On Friday, my sister and her family flew 12 hours non-stop to spend their spring break with us in Jordan. We put together a fun filled week of Jordanian adventures for them, with stops at Petra, the Dead Sea, Jerash, Aqaba, and Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum is the northern tip of the Arabian Desert and has been the home of the bedouin people for centuries. It was also the desert the Lawrence of Arabia crossed with an arab army and attacked the fort and Aqaba that was held by the Turks allowing the British army to gain a foot hold in the region.
For our trip to Wadi Rum we drove for about 4 hrs. south of Amman to the Wadi Rum protected area where we met our host and bedouin guide Aodeh Abdullah.
We loaded up on camels and headed off for a 2 hour trek trough the desert.
Once we arrived at the Bedouin Whispers camp we were welcomed with sage flavor tea, cold water, and cushions to rest on. Our guide showed us areas where we could climb the rocks and watch the sun set over the desert.
Dinner was a traditional bedouin style meal, prepared in a below ground oven. We had roasted chicken, onions, and potatoes, along with a variety yogurt, flat bread, and tea.
We were very luck to have been in the desert in the spring because all the desert flowers were blooming especially the lavender. As we rode across the desert, and the wind would blow, the smell of sage and lavender filled the air.
On our second day in the desert we went on a jeep tour of the preserve stoping at canyons, natural bridges and sand dunes.
The highlight was when they drop us off at the beginning of a canyon and we walked for about and hour through towering walls of rock that looked like dripping wax.
