A Travellerspoint blog

WADI RUM, JORDAN

A ride on the moon

sunny 70 °F

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Suleyman, taxi driver and phone finder, now our new best friend, took us to Wadi Rum, a huge desert in southern Jordan. Huge means 280 square miles, some of it gorgeous, some of it eerie. All the movies about Mars have been made here. You can see some of the odd rock formations in the photos, like the ram's head at the prow of a boat shape. You cannot see the colors, stripes of green (copper), red (iron), and various yellows and browns, all shimmering as sunset approaches. Occasionally you spot a Bedouin goat-hair tent (which does not look like it comes from L.L. Bean) and a jerry-rigged sheep/camel pen. Sometimes the Bedouins open their tents to visitors and offer camel rides and tea and local crafts. In one tent they were labeled in English. Do you need any "bitter melon if knees"?

We made two fascinating stops, one at a cave where T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) stopped on his way to Aqaba during the Arab Revolt of 1917-18. The other was to view Nabatean petroglyphs of camels carved to delineate a trade route, still distinct after 2-3000 years.

Posted by HopeEakins 14:14 Archived in Jordan

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Comments

This blog and photos are neat!! I just gave up a model Bedouin tent complex that Joyce purchased at a place like you show. I couldn't remember where/how she got it. Now I know! Thank you!! Hal B.

by BuckinghamHal

It looks like that big rock is too close to your heads. It must be nice for you to take a day by yourselves. Traveling with crowds in busses gets old. Did you do any shopping?

by Seabury

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