The Lost City of Petra and the Dead Sea usually come to mind when planning a trip to Jordan. Petra is nice, but there is only so much history and archaeology you can take in. Its listing in the New7Wonders of the World has helped draw droves of tourists and that can be a bit overpowering. With the Dead Sea you can boast of having been to the lowest point on earth and that you floated on water. But you are in a tightly enclosed area with the floating time limited to ten minutes for health reasons. What is often ignored by the lay tourist – or not given adequate time – is Wadi Rum. I found Wadi Rum to be the most intriguing and enchanting place, without tourists milling around.
Night sky
I saw infinity that evening at Wadi Rum. Our convoy of vehicles on a self-driving tour of Jordan reached our camp well after sunset. After a day long drive, I was a tired and looking to have a hot shower. I parked my car and happened to look up. The sky was ablaze with millions and millions of stars. Some faint, some shining like large solitaires. Extending all the way to sublime infinity. Totally overwhelmed, I promise to myself I would be back outdoors after my dinner. I am told at dinner that Wadi Rum is a safe place and one can walk around even at night provided we did not lose sight of the camp lights; it is ridiculously easy for a visitor to get lost in the deserts of Wadi Rum. I return post dinner, now carrying a sheet which I spread on the soft, cool sand. I lay down, gazing at the canopy of celestial diamonds. Total silence, complete darkness, no movements around. Just the sound of my heartbeat and the heavens!
Wadi Rum is far away from any human habitation – save for the camps – hence there is no light pollution. The sky is clear virtually round the year. The perfect recipe to give you a clear, unadulterated view of the night sky.
Desert and rocks
Imagine an endless expanse of red punctuated with weathered masses of rock formations. That is Wadi Rum for you! Miles and miles of soft red sand, rocks – granite and sandstone – with sheer vertical walls. Each rock has a unique pattern due to centuries of erosion due to water and wind. If you look hard – and are creative enough – you can see faces of humans, animals, and monsters. “Mushroom” or “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” are popularly visited formations. Many rocks have their bases cleanly eroded, leaving behind a natural bridge between neighbouring rock formations. I clambered upon the rock bridge Al Kharaz and it was easy to see why Wadi Rum is known as a Martian landscape on earth. Countless movies have been shot there, notably the old classic “Lawrence of Arabia” and the more recent Matt Damon’s “The Martian”.
Wadi Rum was an important part of the ancient trading route. It has been inhabited since pre-historic times. You can still see remains of plinths of stone houses and with some diligent hunting you can pick up some sharp stone tools used by the early men. The ancient folks had devised an ingenious way of getting water in this arid region. They carved spiral pipelines on the surfaces of the rocks. Water from the meagre rains would collect from this “pipeline” and drop into a well dug deep in the bedrock.
Bedouin lifestyle
A Bedouin – Bedouins are original inhabitant of Wadi Rum – offered me a tiny cup of coffee. I drank the gritty, black coffee as I sat in our camp’s lounge. I was offered one more, which my guide prompted to me in sign language to accept. Then the third cup. I had that too. I was rather perplexed at this till I was explained later by our guide about the coffee-drinking rituals of Bedouins. Having the first cup you indicate accepting their hospitality, you taste the coffee with the second cup. Consuming the third cup is more profound, it stands for “Sword”! With the “sword” round I commit to my host that I will unsheathe my sword to come to his protection come hell or high weather!
Over long drags on sheesha (“Double Apple” flavour, no less), I get chatting with our Bedouin hosts. This tribe lays great stress on hospitality, even for their enemies. If an enemy were to step into their shelter, they are honour-bound to host them; for three days at least. It was time to “inspect” the dinner. “Zarb” is an authentic Bedouin meal which is a mix of meat and vegetable cooked in a stack of trays for a few hours in a hollow underground pit. A Bedouin barbeque if you please! The cooking done, the pit cover is lifted off and the tray pulled out with a flourish.
As I drive out of Wadi Rum in our convoy of vehicles one thing strikes me. You can stay actually awake twenty-four hours at a stretch if you wish and not have a single boring moment. During the day you enjoy the sand dunes and the rock formations and after sunset you have the entire glittering sky to yourself! Just the perfect place where you can spend endless hours in communion with yourself!