I had an extra day off work at the weekend so we decided to take a trip to Wadi Rum, a beautiful and famous desert in the south of Jordan. On the way we stopped at Karak castle and did an Easter egg hunt there with the kids.
Us at Karak Castle
We arrived in Wadi Rum at about 5pm to camp for 2 nights in the desert made famous by T.E. Lawrence (AKA Lawrence of Arabia). One of the first sights to greet us was the rock formation 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom', so named in memory of Lawrence, whose book has the same title. Local people use his story as a tourist attraction but when quizzed about what they really think about him will admit that he betrayed them by lying about Britain’s intentions following on from the First World War.
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Watch out for Bedouin con-artists
Just before arriving at the entrance to the reserve, we were met by a representative of the campsite, who was keen to make contact with us before anyone else could trick us into going to their campsite, which sometimes happens. People have been known to ask tourists which campsite they are going to, and then they claim to be from that campsite but take them to a different one.
We transferred our bags into their 4x4 pickup and drove to the campsite, with the kids greatly enjoying their open-top ride in the back of the pickup. The campsite was called ‘Salman Zuweida Camp’ after the man who owns it. Zuweida is the family name of the main Bedouin tribe who live in Wadi Rum. We stayed at the same camp last year and we greatly enjoyed our stay, despite the bad weather, so decided to come back again.
Legendary hospitality
We had eaten our main meal at lunchtime by a castle that we had visited on the way, so we told Salman that we did not need dinner on the first night but he insisted that we eat some of the dinner they had cooked for the other tourists. Bedouin people are famous for their hospitality and he could not bear the thought of us not eating dinner with them. Also, Arabs tend to offer better service to returning customers, in contrast to Western culture which focuses on gaining new customers by offering them the best deals.
Did Lawrence really live here?
In the morning, we went on a jeep ride around the sites of Wadi Rum, including a huge sand dune, a rock bridge, ancient rock drawings and the remains of ‘Lawrence’s house’ although many people are dubious about whether or not it really was his house. We all squished inside the pickup when it started raining but the upside was that lots of waterfalls started running down the rocks, which we have never seen in Wadi Rum before.
Rock bridge
Bringing the British weather with us
I asked the driver how many times a year they get rain like this, and he said maybe once or none. It had not rained like this since our last visit a year ago so it seems that we keep bringing the British weather with us. When we got back to the camp, the rain had leaked onto Isaiah’s bed, so they replaced the mattress and sheets and we moved the beds away from the leaky edges of the tent.
At night, the rain intensified but we enjoyed sitting in the new waterproof dining hut which they have built, talking to Salman and his relatives who help him run the camp. At night I did not sleep much due to the heavy rain and the dripping sounds around us.
Camel ride, Bus ride
In the morning, the sun was out and it was incredibly beautiful, with a few clouds still hanging around the tops of the rocks. Kate, Kira, Isaiah and Ethan had camel rides while I stayed with Jenson. The kids had a bit of time to play on the rocks and in the sand before we headed back home in our minibus.
Wadi Rum has been used as a filming location for several films, including 'The Martian' with Matt Damon which was released a few months ago.
