at once.

Huge Israeli Flag Painted on Warehouse in Eliat Israel
Jordan has a Huge Flagpole that Flies a Huge Flag
Michael and I Called it The Battle of the Flags