Wadi Rum Protected Area, Jordan

By Paul Bryers

This afternoon was truly enjoyable. Our AMA guide, Eyad, continued to work his magic making sure we saw the best of Jordan.

Wadi (dry river bed) Rum is an area of outstanding natural beauty, now protected by the government.

We embarked on a journey in two vintage jeeps into the desert. The red dust was being raised by the incessant wind, creating little whirling dervishes, reminiscent of my recent visit to Turkey.

Rising out of the sand were fascinating rock formations, created by the same sedimentation – river carving processes as the gorges at Petra.

Notably, the formation Seven Pillars of Wisdom, famous from David Lean’s 1962 film about Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif, was a highlight; this film was based in tge book the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Interestingly, more recent blockbusters have been filmed here – Star Wars, The Martian, Dune and Mission to Mars.

The red sand spread out forever around us..

I ascended a sand dune to get a 360° view of the desert – startlingly beautiful.

As I was on an adrenaline high, I ran back down the dune, sounding a bit like a chest clinic is in my future.

We observed some ancient carvings on the rock that you could actually touch but, of course, you did not. Amazingly, they have survived the Bedouins and tourists.

The area of the carvings had reddest of sand and beautiful, weathered rock. While watching where I was putting my feet, I noticed the beautiful shadows created by the setting sun.

We met some lovely camels, especially a young camel called Calum The Camel, who was very inquisitive, wandered towards me and kissed my tattoo.

Finally, we went and took tea with a Sheik in his goat-hair tent . I purchased some lovely pomegranate incense for US $7 and a Jordanian red check headdress for US$10. I shall use these to my advantage….

And now it’s a 2 hr drive back on the windy roads to Petra.

A wonderful day!