Rihlah 6 : Day 5–> Wadi Rum–Karak

29th October 2012

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Fajr was very cold and the wind were strong when we woke up.  It felt great waking up in the morning and able to see beautiful surrounding to feast your eyes.  Wish can have this view everyday.  No wonder the Bedouin of Wadi Rum prefer to stay at this wonderful great place all their life.

Everyone were eager to see what awaiting us. After finish packaging, we took our breakfast which was surprisingly ‘very tempting’ . Well…what to expect, we are staying at a Bedouin tent. The appealing breakfast was the arab bread, humus and a small serving of scramble egg. Alhamdulillah, the kids doesn’t complaint much on food on any journey we had.

The fun stories began, when our tourist guide Salim arrived at the camp. Our first spot of exploration will be to a canyon, then to the Little bridge, the Um Frouth Rock Bridge, Lawrence House, the red sand dunes and finally the map.

The cool morning breeze felt great slapping our face when the jeep move. It’s a great view to see the massive mountains mostly in red colours surrounding us. Driving in soft sands which are deep at times makes us bouncing and slippering from our seats from time to time. Though it can be uncomfortable but it’s the fun part where the kids keep on smiling.

Walking to the canyon…

Graffiti are easily seen..wondering what its telling….

Exploring the canyon….

We reach our first destination which was the canyon which i forgot what the name was. We need to walk between the rocks to see some inscription of the Nabataens which was said to be more than 2500 years old. We need to walk in a single form as the path is narrow and a few small pool of water in between. I decided not to continue the journey with my little boy as it was quite tough carrying him to ensure both of us not to fall down. Hence, hubby and the bigger kids continue their exploration which was fun to them. The graffiti's were easily seen even just as we enter the canyon. We cannot stay that long here as we have more places to go within this limited amount of time.

Salem then continue to bring us to our next destination which is the small bridge out of the three bridges available. Climbing is always a fun to us. As given by its name, the rock formation really is a bridge. Climbing up is easy but we can feel the tense as we are in the middle of the bridge as it is quite narrow. ( I can feel the turbulence inside my stomach when i was in the middle of it with Amzar…scary actually thinking if he tried to push me aside or get loose of my hold to him). We took pictures and savour the beauty from top of the bridge, taking the look of the surrounding.

Walking to the bridge….

Up on the bridge…

View from the bridge….

Enough with the pictures, we continue to explore the next bigger bridge which was the Um Frouth Rock Bridge. This one is more challenging to climb as it is a more higher bridge and the rocks were even more steep to climb. Azim even tried to climb but decide to give up due to it steepness and not much place to hold and set your foot on. Afiq gave a hands up and decided to stay down with Amzar.

After half way climbing, I decided to stay with the boys down as someone need to look after them as well. In a while when the kids were slowly climbing, Salem came up shoeless jump from one place to another like walking on the moon . He even pick up Azim on his way up, carrying him on his shoulder while at the same time helping my daughter to climb up as well. Wow…he sure knew his way around and have the strength as well. Not long, he passed my son, husband and daughter who were cimbing up earlier than him. Well..it is his ‘playground’…so what are you gonna say about this? I wish i did climb as well as they look so small up there makes my heart urge with jealousy looking at their pictures .

 

The must climb bridge…

Yeah…we’ve made it but not me :-(

Lucky Azim,Salem carried him all the way up shoeless…

I made it myself but down here …

Still got time for shopping and a good price as well…

After everyone was down, we decided to stop over at a ‘shop’ own by Salem’s friend…a very young and friendly guy indeed. He gave us a special price as Salem asked him to do so. Well..one thing for sure..I get a bracelet for JD2 from him which i paid JD3 when i was in Petra which the guy said it was the special price for me. I believed him as the price tag there shown JD5. Now i only pay JD2! Well…as this will be my token of remembrance from Jordan, i’ll treasure it to instil my memories of my experiences in Jordan . Always enjoy the day!

After some little shopping to support his friends sales, we were then brought to Lawrence house which we were not that fond of. Well…we can’t say it is a house anymore as it was only some blocks of rocks forming a wall with nothing inside them. Wondering whether Lawrence of Arabia really did stay at this place as we find there were much more beautiful places around this area. Maybe..the location is strategic…who knows. Moreover, we are not a fan of Lawrence .

Remaining house of Lawrence of Arabia, nothing much...

Our next destination will be the sand dunes and a barbeque lunch for us as well. We have been to red sand dunes in Riyadh already but being in one never bored us as the experience can never be the same from one place to another. The kids starts to climb including Amzar. It looks easy to climb but it is tiring actually as the sand were very soft and the hills are high. The energetic kids never fail to reach the top..alhamdulillah but their mom gave up…haha. Well, not that she couldn’t but she prefer to accompany the smallest guy who keep on rolling down when he climbs up .

A very nice spot for resting…nature is always a wonder…

While waiting for Salem to prepare our lunch, we continue to play in the sand until everyone was tired and the day is getting hotter. We decided to take the shade by the cave where Salem has spread a mat for us to sit down. The smell of the bbq was really tempting. The bbq was delicious but the quantity can be added more . As the menu were only bbq, potato and salad, we think that two chicken might not be enough for our big family including him and his cousin who was passing by to bring other tourist there. Alhamdulillah, the kids knew their adab by not taking much chicken to ensure everyone got an equal portion. Still, it was a great experience specially to bbq in the desert.

Climbing in the soft sand is quite a challenge actually…

How about this??? He thinks the sand is soft just like the carpet at home ..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting anxiously for our bbq lunch…

After packing and cleaning the area, we continue our exploration to a place called ‘The Map’. The map is actually a block of flat surface stone with a carving of Wadi Rum map or pictures done by the Nabataens or the earlier generation indicating places in the Wadi Rum. Not much information we got from Salem as he doesn’t know much of the map history himself. So, we just took pictures, making our own stories with the kids for fun and continue our exploration.

The map…have to make our own translation

We ride back on the jeep and continue to take the path to the Wadi Rum Village. We supposed to see the Nabataens temple near the village but we didn’t stop there. We just pass through and continue to head to the parking space to get back to our car.

The tour felt short though it takes more than half of our day going through the places. The wonderful views urge you to ask for more. Well, that is the human nature. We wish to come here again some day as it was a memorable experience for us getting to know another wonder of nature and knowing wonderful people.

We left the area with a smiling face, a warm heart and a memorable day that we will cherish in our life. We then continue to head for Karak, another destination in Jordan we plan to visit…Karak Castle and visiting the tombs of the martyr of the Mu’tah war.

It was already near 3 o’clock and we haven’t had any accommodation yet. So, we continue to drive to Karak taking the Kings highway. As we haven’t had our prayer yet, we decided to find any mosque by the side road. Praying in mosque here was also an experience to be remembered. Remember for what? Haha…please do not expect what of your expectation when going to mosque. What we can say is that we wish we do not need to take our wudu’ in the toilet! Wonder how the people in this area can survive with this kind of toilet in a mosque! Surely, not applying what islam taught us about cleanliness! We hope people take responsible about cleanliness as what our religion has taught us. Remember..we are representing our religion. This saddened us very much even when we are in Saudi….the toilet and the praying place is just the same. We hope other mosque are much better than this. Taking it positively, maybe just this one .

We stop by at a shop nearby the mosque to get some snacks as the kids starts to get hungry already. The things here are much cheaper that the shops in Aqaba or Petra. Maybe because it is just a small town and not a tourist destination. We then continue our journey until we reach Karak which was about 3 hours drive from Wadi Rum. It starts to get dark when we reach Karak. We tried to call several hotels listed n the GPS. Alhamdulillah, we able to get a decent hotel, 3 bedded room for JD40.

The rooms was very nice and peaceful. We do not see any people at the hotel. Maybe not many people preferred staying overnight here. As the kids were tired and hungry, we decided to buy dinner and have it in our room.

My husband and I walk to find any restaurant wishing for some rice. Alhamdulillah, we found a restaurant serving local food and biryanis'. We decided to try local rice called mansaf which is white rice with soup of lamb cooked in milk, biryanis and bbq set.

Mansaf and briyani for dinner…

It was a great dinner except for the lamb soup which were not to our taste. The meal overall was a satisfaction..great taste and at a cheap price. A whole lot cheaper than what we has spent for this couple of days.

With a full stomach and a fresh body from the cool shower, we can end our night for today. Let see what have awaited us for tomorrow to cherish our days in Jordan…. –tw&

Rihlah 6 : Day 4–> Petra, Wadi Rum

 

28th October 2012

Yesterday was a wonderful and challenging day for the whole family.  So…for today it will only be the two of us.  Bringing kids to this kind of place is a different kind of fun.  It’s a historical and knowledgeable trip.  We tried to fill the kids with stories so that it will be an enjoyable one.  Still, the physical challenge kept them from accepting today’s exploration and today will be much earlier than yesterday since we need to get back to the hotel by 12 pm for check out.

As early as 7 am, we start our journey at Petra entrance.  It was a quiet and cold morning.  Since today will be only the two of us, the walking goes much faster and relax.  We took the opportunity to capture pictures which we have missed yesterday. So…our ‘honeymoon’ today will be climbing more of 800 stairs!  Well…we surely will be testing our fitness level.

While walking towards the siq, there were more number of people coming from the opposite direction.  They must be staying overnight in Petra.  It feels great when there is less people where you get to savour more of the sites and no one is following you persuading of using their services. 

Yesterday we have walk back to Urn tomb,street of facades, the theatre and royal tomb as the donkey boy disagree to let us get down from the donkey to explore those places.Today,we expected to stop by at the temple, collonade streets and The Monastry for our grand finale .  True..one day trip is not enough.  Even for two days,we still miss more spots. 

A very quite morning at the temple…

As we were walking at the temple, there were already men offering donkey services to the monastry.  We overheard the guy offering some western tourist JD5 going up to the monastry.  We were thinking of taking the donkey as we are short of time but still felt we able to walk if we continue walking at a fast phase.  The donkey boy told us yesterday that it would take nearly two hours of walking up  from the treasury and an hour going down.  Based on our worst time calculation, seems like we wouldn’t have enough time to be back at the hotel by 12 pm.

While we were considering an option of climbing up with donkey,the earlier guy we saw came near us and offered us his donkey at JD10 to go up.What!  Just now he can offer the western couple JD5 and charged double to his muslim brothers!  Having to face this,makes us determine to climb up on foot.

The early part of the climb were quite exciting.Having the great view with the unique looks of the stones, the surroundings lights up our spirit.  When we were half way up, i can feel the stress on my knee.  Now…i felt…maybe we should negotiate on the price. Who cares of the frustration…haha.  I though i was fit enough .

Along the way up, an American lady pass by and stop for a while where we were taking a break.  She inspired me to climb up as she is already 60 years old and much more energetic than me.  Now..i felt the challenge!  She really did inspired me as i am 22 years younger than her!

Force myself to climb up as a lady of 60s and teenage girls climb much faster than me…

Alhamdulillah, with the remaining energy and the support from beloved hubby, we able to reach the Monastry. Yes..it was worth the climb (though if were ask to climb again i would refuse ).  Well..it was not the end.  Since we are up here already, might as well we climb further up to the ‘Edge of the World’.  They call it since it felt like it is the edge when you look at the view from top.  It is the peak of the mountain from the monastry.  We took some rest and feast our eyes with the magnificent view.  Comparing to Saudi Edge of the world, we preferred to give the call to the one in Saudis.

Coming down again from the mountain, we passed back room 468 before going down to the Monastry.  it is called Room 468 from the total count of rooms in Petra.  Wow…like a special room of a hotel . Reaching back at the Monastry,we took some more pictures and take a deeper look at the monument.  The Nabataens workmanship really is a ‘no word can describe’ until it came accross our mind….well…maybe it is not done by human!  Maybe…jinn!  Haha!  Our theory maybe can’t be true as the jinn are not a good architect or carpenter based on the quran.

Wish to rent room 468?

The grand monastry…

Taking a break at a coffee shop in front of the monastry…very strategic location for a great view with a sip of coffee or juice…

The monastry or in Arabic called Al Deir is 40.2 metres wide and is carved deep into the side of the mountain. The door itself is 8 meters high. The main inside chamber is huge. It is 11.5 meters by 10 meters, and is lit only by light coming through the 8 meter high doorway. Wondering how big are the Nabataens compared to me!

Now we have to rush back to the hotel as we have only an hour left.  We run back down to catch the time.  Going down is much better than climbing up.  As it is near noon, the path starts to be busier with people, donkeys and donkey poop!  We just need to be careful with the poop on our way down . 

As we reach down, there were a few numbers of donkey owner offering their services.  We resist most of them at first but one guy made a good offer which we might be able to reach the hotel faster.  He offered us JD10 each for us to reach the parking where the usual service only offer transport until the treasury.  His offer did attract us as he will be giving us a different route (a back route) and we will be taken by car from his village to the parking spot which can save us time.

Look at my size comparing to the entrance…. 

As we are in a hurry, we accept the offer.  We were taken the back road which is used by local.  It was a different view.There were actually many more mountain rocks with ‘houses’ like in the Petra commercial centre but no extraordinary one to be seen. This is where it is said the village of Petra that can be explore if you do not want to pay. 

Going back on a donkey via the back way….

Thought we were amuse with its great workmanship, we remind ourselves..no matter how great man are at building or creating things, Allah is the greatest! Everything that happens is only with Allah’s will.

The back way is quite a journey.  It was worth riding on a donkey while savouring the beautiful surrounding.  The donkey ride now seems even more fun as we became more familiarise in controlling it which makes it more fun.  The chit chatting while walking up with the guy was worth while as well for us in understanding more of the people’s life and culture in Jordan. 

In about 20 minutes later, we arrive near his village quarters with his brother ready in his car waiting for us.  We jump into his car and went through the village small town before getting near to the parking area. 

With a little rush, we able to reach the hotel at 12 pm.  Alhamdulillah, the hotel gave us another hour to get ready before check out.  We have made arrangement for our one night stay at Wadi Rum with the help from the receptionist.  Tonight, we will be experiencing sleeping under the light of the star and the moon. 

After buying some souvenirs at a shop besides the hotel, we quickly rush to Wadi Rum where we supposed to meet a guy name Salem.  We have made arrangement with him to stay at his camp for JD175.  The stay is inclusive dinner, some minor hiking and a drive around Wadi Rum.

WADI RUM

From reviews, most visitors recommend Wadi Rum as a destination not to be miss when you are in Jordan.  Visiting here will give us the privilege of being closed to the nature and learning the life of the Bedouin.

What attract us more are the facts about Wadi Rum itself which was declare a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.  Wadi Rum Protected Area is one of the world’s most outstanding desert landscapes, covering 720 square kilometers of dramatic desert wilderness in the south of Jordan. Its huge mountains and broad sandy wadis are home to several Bedouin tribes and a surprising range of desert wildlife.

Upon reaching visitor center at Wadi Rum, Salem our tourist guide had readily waited for us there.  By identifying our car with Saudi plate, he knew already it was us.  We were immediately asked to follow them inside the Wadi Rum quarters with the permission from the guard without the need to pay the entrance fee.  Maybe the package that we are paying already includes the entrance fee.  Btw, our package cost us JD175 for 2 adults and 4 kids, 1 infant of 1 night stay and 1 day jeep tour.  We also took a bbq lunch for the next day which cost us JD50.  Well, we already compare the price at the tourist centre for the services, so..we felt that we get a good bargain already.

Our jeep for the trip in Wadi Rum…

Not far from the visitor centre, parking lots are build for tourist to leave their car behind.  Quickly collecting our belongings for a one night stay in camp, we jump into the an opened air jeep modified for tourist to comfort while savouring the beauty of Wadi Rum from the jeep itself.  It is not a luxury one but nice.

We pass through the Bedouin village before entering the deserts of Wadi Rum.  Though we just entered the area, the view was magnificent. Further in, we are sure the view will be even more stunning.  It sure felt great savouring the beauty of Allah swt creation.  The rocks, the mountain and the sand with the sun shining ever corner of it, the beauty has shine more. 

Great view all the way to camp..just look how deep the tyres got into the sand…

As Salem, our guide drive us to our camp, we can see a few other camps along the way. The wind were quite strong and the drive were jumpy.  We had to shift our sitting number of times as we kept on sliding down from our seat when the jeep jump.  Still, the kids love it!

After about 15 to 20 minutes drive in the desert, we finally reach our camp sitting behind the mountain.  Ali the owner of the camp greet us.  He brought us around the camp to choose our tent.  We chose to stay in a smaller tent with 2 tenants each rather than staying together the whole family in one camp as the one big camp is more sandy and darker.  So, we took up three tents for the whole family while another two tent occupied by a couple of Hungarian family with their two kids.

Our camp..secluded, neat and strategic place for sunset and sunrise viewing…

Without wasting much time, we  continue our day by hiking up a hill not far from our tent in order not to miss watching the sunset.  The camp really had a strategic location for watching the sunset.  We settle down at an open area up the hill.  Another beautiful day which words can’t describe. Savouring the moment watching the colour of the sun, the sky and the desert blend together proving the greatness of Allah creation. 

Waiting for the sunset….

Our daughter exploring on her own while waiting for sunset….getting further and further…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got the nerve to go till the edge??

Masyaallah…no words can describe the beauty of Allah’s creation….

We then went down back to our tent to clean up and perform our prayer while waiting for Ali and his brother who own the place to prepare us dinner.  We were wondering what kind of Bedouin dish we’ll be having.  Well, as there is no electricity we had to rely on the moon and the stars to give us some light.  Good thing, the kids got the toy torchlight to help us while in toilet in order not to miss our ‘shot’ when doing our job . 

We can felt the night starting to get cold when night grows older.  The dinner were ready with the candles to light our menu which was white rice, chicken broth Bedouin style, salad and humus.

As we were hunger for rice after two days trip with no rice, the meal sure was tasty specially when the dish is cook by a 16 year old youth…impressive indeed.

After the meal we sit around the campfire while drinking local tea and biscuit. The hot tea were a great relieve to heat up our bodies in the chill night air. It felt great sitting under the full moon and the stars everywhere shining up the sky. The nature sure is a beauty with nothing to compare to human creation. It was a fun night listening to Ali’s stories of Bedouin life, his parachute jumping experience and his learning experience. Don’t be surprised, he even take the extend to learn english overseas in ensuring himself able to provide the best experience for his customers.

We wish we could listen to more stories but we have to get up early for our next day exploration and the kids were sleepy as well. It was a great night having a host like Ali. We surely would recommend friends to stay at his camp. Having a double standard treatment most of the time, we sure appreciate very much Ali’s hospitality who treat us like old friends. We can’t wait to see more of what Wadi rum can offer us.

Boys…always have things to do…

‘Candlelight’ dinner….

Ali…makes you feel at home.  Love hearing his stories…

Watching the stars can be fun as well…

They gave us a candle enough to accompany us until we dooz off for the night.  In the tent we can hear the strong wind outside.  If we are in our normal tent, we are sure our tent will be flown away just by hearing the sound of the wind.  The idea of making the tent with ‘legs’ of about 10 inch high surely helps to prevent the sand from flying in.  Thought the wind actually scared us a bit but as the body was too tired from the climbing and hiking, plus the comfort comforter in the tent, it actually didn’t take long for us to settle our night.

Let see what Wadi Rum will offer us tomorrow.  Maassalamah! -&tw