Wadi you make of that!

Ever since I saw the movie Lawrence of Arabia I have been fascinated by the desert. The romance of the wide open spaces and the mystery of the canyons inspired many a dream and stoked the fires of my imagination.

Earlier aficionados would have thrilled to the stories of Beau Geste and the Foreign Legion in North Africa but my mind was firmly fixed on the deserts of Jordan and the history of the Arabs during the Great War.

My journey had started in Egypt and now found me leaving the ancient ruins of Petra and following the main route south to Wadi Rum. I had taken the early bus out of Wadi Musa and joined the company of several other travellers for a three day trip into the heart of the desert.

The area was made famous by the film and also in the book penned by T.E Lawrence, the Seven Pillars of Wisdom where he recounts tales of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks leading up to the end of the war. The seven pillars in this case refer to the impressive rock formation at the entrance to the wadi and overlooking the now static Bedouin settlement.

Our group arrived at the visitor centre and it was here we had to decide on accommodation and transport. We all opted for Bedouin style tents and a jeep with a guide. It seemed to be the best deal and romantic though a camel ride would have been it was a sound choice to avoid a throbbing backside for the rest of the journey.

We were offered a breakfast and the chance to buy some supplies; the main meals and water were included however a sneaky bottle of wine for toasting the sunset seemed in order and I had prepared that in advance.

Mounting the open topped jeeps, I chose to sit next to our Bedouin driver, we set off for our encampment. This turned out to be a typical nomad tent set at the foot of a mountain and in a small gully offering some protection from the wind and looking out upon a vast expanse of multicoloured desert.

Once our gear was stowed we set off on the first hike. Our guide had told us about Burrah Canyon and that in the film it was where Lawrence first meets King Faisal. Not only was it enormous but we were to hike the length of it on foot and he would drive around to meet us at the other end.

We loaded up with water and sunscreen and started off at a moderate pace. That lasted all of ten minutes in the searing heat. The two Japanese travellers were doing the best and the rest of us eventually settled into a nice rhythm and admired the view. Two hours later and mighty tired we were happy to see our friendly driver waiting for us at the mouth of the canyon.

After a large cold beer we carried on….well in my dreams we did. In reality we set of for a view point for a pot of tea and a chance to take in the full majesty of Wadi Rum. Some of our party clambered to the top of the hill to take photographs, I made it halfway up before making the mistake of looking down. Oh boy, I managed to salvage my self respect but still came down bum first!

We meandered through the desert back to our camp to prepare for the evening. Simple showers had been set up and an outside loo was placed just out of sight, unfortunately not out of mind as, depending upon the wind direction, the full measure of its contents was apparent…..Ugh.

By the time we had showered up it was almost dusk and we huddled against the warmth of the rocks to watch the sun set spectacularly behind the mountains. The air was still and the silence was dramatic, a bird flew towards us wings flapping steadily and I swear I could hear the rush of the air beaten by each wing movement. I popped the wine and passed around a few glasses as we contemplated our ancient surroundings.

A fire was made, inside the tent. Yes that surprised me too but it did keep the heat in and the smoke vented through a hole in the canopy. The Bedouin had prepared a meal of rice and chicken for us and we all sat around on the floor to devour the feast in record time.

After a time the Bedouin left and we began to feel truly alone in that part of the desert. However, as darkness fell, we could make out on the horizon faint glimmers of light that may have been other camps although we had no idea how far away they were.

We sat around the fire and told stories and tales of our adventures elsewhere, much as others must have done throughout history, huddled around a fire for warmth and protection bound by our shared goals and humanity, at one with the desert.