[Thursday, February 12]
Today we fly from Aqaba Jordon to Marrakech Morocco. We left at 7 AM to drive through the desert for about 90 minutes to reach Wadi Rum – an oasis famous, in part, as a location used by TE Lawrence when he wrote his book, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom".
It's very cold this morning, it snowed in Amman last night. There is still some dust in the air, but the wind is down, so it’s starting to clear.
On our way to Wadi Rum, our guide Nasar told a camel joke:
A camel with one hump is called a dromedary, and a camel with two humps is called a bactrian. So, what do you call a camel with no humps? Humphrey
There were 20 jeeps waiting for us at the Wadi Rum tourist center – a driver for every 2 of us. We drove through the desert sands in caravan. We were able to see the location where David Lean filmed Lawrence of Arabia – other films have been made there as well. We visited the Wadi Rum petroglyphs and stopped for tea at a Bedouin tent. The tea was made from sage, cardamon and cinnamon, sweetened with sugar. I bought some to take home.
We saw a natural sandstone bridge, eroded into its shape by the wind. Nasar says the wind and dust can be so bad on the cars, they paint their cars with a protective temporary paint for driving across the country when there are bad dust storms.
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| The three day dust storm is finally clearing |
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| Filming location of Lawrence of Arabia |
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| Tal al, our Bedouin driver, also serves as a hiking and climbing guide for the region |
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| Canyon with petroglyphs |
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| Sage and cardamon tea - most welcome on a cold day |
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| Cooking stove |
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| Time to watch Lawrence of Arabia again when we return - inspiring beauty of Wadi Rum |
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