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Wadi Rum Desert
I thought I was crossing the border
from Eilat into the neighbouring country of Jordan. But I think I have actually
landed in another planet altogether! I will attempt to explain why – but I
think mere words and photographs will never be able to do justice to the
reality of the wonders that my eyes have seen.
After crossing the Yitzhak Rabin border
from Israel into Jordan,
my mom and I headed straight for the Bedouin territory of the Wadi Rum desert!
Truly, truly, truly – the Wadi Rum
desert, all 300 kilometres of it, is an other-worldly place of endless sand
dunes in red, yellow, white and black as well as majestically towering rock
mountains that change colours at different
times of the day. It is also the home of the famously hospitable Bedouin folk -
the original nomads of the land who have occupied the Wadi Rum desert for
hundreds of years. Every man, woman, boy or girl seems to know each rock
mountain and desert plain by name – and yes they literally have a specific name
for each mountain that has been passed on from generation to generation. Our
Bedouin guide Nadjah told us that he can drive in his jeep through the desert
in pitch black night at two or three in the morning and know exactly how to get
around or get home to his village and camp. It is quite cool to think that
these massive rocks and mountains and ravines are their ‘street’ names!
It was an absolute privilege and thrill to ride in Nadjah’s jeep and explore the red sand dunes, canyons and
rock mountains of Wadi Rum from afternoon till sunset. The place itself is so
vast and so huge that you feel so very small – and the only way I could
describe it is in two words: devastatingly beautiful. I feel it is appropriate
to use the word ‘devastating’ because it gives an edge to the softer connotation
that comes with the word ‘beautiful’. The words are a stark contrast to each
other, and yet when put together, the two perfectly reflects the fearsome wonder
of this glorious place which belongs to the Bedouin people.
In the sweltering hot summer
day, it can get up to forty degrees and over! However, I am still really glad
that my mom and I decided to do this. You can’t even put a price to this
experience because it is truly a priceless one. Being out there in the desert
makes you feel like you’re the only one on this Martian-like planet, and that
there is no one else out here who will judge you or harm you or make life
difficult for you – except the harshness of the desert, of course!
The stunning facades of the rock
mountains and ginormous boulders are something in itself – just standing before
one is enough for you to gape in silent awe. The Bedouin have a huge respect
for these structures of nature – they believe God created them and left them
here for a reason. It is devastatingly beautiful precisely because the place
itself is very difficult terrain to live and survive in – no matter how much
any one could admire and love it for its epic splendour. I honestly have a deep
respect for the Bedouin now for all these years they have lived in this harsh
desert climate and barren landscape. They do have seasons from summer, autumn,
winter to spring. They even have snow in winter and flowers in spring. But it
is still not a place one would easily raise children and find or cultivate
food, shelter and water.
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It can get eerily quiet and turn
pitch black in the night as there are literally zero city lights or any kind of
artificial light apart from our lamps or the generated electricity that lasts
until after dinner time. But the most memorable thing about being out there in
the desert at night is the incredible night-scape vista of thousands upon
thousands of stars all illuminating the clear, dark skies. One could even spot
the cloud-burst of star clusters that belong to the Milky Way surrounded by the
mysterious shadows of the rocky mountains all around the Bedouin camp. It was
really nice to sit outside with my ukulele in hand and play some worship songs
in the night!
Surprisingly, it does get chilly
at night, and a pleasant desert breeze blows through. So going to Wadi Rum in
the height of summer wasn’t that bad at all. In the day time the sand can get
scorching hot, burning the soles of your feet if you didn’t wear shoes (I liked
wearing sandals). However, Nadjah was really clever to send me and my mom off
to walk through a canyon that created looming shadows in between as a cool wind
blew through the rocks in the height of the afternoon heat. So the desert
summer temperatures didn’t affect us that drastically after all. We just needed
loads of water (which Nadjah was kind enough to provide a good few bottles to
keep us hydrated), a good scarf and hat, as well as of course a sense of
adventure! After all, how often do you get to be out in a Middle Eastern
desert, in a Middle Eastern summer, with an exceptionally hospitable and bright
Bedouin guide who speaks brilliant English? (Nadjah learnt English only six
years ago all by himself and practiced it with tourists passing through.)
Stay tuned for more stories of my adventures in Jordan! For
more photos check out my Wadi Rum Desert and Wadi Rum Canyon albums.
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