Hashemite Kingdom Part 2

The official name of Jordan is "The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan", which sounds pretty awesome, right?

Anyway, after picking up A., we proceeded on to Wadi Rum for a Jeep tour and camping in the desert.

Those "Camel Crossing" signs on the highway? They weren't joking.

 Tourism in Wadi Rum is the major source of income for the Bedouin tribes living in the area, who are the official caretakers of Wadi Rum desert and Petra. They are a very handsome people, darker skinned than most other Jordanians, and with smooth curly black hair. The men wear sparkling white robes, which never seem to get dirty even in the dust of the desert. This all adds to the tall, dark, and handsome allure  - I've heard from numerous people that sex tourism is not completely unheard of for Western women who want the full Bedouin, ahem, experience. But I digress from our trip (which did not include that particular experience...)

Our guide's name was Aatif, and he brought along a friend. We set off in a Jeep that was probably purchased around the time Mubarak came to power, and had no shocks to speak of. This made off-roading a somewhat painful experience, and I'm pretty sure I bruised my tailbone somewhere about the way. The scenery made us forget all the discomfort though...

Can you see me?

The landscape reminded me quite a bit of Utah, with the red rocks, sandy floor, and numerous arches, which brought back a lot of good memories from a trip I took with friends this past March to Canyonlands National Park. In addition to the rocks and arches, there were canyons and petroglyphs to explore:

Thanks A., this is a fantastic shot of my better side

Now at this point, Aatif and friend and doing a fantastic job driving.

So I can't understand why they thought it would be fun to let us drive for a while. Maybe this is part of the tourist bit, maybe they were bored, maybe Bedouins have a woman driver fetish. Whatever the case may be, I was first in the drivers seat. This was my first, and possibly last, time driving a manual. Aatif elected to hang out the backseat window and take pictures while his friend (who didn't really speak the ingleezi) gave me directives - "Clutch" "Schweya schweya! (slow down!)", "Clutch Clutch Clutch!".

Do you see the terror in his eyes?

Note our friends use of the "Oh Shit" handle

After everyone recovered, I handed it over to B. In addition to growing up in Idaho, B. used to work in Las Vegas and go off-roading in the desert quite a bit, so this was old hat for her. Even the Bedouins were impressed - laughing and smiling and generally approving of our gringa off-road endeavors. But then it was A.'s turn. A. jumped into the drivers seat with gusto and with B's command of "Drive it like you stole it!" we raced off into the desert. A. likes to drive fast, and not stay in the tracks so much. This was great fun for all, until:

Oops.

We are in the middle of the desert, with a flat tire, and no cell phone reception. One would think that carrying a spare tire is covered in Jeep Touring 101, but apparently Aatif had skipped that day. So, we had no choice but to drive to camp on a completely flat tire, shredding it to bits as we go. There were several other Bedouin men at the camp when we arrived, and they had another Jeep, so we were all set to get back the next morning.

Sleeping at the camp was relatively uneventful (and I have no pictures to share because my camera battery was running low at that point) but at dinner our guides proposed a sunrise camel ride, to the tune of 45JD. This is convenient, because 45JD is the exact amount that Aatif had mentioned it would cost him to replace the tire we destroyed. And since we were good sports, B. and I agreed to be woken at stupid o'clock and seek out the sunrise on the backs of smelly, cranky beasts of burden. (A. could not be persuaded to get up at stupid o'clock).

B. on camel

You know, even though it cost almost as much as the whole Jeep trip, and was obviously an attempt to recoup the tire costs, this was my favorite part of the trip. The desert was absolutely silent - I never understood the phrase "The silence was deafening" until that morning.

I wasn't having a good time on the camel (its a bumpy and high off the ground ride), so we elected to walk back alongside them, which gave us an opportunity to talk with the teenage boy taking care of the camels. He was very sweet, and obviously treated the animals very well - he petted them and sang to them, and they seemed to trust him. The little white one (on the right) was pregnant, and we learned that camels gestate for a whole year before giving birth. They also have long eyelashes, and despite the smell, they are pretty cute. :)

When we arrived back to camp, eggs, bread, tea, and a bright-eyed bushy-tailed A. were waiting for us.

At this point, we had to head out to get A. to Aqaba in time to catch the ferry back to Dahab. The replacement Jeep had open benches to ride in the back. There's no better way to see the desert than in the open air, bouncing along on a metal bench in the back of a 4x4.

View over the front of the Jeep

View from the Back

This is where the battery on my camera died, and so the rest of our trip is undocumented. This is sad for all of you, because at one point B. and I were sprawled out on a beach chair at the Dead Sea, in bikinis, completely covered in black Dead Sea mud, sitting next to two woman completely covered in black burqas. That picture, had it been taken, would have perfectly expressed what I loved about Jordan - the tolerance, diversity, and natural beauty that made the country such an unforgettable, welcoming, and intriguing piece of the Middle East.

This Thursday, I am headed to Georgia (the Republic, not the state) for over two weeks to get a project underway - have to say I'm looking forward to a break from the heat, pollution, and political tension here. I've heard amazing things about Georgia from everyone who's been. I plan to consume as much wine, pork, and beautiful scenery as possible (while working really, really hard of course...).

Sending lots of love to everyone - missing you all so much.