Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea

After Petra, we headed South for Wadi Rum and had a quick stop at the railway station. This 1956 engine was used for the biographical Lawrence of Arabia film, where he helped the Ottomans so the Arabs could control their own destiny. What he didn't know was that he was set up by a secret Sykes-Picot Agreement to divvy up the area between France and Britain.

The train cars behind had sandbags and gun positions, all to help the imagination. Our driver (Feras Nassar) was excellent and happy to participate in some antics. 

St Lawrence’s book “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” included this shot on the cover (I could only make out 6 pillars!).

Our overnight stop was at Rum Planet Camp, which was different to others in the Wadi. It was owned by locals (no foreign investors) and focused on sustainability (stainless steel loaned water bottles, solar power, fans rather than AC, insulated tents etc). The manager, Ahmed, was perhaps the best guide we have experienced. Rather than send one of his cousins out with us, he opted to do so himself as he “preferred older people”. I suspect this was because we were much more interested in the Bedouin lifestyle and the Wadi than the more selfie-driven, younger generation.

This was demonstrated by our first stop – a nearby gorge. A truck caught us up, the tourists jumped out, had a quick walk and left while we were just starting to explore the place. As the gorge was incomplete an alternative route was required, hence these steps. There were no volunteers in our group to try them out!

On the opposite wall was some old Arabic writing. It was unusual as it did not include any of the Arabic “dots” to assist pronunciation. Hence, readers had to understand the context to comprehend the message.

The shapes of the mountains were particularly varied and one could imagine all sorts of faces and animals. This view may have been where the pyramids were first conceived.

Just before sunset, Ahmed lit a fire (we had all helped in gathering the fuel) and made some mint and thyme tea. It was excellent, although Ahmed was surprised that, unlike him, none if us wanted sugar in it!

The following morning, Steve and I had an early start and took a camel ride to see the sunrise. They are remarkable animals not least because of the lurching involved every time they stand and sit. Fortunately, our guide knew how to manage the resultant rider lurches!

This relaxed shot rather belies the internal turmoil as we waited to dismount.

And this video helps explain our trepidation. It is little wonder that camels moan before sitting or getting up. It is clearly quite an effort. Check out the complex leg movements.

This is the entry to the camp. Just inside, we had spent an hour the previous evening lying on the ground while Ahmed gave an enlightening explanation of the stars, including navigation and star signs.

One day in the camp really was not enough and in no time we were off to Aqaba. This is Jordan’s port on the Red Sea. Looking around the bay, our proximity to Israel and Egypt was little more than a hop, skip and a jump. Feras’s brother lived in Jordan and caught a bus each day to work in a hotel in Israel. Three times a Jordanian's income while enjoying the significantly smaller costs of living at home.

Rather than a walk around town, we opted for a glass-bottomed boat to look at wrecks and corals. The captain certainly knew the depth of his boat as we seemed to get very close but never quite scraped the bottom despite the waves and windy conditions.

We certainly took more than enough shots of the coral!

We then headed for our final stop – the Dead Sea. En route, we stopped to view some of the salt pan workings. The scale of this operation compared to those in Port Said was stark. This is a massive industry. (The hill on the other side is Bethlehem.)

So, saying the industry does have a downside. The Dead Sea is over 60 kms long and about 14 kms wide, but that is changing rapidly. As water is drawn and evaporated for phosphate and salt production, the level is dropping some 2 metres per year. The shoreline looks more akin to a dam than a sea. There is some talk of piping water in from the Red Sea to replace the loss, but as that would require agreement between Jordan, Israel and Palestine, it is at best a distant project.

Eventually, we arrived at our hotel, had a quick change and golf cart trip down to the retreating beach so that we could float inelegantly in the 65% salt-concentrated water. Nothing can live in that, hence the sea's name. You can’t even swim, as salt water in the eye would have been very painful. However, it is easy to keep your hair dry and rest assured, without glasses, there is not much reading going on!

The second attraction was to get covered in mud. Apparently, it is good for the skin and overall well-being. I think that is more to do with washing it off, followed by a hot shower, than contact with the mud.

That evening, we had our last supper together for this trip. The peals of laughter that emanated from our table must have been disconcerting to others in the dining room. It did underpin how much we enjoyed each other’s company. We were lucky with the quality and personalities of most of our guides, but also suspect the synergy of our group helped to energise them.

We all agreed we should try and travel together again. All we need to do is pick somewhere!

In the late evening, Helen and my taxi arrived for the one-hour ride to the airport and flight to Frankfurt. Interestingly (and in contrast to the flight from Cairo), our path took us over Israel. We were required to keep our seatbelts on longer than usual (about an hour) until we were over the Mediterranean. I assume someone thought seat belts would be of some help if we were shot down!!