It’s been a great past 5 days for me. Work has been great. Going to Dubai was pretty sweet. But I have to say that the highlight was spending Thursday night and Friday morning in Wadi Rum. It’s good to get away from all the metal and glass, air conditioned, bubble of a city that we live in, and spend some time in the desert; sleeping under the stars.
Every time you go to Wadi Rum it is a completely different experience. Each one is as unique and different as the mountains it is home to. Here are some of my favorite videos from this time around…
Touring the desert:
It might seem a bit crazy but rolling down a dune is incredibly fun…until of course you have to empty your shoes of all the sand:
….or if you discover that one side of the same dune can actually be a lot harder than the softer side that’s probably been in the Sun a lot longer:
Other desert activities include taking powerful 4 x 4’s, pickup trucks and jeeps, and racing them toward a large dune of sand piled up against a mountain, to see how high you can climb before the sand eventually brings the car to standstill. The idea is to climb and descend, then try and beat the record that’s engraved in the tracks laid out in the yellow sand:
We drove past the “rum ship”, which basically looks like a ship in the middle of the desert. There we met a few young Bedouin boys and girls, one of whom tried to throw in as many English words as she could because I suppose anyone who does come from Amman is technically a tourist in these parts. She invited us for tea and told us her favorite part of Amman was Ajloun and Irbid (two cities that are actually to the north of the capital). Her mother asked us if we were from Abdoun. I think Abdoun might have a bad rep now!
Our tour of the desert was about 3 hours and was simply amazing. Here are a few of my favorite shots from this trip. You can check out the whole series in my Ikbis album.
“We drove out to the desert
Just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars…”
It took us about 6 to 7 hours to get back to Amman but that’s because we were trying to take the Wadi Araba road back home. We were given bad directions all the way to Aqaba, then made a giant u-turn all the way to Petra where we had lunch and then started the long spiraling decent that is the Wadi Araba road. It was long, a bit tedious for a car ride, but between the scenery and the company, it was totally worth it.
…finally, we drove from the southern tip of the Dead Sea all the way north while the Sun was setting over it. And then home sweet home.
Looks like it waa a great trip … but the linkin park sound track made it that much better
Deeb
Great tour!
Hi Nas, I know this might sound like the most random thing ever. But would you know where the Habitat for Humanity quarter is in Amman?
I swear I’m not weird…well I am, but I really needed to know so I had to take desperate measures :p
alias: you can find their mailing address and phone number here:
http://www.habitat.org/intl/ame/104.aspx
i think they’re in jabal weibdeh…behind some school…i think the street is called “mohammad hassan”
wow u brought back memories! rum was like a monthly ritual for myself and a few crazy friends of mine uni days.. and i can totally understand why the fakeness of dubai made u run to nature! detoxify nas detoxify!
VA: yup! that’s exactly right!
the music in the first video was a turn off. you are in Jordan, in Wadi Rum,, the westren lyrics was out of place …
Nas,,I was there last year with my kids ,I must say ,it is majestic and out of this world.
We must protect it and reserve it for future generation to enjoy.
It loooks like you had loads of fun..You were laughing your ass off in one of the clips you were taking.. hehehe :D. I’ve never been to Wadi Rum, but am thinking seriously of camping there (for the first time) once I visit Jordan in a couple of weeks inshalla.
ahh.. rum… i loved it.. loved it… will go there whenever there’s a trip suggested. The rolling down a dune… hehe.. after my pants were washed i found sand in the pockets:D
your post made me remember that day
and if you didn’t get the chance to read my post, i have to tell u that one of the bedouin boys gave me a flying kiss:D and one girl yes… said all the english she knew in one go:)