Study Tour - Day Four

Today, we really began our journey through Jordan. We would be travelling North along the King's Highway from Aqaba, the major port of Jordan, to Petra, made famous by the Treasury building carved into the side of a mountain, which appears in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. On our way, we would be stopping at another famous movie location, Wadi Rum. This stop appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, and was a pivotal point in the story.

The drive itself was relatively uneventful, but we were afforded the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with the landscape and terrain as we went. It was harsh, rocky, sandy terrain, almost completely void of any vegetation. Interestingly, our tour guide, Roberto, mentioned at various times that it was quite fertile land. I was quite confused by his comments, as it looked more like a barren wasteland than fertile ground. Even coming from a country as dry as Australia, it looked very dry. Roberto did make the comment, however, that any vegetation we did see was being watered by underground springs that flow beneath the harsh looking surface.

Eventually, we arrived at our first checkpoint of the day, Wadi Rum. Here we would be experiencing the desert first hand, although we were lucky enough not to have to walk across, or even ride on camel back. Rather, we rode in groups of six in the back of 4WD utes, flimsily fitted with makeshift shade from blankets tied above a rickety rollbar. Without a great deal of suspension, and sitting on the side of the ute tray, although on thin cushions, we felt each bump on the sandy track as we rode across the Wadi Rum.

I took the opportunity, prior to getting on the 4WD to purchase a Jordanian Bedouin headdress to help cover my neck and keep me protected from the sun in such harsh conditions. Our tour guide fitted it for me, and after a group photo we were away.

Our first stop on the Wadi Rum was near a Bedouin tent, which we learned always faces East, that offered us piping hot mint tea and some kind of amber perfume as a display of hospitality. Interestingly, this tent serves as more of a bazaar for the tourists that come by to see the real reason we stopped in this location. Two items of significance were mentioned. The first was the trough that appears in Lawrence of Arabia where Lawrence's Bedouin guide is shot and killed for drawing water from the trough. The second was a nearby rock that still carries the carvings from ancient times, easily showing us how text was written and how the reader could determine the start and end of each word. We learned that words were carved in any direction, and were identifiable by a C with a dot in the centre at each end, with the opening facing the word.

From this tent, we then travelled further across the desert to a crevice in the side of a mountain that is the site of more carvings in the stone. Some of these carvings were in Arabic, which dates them as being carved as late as the 8th or 9th century, whereas the other carvings in the stone potentially date back to the time of Moses. In fact, one suggestion was that Moses found shelter in the crevice we were in, and used it as a refuge to find solitude and time to meet with the Elders.

It was getting very hot in the sun on the Wadi Rum, and the next stop allowed us a moment of respite inside a Bedouin tent where we were able to sit or recline while we enjoyed their hospitality. Here we learned more about the hospitality and customs of the Bedouins, the way the tent is divided into male and female sections, and their willingness to provide temporary refuge to anyone in need.

After a brief rest, we travelled back toward a nearby village that we passed on our way to the Wadi Rum 4WD experience for lunch. Some of us commented on the fact that we were on the back of a 4WD, and glad not to be walking or riding a camel. We reflected momentarily on the journey the Israelites might have taken walking through the same desert that we were now crossing. In the heat of the day, we wondered about water and other supplies, and how they might have travelled through the terrain.

At this point, lunch was a welcome relief for most of us, although some of us were still feeling the effects of changes in diet and water, and chose not to partake too heavily. The village we went back to was constructed by the government to house the Bedouin people, but they are a nomadic people and prefer to live in their tents in the desert. The houses in the village were very rundown, and I imagine would be incredibly hot, particularly during the day. It is little wonder that the Bedouin people, who are used to living in tents, which provide shade and allow a cool breeze to flow through, chose not to completely settle in the village.

Thankfully, after lunch we boarded the bus, which met us at the village took us on the journey to our final destination for the day, Petra.