Jordan-Amman and Wadi Rum

February 20-21, 2020

Warm Welcomes and a Top Five Experience

Just as walking out the door in Istanbul quickly let us know that we were in a Muslim country, arrival at Amman airport was quick to let us know that we were in the Arab world. Besides the obvious airlines, Fly Dubai, Emirates, etc., there was Yemen Air (which I am not too sure I would take any time soon) and Safe Air (hmmm?…the name alone sets me off). Within minutes there were gentleman in traditional Arab garb – actually pretty cool because I have only ever seen them on TV and many women in burqas.

There was a process to go through to enter – visas stamped and certified, passport control and one more final security check verifying it all one more time, before we could enter baggage claim. But we were warmly welcomed to Jordan.

Our driver, Murad, was waiting for us with a sign and warmly welcomed us to Jordan. Our nighttime drive in was a bit of a let down as we were hoping to get the full experience of being in the Middle East but their were definitely obvious bits and pieces to it.

Of course the feeling that we are actually in the Middle East comes to play in your mind. There is a clear risk traveling here, especially as an American, but then there is a risk everywhere nowadays – New York, Barcelona, Paris, etc. Back at the hotel in Istanbul, we had to walk through a metal detector and place any shopping bags through an x-ray every time we walked into the hotel, though they were a bit lackadaisical about it with known guests. But still, there was a security presence.

I had read about security in Amman, especially at the hotels, but I was not quite prepared for the extent of it. We pulled up to the hotel and were struck by the initial welcome experience. You pull into the driveway stop at a security checkpoint where the driver opens the window, the guards wipe the steering wheel looking for any residual trace of explosives his hands might have left behind, they then walk around the car with a mirror on a stick looking underneath for bombs, they have the driver open the trunk, record the license plate number and check to see who is in the car. They then lower the huge cement Jersey barrier defense system so you can drive on. All of this before you reach the actual doors to the lobby.

Murad was so cute. He turned to us and said, “Please do not let this alarm you. Jordan is a very very safe country. You can walk the streets any time of day and all night long, go anywhere and you will be fine. There are no safety issues here in Jordan. We are very lucky.” After the car is cleared, you then drive up to the front door where you unload and then pass through a metal detector, a swipe over with a wand if you beep and your bags go through x-ray. OK – at this point we are definitely feeling like we are some place we have never traveled to before.

The front desk clerk warmly welcomed us and before we knew it, the front desk manager came sashaying over also warmly welcoming us, thanking us for visiting and letting us know we had been upgraded to an executive suite where fruit platters and pastry platters etc were waiting for us. He could not have been nicer and more friendly. Billy told him how refreshing it is that the international Marriotts seem to always make their guests feel special and the hotels in the US seem to care less. The manager said the US and UK hotels seem to treat their customers with a take it or leave it attitude while the international hotels really want their guests to be happy and to return. He couldn’t be more right! There is something terribly wrong with that, especially considering Billy spends anywhere between 75 – 100 nights a year at a Marriott hotel.

By the time we had received word that Jenny’s boyfriend Thies (who was on his way to join us) was delayed out of Amsterdam and would more than a likely miss his connector in Bucharest. it was 2:30 AM before we had figured out what happened to him and that he would not be arriving until tomorrow now. Jenny was obviously very disappointed but we were happy to hear that at least he would be arriving tomorrow at 3:45, so he would not miss too much time. We passed out exhausted in hopes of a better’s night sleep.

With all of that, on top of how tired we all already were, there were no plans for today. We woke up at 10:30AM, got some work done, and left at 1:45 to have what turned out to be a delicious lunch at a very hip place called Sharms el Balad.

After lunch, we decided to walk down to the center of the old town and check out the Roman Ampitheater. The walk was through a quiet neighborhood yet we clearly drew interest from any passerby’s. Down on the main drag the city seemed to come alive. There were endless shops, many selling traditional outfits for ladies that were actually both exotic and chic. But here is where we certainly felt the fact we are westerners. The stares were only matched by those in Myanmar BUT we heard “welcome to Jordan” from just about every vendor we passed.

The Ampitheater was bustling with families and couples out enjoying the beautiful day. Today is Friday, the first day of the weekend here in Jordan and the locals were out in droves. I will be honest in that it was a bit uncomfortable recognizing that we were so out of place. Why that wasn’t an issue in Myanmar I can only guess that our minds have been tainted by the news with all that is reported about sentiment of Americans in the Middle East. Funny thing is, while we were waiting for our Uber driver, we were speaking to a cab driver that has worked for the Marriott for 20 years. When Wolf asked us where we were from and we told him America, he responded, “Americans are good people.”

Following a very quick visit to the Amphitheater, we hustled to get back to the hotel to meet up with Thies. We grabbed a taxi, who overcharged us by double, though it was really Billy’s fault for offering him double but by the time we arrived at the Marriott, we had laughed so hard with Faoud (or Jimmy as he says his nickname is) that we felt like we had paid for entertainment. Another person who loves America and was happy we were here.

Thies was there waiting for us; Jenny was thrilled; and our possee for the next nine days was together. We basically turned around to head out to the Citadel as high on Jenny’s list of things to experience was to watch the sun set over Amman while listening to the call for prayer. Wolf drove us but informed us the Citadel had already closed but we could still enjoy the views and the calls.

Standing on this hill, overlooking one of the many valleys that Amman is built on was beyond surreal. Watching the gigantic Jordan flag waving in the wind, high on the hill, the flocks of birds flying, the sky turning a light pink color, all while hearing the call to prayer echoing through the valley was an experience I think none of us will ever forget. It was like the stereotypical opening scene to any modern dramatic movie set in the Middle East. Truly one of the most amazing cultural experiences ever.

Though little time spent, the hours we have have surpassed our wildest imaginations. There is no mistaking where you are. It seems on so many of our trips, we can find similarities to places we have been or see things that remind us of other locales – not here; not yet at least. Amman is unique — there is no two ways about it. Personally, I am hoping this trip will wipe out the preconceived ideas we have of this area. I am hoping it will let me see a side to the place and the people that is never portrayed to us – the crazy thing is, the few hours we have been here, it is doing just that!

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February 22, 2020

Roman Ruins and Dutch Fun

We were up and out early today as Murad was picking us up at 9:00 for a trip outside of Amman to the northern part of Jordan, not far actually, from the Syrian border. The weather was drizzzly but the forecast was for it to clear so Murad said he would pray to the Angles of Open Skies to clear the way for us.

Our ride into the countryside was very pretty through verdant hillsides covered in olive trees. There were many farm stands on the sides of the road selling carrots, cabbage, pumpkins, tomatoes, pomegranates, bananas and basketball-size heads of cauliflower. If only there was not so much trash everywhere, the scenery would have been spectacular. But as it was, you certainly had the feeling of being in foreign lands.

Our first stop was Ajloun Castle located high on Mount ‘Auf at 1250 meters above sea level. Ajloun Castle is a 12th Century fortress that was built under the rule of the sultan and military leader Saladin. Unfortunately, the normal outstanding views of the Jordan Valley, Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem were obscured by the low clouds that hung.

The views had been the main reason to come but oh well, it was still pretty cool to see, even if most of it has been rebuilt since the Crusades.

The second stop was the main reason for today’s trip – Jerash.

We didn’t even make it more than ten feet passed the front entry before one of the vendors caught a hold of Thies. He was a good sport and let him wrap his head in a traditional keffiyeh before he turned him down to purchase it. We had a good laugh at the fact that the price at the front door was 5 Jordanian dinars but by the time you passed through the whole souk and made it to the backdoor, the price was down to 3 dinars!

The ancient city of Jerash has been occupied for the most part for 6,500 years, beginning in the Neolithic Age. Today, it is considered one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins in the world, outside of Italy. Amazing considering all it has been through from occupation by the crusaders, massive earthquakes and wars. It boasts colonnaded streets with hilltop temples, a huge hippodrome that used to be the scene of chariot races, a large amphitheater that for some reason had men dressed in traditional Arab clothing playing a drum and the bagpipes and a beautiful forum that is still largely intact.

Upon arrival, the weather had turned partly sunny and at one point it got downright warm however it wasn’t long before the clouds returned but how lucky for us that the rain stayed away.

It was very pleasant walking the immense grounds – passing under Hadrian’s Arch built in 130, walking along the stone streets that are rutted from years of chariot use, and having a laugh that the Jordanians there selling trinkets knew where Eindhoven is!

We also had a great laugh from Thies, dancing high up on the forum to the bagpipers down below. Thies is missing Holland’s Carnival to be here in Jordan, so it is necessary to throw in a little bit of that Dutch spirit!

Our car ride back took a little longer than anticipated as we had a bit of a fender bender once we got into Amman. Our driver made a super sudden stop – ABS activated and all but we got hit from behind. We all felt fine, the car sustained no damage which surprised us as it certainly felt like a pretty good impact Needless to say, we took some prophylactic ALEVE and are hoping for the best in the AM. Well, we can tick that one off our checklist – thankfully it was a super minor one!

We made it back to the hotel wondering if we had time to try and see sunset from the Citadel since we missed it last night, but the clouds were still hanging in Amman so Jenny decided we will have many more beautiful places to watch the sunset over the next few days. I think she is right. We are headed to some of the most remarkable and unique locations in Jordan, if not the world. A great adventure still awaits us.

I will be offline for at least two days. We are traveling to Wadi Rum tomorrow to spend two nights in the desert at a traditional (well pretty traditional) Bedouin camp. We have a few fun adventures planned but I will hopefully be able to get caught up on Tuesday evening once we are back in wifi and have electricity!

February 23, 2020

Bedouin Beauty and Mystery

We left the hotel at 8:00 AM to start our drive down south to Wadi Rum. I had planned only one stop after leaving Amman and that was in Madaba to see St George’s Church – home to the largest mosaic map in the world. Inside this Greek Orthodox Church, rediscovered by builders in 1884, is the oldest map of Palestine on record and is believed to have been created in 560 AD. The only problem was, we showed up at 9:00AM – just in time for Sunday Service so we weren’t able to walk inside and see this historical wonder without waiting until 10:00 AM for service to be over. So we hopped back in the van and continued south, turning on the King’s Highway.

The King’s Highway is noted in the bible as the road that Moses was banned from using by the King of Edom as he tried to lead his people through. For hundreds of years, the highway was also an extremely important trade route between Arabia and Syria. Today it not traveled as much as there are two alternate highways that are much quicker compared to the slow going sinuous road that had Thies wishing he had his bicycle. The driver told him to close his eyes and pretend he was riding while we zipped down the canyon.

We stopped at a roadside viewpoint where we were wowed by the incredible valley that lay below us. There was a large dam that created a good size lake in this otherwise dry area. We had a good laugh when Thies noticed a sign on one of the vendors homes that offered Stamppot – a traditional Dutch dish of sausage, kale and potatoes. The vendor was cute as could be – said Americans are very nice people and wanted to know why the people from the Netherlands are so long – too funny! This guy who lived in one tiny room gave Jenny and I each his last two oranges, insisting we take them because they were from his heart. Once back in the car I said he looked just like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and everyone laughed and agreed!

I had imagined Jordan to be dry and barren but for the first two hours it was green farmland and hills in all directions but very abruptly it changed to a rocky landscape . As we drove along I thought again how strange it was that it didn’t seem familiar at all, especially the desert. I’ve been in and have driven through plenty of deserts in my life, yet this one seemed different. I finally realized that the reason this didn’t look like any other desert I have seen as it had no plants at all and only rocks, baseball size grey rocks that looked as though they had been scattered by someone playing jacks.

We made a few stops along the way but the remainder of the drive was unremarkable less seeing daily life in small towns.

We pulled into the Wadi Rum Village about six hours after we had left Amman. The village was a scene of pickup trucks outfitted with benches in the bed, bedouin drivers and guides standing around, all in traditional dress of thoabs (a long dress-like cloth) and keffiyehs (some red and white with the agal-rope, some solid colors tied around the head). It was quite the scene but our driver quickly found the right truck to take us out into the desert to our camp for the next two nights, Arabian Nights Camp.

The drive across the red sand under the craggy mountains was amazing. Thies said it reminded him of Monument Valley – so fun it is a familiar place to him. There are certainly aspects that are similar to Monument Valley, the ochre sandstone cliffs stained with black streaks of desert varnish but upon closer inspection these rock formations are different than any I have ever seen.

Twenty minutes later we pulled into our camp – far removed from other camps we had passed, small in size, unbeatable in location, and looking just like I hoped it would – like a traditional Bedouin camp. Our tents were awesome with views to die for… we couldn’t have been happier!

The communal tent where meals are taken and guests congregate was warm and inviting with benches and tables lining all sides, a fireplace on one end with animal hide rugs strewn about on the floor and hot tea on offer.

We went for a walk and marveled at the rock formations – red rock sandstone with white sandstone seemingly poured on top dripping down just like a drip-cake. I honestly have never seen that before anywhere. We watched the sky turn colors as the sun set far from where we could see the horizon.

Soon thereafter we made our way to the communal tent to enjoy the warmth of the fire for once the sun disappeared the chill quickly set in. Our dinner was a delicious chicken dinner known as zarb, cooked in the ground on a tiered rack with carrots, potatoes and onions. It was served with a variety of chopped salads, hummus, pitas, and a vegetable dish that is similar to ratatouille. All simply delicious!

The scene in the communal tent was something straight out of a movie. A dark smoky lounge, if you will, guests and workers hovered around the fireplace exchanging stories and smoking cigarettes. The room only lit by a few bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Other guests quietly sitting around on the outskirts taking in the scene before them. Such a vibe; and an unforgettable one at that. At one point this tall western-looking guy walks in – hair a bit unkempt but pulled back in a ponytail/bun, good looking guy, wearing a full length traditional heavy Bedouin robe, clearly familiar with the people and comfortable with the place- and takes a seat on the floor at the fireplace. He immediately seemed familiar to me adding to the already mysterious feeling of this place. But when he spoke, in his thick Australian accent, I was certain we had met before…

Our beds called quickly, and our cozy tent, walls lined with thick goat hair rugs and a bed covered in a super fluffy duvet kept the frigid outside temperatures from making it unbearable but the room was finally a temperature we liked – sleep came like a high speed train – fast and unstoppable!

February 24, 2020

Oh the Magic of Wadi Rum…

This morning we had a different sort of breakfast, a simple Bedouin style one but I fell in love with their tea – IF you mix it with regular black tea. The Bedouin style tea is a black tea mixed with enough sugar to keep C&H in business for the rest of their days and a copious amount of sage, that grows like a weed here – seemingly one of the only things that dares to grow here. If you take a cup of straight black tea and hit it with a decent shot of Bedouin tea, you have a drink that is certainly exotic yet enjoyable.

As we walked back to our tent following breakfast, our neighbor popped out of his tent and teased us that we were having a champagne breakfast because he saw a bottle of wine sitting next to our tent door. The weird thing is, it only added to the sense I had had about him last night when he walked into the tent for dinner – by this time I had placed him in a previous time with all of us but, though feeling certain it was him, thought the odds were so infinitesimal that I said nothing.

Our driver Omar loaded us up into the heritage Land Cruiser pick up truck and we headed off for a full day tour of the Wadi Rum Protected Area. The morning air was brisk to say the least and we bundled ourselves against the chilly weather. Our first stop was Kahdzhuil Canyon where we could see ancient petroglyphs left behind from the tribes who inhabited this area long ago. Our first, of what turned out to be many, trips into a canyon in Jordan was beyond entertaining watching Omar maneuver through the slot canyon trying to show Thies how to avoid falling in the water by mantling through the small slot canyon- incredible!

When we came out of the canyon, Omar said he wanted to show us something. He told us to wait where we were while he walked over to an area and scooped up sand in his thoab. He knelt down on the ground and then asked Thies how to spell his name. He then scooped up some sand in his hand and proceeded to “write” Thies on the dry sand with what appeared to be wet sand. He followed with Jenny, Billy and Dominique. When he was finished writing names he then “drew” a camel to which Jenny and Thies each gave their best shot at sand drawing a camel as well.

Next stop was a very large sand dune with an unbelievable view from the top. Unloading from the pick-up, I got the heel of my shoe caught in the tailgate of the truck and before I knew it, went crashing to the ground. Jenny looked at me and said, “Oh Mom…”; Billy looked at me and said, “You OK?”; I laughed and said, “Well, that’s one way to get out of the truck!”; Omar smiled at me, said nothing but extended his hand.

Our stop at the sand dune brought us to an area that allowed for Thies to do the one thing I knew he had wanted to do – sandboarding. Omar gave a brief, and I mean brief, explanation on how to do it – stand up or sit down. There it was. Thies, smartly, and in great relief to me, decided to have a go at it sitting down. He caught some speed but remained in control the whole time. Relieved he made it with no broken bones, I cringed when he suggested he and Jenny go tandem. He climbed back up, caught his breath and off the two of them went, tumbling off at the end but rising from the red sand unscathed! The sand boarding box has now been checked – done!

Not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Billy, “You want to drive?” Billy jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat, zipping along through the desert. Our next stop was a small, manageable hike to a natural bridge known as Khor al Ajram, or Little Bridge. We all did the small hike to the top and then headed on to the next stop.

A few minutes after leaving Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Thies. “You want to drive?” Thies jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat taking us through the desert to our next stop – a super cool one for Jenny, as it centers on one of her favorite movies- the purported house of Lawrence of Arabia. There really wasn’t much to see, but the views from above were stunning and passerbys had built hundreds of cairns that certainly made for a stunning visual effect.

Not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks Jenny, “You want to drive?” Jenny says, “No thank you. I do not know how to drive this kind of car,” to which Omar responds, “No problem! I teach you!” Jenny tried again to assure him she was fine but he insisted she should drive so she hopped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat and got her first lesson in driving stick shift, in the red sands of the UNESCO sight of Wadi Rum. All three of us passengers in the pack of the pick up were amazed at how well she did handling a stick shift, driving in deep sand, with a guide who, those his English was more than passable for what the weather was doing, would not be your first choice as a driving instructor for learning to operate a standard vehicle. Jenny handled it all like a pro, she didn’t stall once, and she and Omar were laughing their way through the magnificent scenery of Wadi Rum.

We made a quick stop at a canyon to enjoy the view and not long after we pulled away Omar stops the car, gets out and asks me, “You want to drive? You know how to drive this kind of car?” I jumped out of the bed and hopped in the driver seat assuring him I did and off we went! We made a wrong turn or two and I was trying hard to follow his directions, “turn left…turn right…harder right…no harder left…no right again” until we found the right track to our midway stop of lunch. We pulled into a beautiful alcove and Omar set up a large rattan mat for us while he got busy preparing a delicious lunch of vegetable stew from scratch. We all enjoyed lazing in the sun and marveling at the silence that befell us. The silence here is heavy, weighing on you like a wet blanket, quickly dimming all other senses as it takes over.

Following lunch we headed out again further into the desert where none of us had a clue where we were or where we might be headed. We stopped at Mushroom Rock, then another canyon, and then another canyon where Omar stopped and told us to walk through and he would meet us on the other side. There were a few other people there that it felt OK. The next canyon and then the next that Omar dropped us at with intention to meet us at the other side had fewer and fewer people until we were the only ones. I told Omar it showed him our complete trust in him, even though we had only known him for a few hours. He drove away smiling and said, “Yes…see you tomorrow…”

The final stop was for sunset, we climbed high up on a sandstone mount where we were feeling certain we would have a beautiful sunset. We got there an hour and a half before the sun was due to set, set up our cameras and relaxed.

About 20 minutes before sunset, we watched as a literal wall of weather came roaring in, taking out the sun, turning the skies black, wiping out any trace of distant Mountain View’s and leaving us with the feeling we were going to get really wet.

The Perfect Line of Weather Coming at Us

We ran for the truck, where Omar was waiting on the other side of the hill so he could not see what all the fuss was about but we managed to convince him somewhat that something bad was heading our way and we needed to go, like now.

We made it to camp, before the rain started, took showers to try and rinse the sand from the cracks and crevices it did not belong in and made our way to the communal tent where the fire was going and we could relax and warm up for a bit.

At some point, the familiar mysterious man walked in and I finally turned to Jenny and said, almost in jest, you know who he reminds me of, that guy in Patagonia we picked up hitchhiking; She said she could see that, but end of story because really what are the chances. That was three yers ago in an exceptionally remote pat of the world, hours from any civilization and that is exactly where we were now – in an exceptionally remote part of the world, maybe not hours from civilization but certainly far removed. And need I mention there are over 7.5 BILLION people in this world….so what really are the chances of running into a complete stranger twice in this life? Infinitesimal right?

We finished our dinner and for some reason the subject of Patagonia, the region not the clothing brand, came up. I do not remember how it all unfolded from there but I turned to this guy knowing exactly where I was headed with this conversation and started off with:

“You ever been to Patagonia?’

“Yeah, I’ve been there.”

“You go there on a motorcycle?”

“Yeah” (with a bit of a strange look on his face)

“You ever been to El Chalten?”

“Yeah. I think I was there.”

“You broke down outside of Chalten. We picked you up hitchhiking with your tire in hand and took you back to your motorcycle.”

(Him now looking intently at me)

Me continuing…”You were with your girlfriend but there wasn’t enough room in our car so she stayed behind and we took you to your bike”

(Clearly I struck a chord)

Him: “Was the motorcycle yellow?”

Me: “Hmmm. I can’t remember that. But I remember you got shook down in Venezuela by the cops and it was your scariest country in South America.”

Billy: “What’s your name?”

Him: “Daniel”

All of us: “Oh my God, you are the guy we picked up.”

Him (Daniel): “Are you sure it was me?”

Billy shows him the selfie I took of all four of us next to his broken down motorcycle and he confirms, “Yeah…that’s me and that’s my motorcycle.” We all about die from the sheer impossibility of it all.

We spend the next hour or so, reminiscing on that fateful day, how it all came to be, what happened after and how incredibly remarkable it was all four of us were sitting together again in a Bedouin tent in the remote lands of Wadi Rum, Jordan. Life doesn’t really get any more bizarre than this. It is difficult to write this one off as a mere case of coincidence. I’m not spiritual really, certainly not religious and even less so superstitious but this one has certainly left us all stupefied.

February 25, 2002

Authentic As It Gets

We woke in the middle of the night to heavy rain falling on the roof of our tent. I remembered that Mumu, one of the Bedouin owners of our camp, had said we were under a flood advisory. As I lay in our tent, images of flash floods sweeping down the canyon floor crept into my mind. It probably didn’t help that Mumu had shown me a video of heavy rains in the area at one point not long ago and how the canyon floor had turned into a roaring red rapid.

When we woke in the morning the mountains were obscured under a blanket of heavy fog and rain was still falling. Funny that we are here in the rain as Wadi Rum averages three days of rain a year. We got dressed to meet up with Daniel to recreate our selfie and to meet up with Mumu to find out what our plan was for today before we departed. We had originally planned a camel ride, all of us except Billy that is, but with the rain and cold we weren’t too sure about that now.

Last night Billy had asked Mumu how to tie his shemagh around his head the way the Bedouins do. Mumu told Billy his was a bit too small and that he would gift him a keffiyeh in the morning. True to his word, he had a camouflage green one that he quickly and expertly tied around Billy’s head -perfect for Greer Billy thinks. In return, Billy gifted Mumu his flashlight, a rechargeable 1,000 lumens torch that would light up the entire valley floor, just about.

Mumu suggested we wait and see about the weather if we wanted to ride a camel but in the meantime he wanted to gift us a small side trip. He said his cousin would come to take us out to a truly authentic Bedouin encampment to see the real way these nomadic people live.

His cousin Faisal was the real deal. He wore a long red and white keffiyeh with the agal ring around his head and a heavy thick Bedouin robe with a thoab underneath and sandals on his feet. His deep mahogany skin was worn, he smoked like a chimney and had a smile so genuine and warm he immediately felt like a friend. We hopped into his pickup truck and off we went into the desert to some unknown place, at an unknown distance, for an unknown time – a real adventure I assured my crew!

Faisal drove like he was participating in the Dakar rally, taking unmarked forks left or right with no hesitation. Something tells me he could make this drive in the thick of a moonless night without his lights on! He was a man of few words but spoke English well enough to communicate with us. We pulled up to a few ramshackled tents and got out of the truck.

There were goats, chickens and a donkey on one side and camels on the other. A woman was speaking in Arabic, clearly caught off guard that she was having visitors. Faisal told us we could take a look around and then join him in the tent to sit by the fire and drink tea. A few flakes of snow actually began falling at this point and the ever so dainty dusting they left on the rock features was magnificent, allowing for a definition in depth that is otherwise difficult to distinguish.

The wind really whipped at us and it wasn’t long before we were sitting around the fire drinking tea with Faisal and a young boy.

I asked Faisal if this was his home and he said no, that he lives in Rum Village now but he had lived here like this as a child like his father and grandfather before him but his parents moved to the village for Faisal and his siblings to go to school, never to return to a nomadic life. While I think it is wonderful that education is given such an importance, it is also a shame that traditional ways of life are lost. It was interesting because in Rum Village there was written on a wall, “Education takes you out of the darkness and into the light.”

Faisal told me these people were his cousins – everybody we met from the workers to the guides all called each other cousins. They said there were hundreds and hundreds of cousins, reminding me of some of the heavily Mormon towns in Utah or then again, perhaps a Phelps family reunion!

As we warmed at the fire, I had some serious reservations about the tea we were about to drink. The cups were “washed” in a plastic bin with beige colored water. The water for the tea was poured from a 40 gallon plastic jug once used to hold some sort of oil. The water was put on the fire where I had hoped to see bubbles rising but I was going to have to settle for steam – and some serious hopeful thinking. I had read and had been told how incredibly rude it is to turn down an offer of tea, especially if you are sitting in someone’s house like we were, so a “no thank you” was not an option, no matter how sincere and polite it may have been!

An hour later, we left to go back to camp and grab our things. It was still raining and cold so we decided the camel ride was off the table, much to Jenny’s disappointment. Though I was up for the challenge of trying to ride a camel, after having just been bounced around in Faisal’s truck, I figured my neck and back were probably holding on by a mere thread before giving out, so I thought it best to skip it as well.

Mumu met us in the village to hand us off to a taxi driver that is his good friend and was insistent on giving us our money back for the prepaid camel ride. We refused the money instead asking him to please share it with all of his workers and thanking him for the extra trip out to see the traditional Bedouin Camp – something we all enjoyed and Thies even commented on the ride back that he really liked it.

The one hour ride to Aqaba was a gorgeous drive through a canyon between two sets of jagged mountains streaked black with basalt and red with iron ore intrusions.

It wasn’t until we got to Aqaba that the rain finally let up We could see the streets were covered in dirt that had washed from the garden median into the road. Security at this hotel was just as severe as in Amman, which of course we welcomed. Upon checking in, the front desk clerk said that they had received more rain over the last ten hours then at any other point in the last eight years. Wow! So glad that wasn’t the case in Wadi Rum because for sure we would have been washed away.

The hotel is very nice but it certainly was a bit of a let down. The funny thing is Billy was upgraded to the Presidential Suite – the one room I had specifically said we did not want. The view from the hotel is great, overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, an offshoot of the Red Sea. Here you can see four countries at once – Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – pretty cool. We watched the sunset over Mount Sinai and since the restaurant at the hotel was unexpectedly closed that we wanted to dine at, we opted for room service since we had a dining room table. We enjoyed a casual dinner in our room overlooking the lights of Israel reminiscing of our time in magical Wadi Rum.