Jordan (Part1)- Wadi Rum

Since I have quite a lot to share about my trip to Jordan I am going to log it in installments so it is easier for me to organize and so it will not take me a whole week to finish just one post!

This first installment will cover our first few days in Jordan and our overnight camel ride in Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a desert valley in Jordan, made famous for most westerners by T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence was in fact THE Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence was a British Army officer renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt against Ottomon Rule in 1916-18.

But first! On our way to Wadi Rum from the capital, Amman, we stopped in Karak to see Karak Castle and have a lunch of traditional Jordanian food.

Hummos and 3 types of Arabic Salads, and pita bread, of course

The Main Course! Chicken and rise, serving it up on a giant communal plate!

View of the Jordanian countryside from Karak

Karak Castle

And now! After a night in the city of Petra, we left the next morning for our camel trek into Wadi Rum. Get ready for a lot of photos, cause I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to use for this post.

Running my camel in the desert! 

Starting our all day camel trek. We started at around 9:30 and didn't arrive at our camp site until around 5:00pm. Other than a 1.5 hour lunch break, we rode the camels the whole time!

I love the lines in the sand that form from the wind.

I nice landscape shot with me and my camel in it too! The desert was so peaceful and so quiet and the views were
spectacular! "Wadi" means valley so the desert is punctuated by large mountains. We saw lots of lizards (no scorpions
though!) that the guides dog would chase after!

Our guide and my friend Kayla. I love this photo with the camel tracks in the sand!

Redwan and Gabe, lagging behind on their camels

We came across this Bedouin woman in the middle of nowhere in the desert. She was herding her herd of goats and sheep while riding her donkey!

Here is a view of our camp. The little huts are our cabins!

The mountains we climbed to watch the sunset!

Me, checking out our camp and the view of the Wadi!

Another view from the mountains!

This was our eating area including the "stove" for heating tea!

Riding through Wadi Rum is easily one of my favorite experiences thus far in the Middle East. I feel that there is not a lot to tell about it, the pictures speak for themselves. It was absolutely beautiful and I recommend anyone who is thinking about going to Jordan, that it is a MUST to do an overnight in Wadi Rum. Be sure to bring WARM clothes. It get SO COLD at night!

All for now, my next post will be on our time in Petra!