Sandboarding with Suleiman

Another highlight of last month was a two day visit to the desert with guests from the US.  We took a jeep out past Um Ishreen with Ahmad Radi and there we met my favorite guy from Rum Village, Mr. Suleiman Sabah - the owner of one of the only sandboards in Wadi Rum.  With board in hand we climbed some really awesome sand dunes and then flew back down again!  A great way to spend a morning!

Suleiman with Sandboard

Adventures with Mosa

As I mentioned in my previous post, some of my greatest adventures and best personal encounters have happened as a result of my involvement with couchsurfing.  Last winter, I hosted Echo from China and through her visit I met Mosa Rawajfeh - a fellow couchsurfing host in Disi, who, over the past year, has become one of my dearest friends out in the desert.  Mosa has been working in the field of tourism in Jordan for the past four years and, in addition to managing a small camp in Wadi Rum, also acts as a local guide in Petra.

Time spent in Petra with Mosa is a fascinating experience.  He lived and worked in the site for about a year.  Not only does he know everyone who works there and is greeted with great respect, he also knows the secret places and is the perfect guide for their exploration.


Last month, I had a group of visitors from the US and we had the great pleasure of exploring Petra's undiscovered spots with Mosa.  On the first day, we started in Little Petra.  Located about 10 km from the main site, Little Petra was where the Nabateans diverted the caravans that passed through carrying incense from the lands of southern Arabia.  Little Petra is also host to the ruins of a Neolithic village, which dates back about 10,000 years.  From Little Petra, we hiked to the Monastery, a mountain top facade that was the tomb of one of the Nabateans' greatest kings.  This hike was a special experience for us all as it allowed to us to avoid the mobs of tourists who visit the main parts of the site.  On the second day, we entered the site through the traditional main siq entrance but then had our lunch close to the Snake Monument which is on the path to Jebel Haroun, the purported resting place of the Prophet Aaron.  On our way back we exited the site through Wadi Al Mudlem - the 'dark wadi' and a secret Petra side entrance.  A very narrow canyon route, Wadi Al Mudlem involves clambering between narrow walls and scrambling up rock piles deposited by the spring rains.  A real adventure and something I'll look forward to doing again soon!

Mosa on the road from Little Petra to the Monastery

Fateful Encounters

I've been participating in the couchsurfing project for a while now.  Couchsurfing is an online forum that allows people to host travelers and then be hosted themselves when they travel.  I've met a lot of wonderful people through couchsurfing, including my friend Mosa, who manages a camp in Disi and over the past year has become one of my closest friends in Jordan.  

In early November, I received a couch request from Carmella, who had decided on the spur of the moment to visit Jordan.  One chilly Wednesday after Eid, I waited for her in Aqaba as she crossed two borders from Egypt to Israel to Jordan to get here.  She arrived with two Spaniards from Cairo in tow and we all headed up together with Suleiman, my regular friendly taxi driver, to Wadi Rum.  After dropping off the Spaniards with their guide, we headed out into the desert with my neighbor Salah with the intention of meeting four mysterious ladies who had come to Wadi Rum to camp in the desert.  As it was quite late, they had already disappeared into a desert canyon for the night - so Salah, Carmella and I slept next to the fire in the camp, making funny rhymes and attempting a communal dream.  In the morning, we awoke to discover that Lana, Ban, Fatima and Ruba had emerged from the desert for breakfast, which we happily shared with them.  Very quickly, we became fast friends - chatting excitedly about life, the universe, tradition, community ... everything under the sun.  We discovered that Lana has been reading Carmella's blog for years.  We decided that, with the support of Salah and his family, we would create women's camping experiences in the desert.  We analyzed gender, cultural and spiritual relations and had an amazing time.    Travelers passing through the camp were quite curious about this laughing group of ladies who seemed to be enjoying themselves so much together in a world that is usually populated by men.  After breakfast and a walk to the sand dune, we hopped into Ban's Kia (same car as mine but newer model!) and headed back to the village where we visited Salah's mom and sisters, sharing with them our ideas.   And then in a flurry of good cheer, the five ladies (minus me) disappeared into the horizon for an adventure together in Petra.    

Tasty breakfast!

Alena, Fatima, Ruba, Ban, Lana, Carmella - wow!

11.11.11 Full Moon Yoga and Breathwork Retreat

Last month, I had the pleasure of welcoming Lisa Sahakian to Wadi Rum for the first time for a yoga and breathwork retreat under the full moon.  The retreat was a fascinating experience for all who attended, allowing us to learn more about ourselves and our world through the practice of kundalini yoga and ecstatic breathwork.  This retreat also served as a rallying point for more events to come in Wadi Rum!  Keep an eye out for a calendar of events to be published soon for 2012!  

After Dinner on 11.11.11
L - R Top: Salah Zawydeh, Lisa Sahakian
L - R Bottom: Alena Bartoli, David Lloyd, Liesbeth Van Der Giessen

Desert Treasure

At the beginning of November, I was waiting at the bus stop on my way to Aqaba when I was approached by Zidan, a friendly, talkative gentleman who works at Disi city hall.

"Lina," he said, "Dr. Edoardo is here. You must meet him!"
"Can you take me to him?," I replied.
"Yes," replied Zidan.

Dr. Edoardo - a Disi legend - is a Czech-German-Italian paleoanthropologist who has spent the past 40 years studying Wadi Rum and published over 300 articles - all in Italian - on his findings.

And so Zidan and I wandered down the main street of Disi to Dr. Edoardo's house on the far edge of the village. As we proceeded, Zidan took great pleasure in telling the people we met that he was taking me to Dr. Edoardo's house to marry him.

"No, no!," I protested, "I'm already married!" To no avail.

We arrived and were met by Dr. Edoardo and one of his colleagues. As it turned out, the only language that we shared was Italian and so I found myself translating from Arabic to English to Italian so that everyone could communicate. As I was in a bit of a rush to get to Aqaba, I agreed to meet the two scholars the following day for lunch.

I returned the next morning and spent a good part of the day (we had pasta for lunch!) learning about the research that Edoardo and his colleagues had done in the area. Dr. Edoardo's house, which is located on land given to him by Sheikh J'lael, the leader responsible for settling the Zawydeh tribe in Disi, is full of knowledge reflecting the history of the area. The walls of the house are covered with photographs, drawings and articles reflecting his work to date - including several representations of the rock inscriptions found throughout Wadi Rum. Most, if not all, of this rock art - inscriptions of figures and symbols in the sandstone - has been documented by Dr. Edoardo. I was fascinated to learn that the rock art in Wadi Rum can be anywhere from a few thousand years to a few decades old, as this art was the primary method of recording history used by the pastoral Bedouins until their settlement in the later part of the 20th century. My conversation with Dr. Edoardo opened my eyes to the speed and amount of change that has occurred in this part of Jordan over the past century.

Of course, I could not leave without a task to complete. As we looked through Dr. Edoardo's books, he informed that someone had inscribed the death of Lawrence (random motorcycle accident or calculated assassination attempt? you be the judge - the artist sure has!) in a cliff out in the desert. He described the place and I told him that I would go to look. And here, the next day, is what we found:

Taking a Tumble?

Vroom!  Vroom!

??

The Whole Picture

Full Moon Wedding Trip Excitement!

One of  my dearest friends in Aqaba, Zainab Chang owns Formosa Restaurant, where I spend a great deal of time when I am in Aqaba!  In recent months, Formosa has become a gathering place for our group of friends.  Imagine Cheers - in Jordan - with tasty Chinese food.  Seriously.  ;)

In August, Zainab's son Khaled got married to a lovely girl from Taiwan - after their wedding they invited their closest friends on a trip to Jordan!  And, of course, one stop was with me in Wadi Rum.  Luckily it was a full moon night in October - warm and beautiful!  The group rode camels to the camp and feasted on zarb before an enjoyable night climbing sand dunes and exploring the desert.  We had a wonderful time together and I hope that they'll be back soon!

At Lourans House Camp

Disi Dawn

I've gotten in the habit of rising at dawn.  The silence is spectacular and I begin each day with a quiet walk around the neighborhood.  It's a chance to organize my thoughts and to prepare for whatever adventures the day will bring.  The sunrises are most stunning this time of year, as November brings the occasional cloud and the even more occasional rainstorm to the otherwise dry desert.

Dawn from my front door