Homer's Travels: 2010 Vacation: Jordan - Day Six - Wadi Rum

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

2010 Vacation: Jordan - Day Six - Wadi Rum

I only have one picture from our last full day in Jordan so you'll have to use your imagination ...

We checked out of our hotels in Wasi Musa and drove south out of town.  As we left we stopped at an overlook and took in the sweeping vista.  Our guide pointed out the extent of Petra.  The site is much larger than most people realize.  It would probably take a week or more to explore all its nooks and crannies.

[Insert Petra Panorama Here]

On the mountaintop on the left of the panorama, the white dot, is a mosque/shrine.  It is the purported burial place of Aaron, brother to Moses.

We continued south, driving through small desert towns.  We passed by fields with herds of camels [Insert Picture of Camels Here].  We crossed our first train track and the exit to the Camel Racing course, before arriving at the Wadi Rum visitor's center.

Wadi Rum, a valley named after a prominent mountain in the region, Mount Rum, reminded me a lot of the American desert southwest.  Parts of it were reminiscent of formations I saw near Moab.  This makes since as the Moabite kingdom was located in Jordan though not in Wadi Rum.

We walked out back of the visitor's center and saw a group of pickups, the ubiquitous Toyotas that are found in all countries all over the world, decked out with seats in the bed, and a sun covering [Insert Picture of Pickups Here].  We climbed into two of the trucks and raced out into the desert.  Ours was the lead pickup so we were spared from eating dust.

Our first view was of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, [Insert Picture of Seven Pillars of Wisdom Here] a rock formation named after the book by T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).  Lawrence based his operations out of the Wadi Rum area in 1917-1918.

The tour continued past large sand dunes, petroglyphs marking caravan routes [Insert Picture of Petroglyphs Here], and stunning vistas.

[Insert Stunning Vista Here]

After driving through one stunning view after another we stopped at a Bedouin tent to have tea.  Outside the tent were carvings of three faces, one of them being Lawrence of Arabia [Insert Picture of Carved Face Here].  Now, I know this is a sin to some of my bloggy friends but, frankly, I am not fond of tea.  I especially am not fond of hot tea when it's in the 90s in the shade.  Having said this, I didn't want to anger Allah any more than I already had so I took tea with the Bedouins and drank it down once it had cooled off enough (I think I burned my lips a bit - it was very hot tea - and I'm not used to hot beverages).

We returned to the visitor's center and got back on our short bus.  We drove north the rest of the day.  We made one stop at a rest house where I took my last picture - a picture of a falcon.  I would come to despise this falcon.


The rest of the day was a long drive back to Amman.  We dropped some of the tour group at the airport so they could catch flights out that evening.  We returned back to our Amman hotel and spent a quiet last night in Jordan.  It felt odd.  When we went to Peru we left rather late in the evening but before most of our group had left.  It felt right.  In Jordan I felt like we had over stayed our visit.

3 comments:

  1. I'm sorry, HD, but I have to admit that I totally cracked up when I read "[Insert Stunning Vista Here]". :)

    Poor falcon, it's not his fault.

    Even without pictures, it sounds like a pretty awesome trip. I just hope JaG forgives you for what you said about tea...

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  2. I know! I'm with Geekhiker, I was totally cracking up! I could imagine the beautiful pictures you took. It's very zen to create something beautiful that ends up not lasting
    (small comfort?)

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  3. GH: That's what I was going for so no need to be sorry. When you feel like crying, sometimes it helps to laugh at your predicament.

    it so is the Falcon's fault ... Damn bird.

    Not sure that JaG reads Homer's Travels anymore.

    Miss McC: OOMMMMM ZEN OOOMMMMMM

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