Yesterday when browsing through steemit posts I read an article on Bedouin people and it reminded me of my trip to Jordan a couple years ago.
I did the usual tourist stops like Amman, the beautiful Roman ruins of Jerash, the dead sea, Petra and the Red Sea but the organized holiday also had 2 3-day desert hikes in its program. The first hike was in the rocky Dana nature reserve and the second one was in the beautiful Wadi Rum desert.
Wadi Rum is a colorful desert of sand plains alternated with mountains and rock formations. Living in a densely populated area, walking in this endless sandbox gave me a strange and humble feeling of being a small human on a huge planet.
While walking trough the desert we passed several walls with old inscription made in the time huge trade caravans passed trough the desert. One of the destinations of these caravans was the impressive city of Petra.
Hiking in the desert is tough because of the sandy surface and the heat. We started our hikes early in the morning before the big heat wave but we had to hold a siesta in the shade between 12 and 14:00 to avoid the strong sun.
Siesta Bedouin style
Hot.... Water....
Most rock formations are easy to climb and gave a beautiful view on the top as a reward.
The local inhabitants not interested in some crazy people who actually pay to walk in this heat as a holiday.
My 'roommate' still sound asleep at sunrise :-) The fact that we slept in open sky was amazing. I fell asleep watching the beautiful starry sky and enjoyed waking up from the sunbeams of a beautiful sunrise.
During the day we were guided by a local Bedouin guide who was extremely friendly and shared his knowledge of the desert. In the evening he radio'd for the cook who supplied joined us every evening from the village by 4x4 and who made some delicious local specialty dishes. After a long day of hiking we were always hungry and the food was one of the highlights of the day.
Our guide (left) and cook (right).
They also provided some entertainment.
After our 3 day Wadi Rum hike we got picked up by minivan and went straight to the red sea to do some snorkeling. I couldn't get in the water fast enough after a couple sweaty days without shower.
Tourism in Jordan is declining the last 5 years because of the instability across the border in Syria but I hope it jumps up again. Jordan is a beautiful and interesting country that has a lot to offer and that deserves a visit!!!