Desert Camp
@May/'04 Jordan
[Middle East] [Articles 2004] [Top]
Color changes kaleidoscopic in desert sunset
In the end of May/04, I had a chance to
join the Desert Camp in Wadi Rum, one of the three major tourist sites, and nature reserve site in
Jordan. There are three big tourist sites in Jordan. We Japanese people
visit these three sites on quite different motivation.
Petra: Ancient forgotten capital of Nabataeans registered as World Heritage in 1985,
is visited when one have visitor from Japan.
This is the most important and valuable tourist spot in the country.
Aqaba: Tropical seaside resort is visited when
one got into deep trouble in mind, or depressed by hard works. This year-round
tropical resort refreshes one's mind cool and jolly.
Wadi Rum: This wild desert land and special wild
life reserve area, is visited when one need an adventure. You may experience
very simple life of Bedouin people in the situation far remote from civilized
life. This is not like sand desert, but desert with sharp and high rising rock
mountains and deep sand valley. Up-right wall of the mountains is real high, as
high as skyscraper in Shinjuku Tokyo or in Manhattan New York.
8:50 in the morning of Friday, member of 14 including 3 ladies gathered
in front of the office building. We move to Wadi Rum by our cars,
actually tree cars privately owned by tree of our members.
It is 300 km, one way to Wadi Rum. We drove down to the south on the recently completed high spec,
Desert Highway. We reached to the destination by exactly three hours traveling
the distance equal between Tokyo and Nagoya, having only one toilet stop
at Petra Tourism Complex on the way.
There was a cozy rest house equipped buffet type restaurant,
and tourist information center in the converted used train car.
Time was just for lunch break.
We all seated in the restaurant and took rather gorgeous lunch.
Grilled chicken, fried potato, cooked vegetable, rice, Arabic bread, salad, kinds of dressings,
several pastes for bread and etc. were on table.
The lunch was included in the tour charge,
it is very handy since we could be relieved from thinking how much tips have we to put and etc.
We enjoyed the lunch in beyond normal life. This was the start of the tour.
Jeep tour in desert would start at two o’clock afternoon. There was a little
time after lunch. We strolled around guest house. There was a Bedouin village
near by. Two mini-supers in the corner of the village, shops are filled
with foods all covered with thick dusts. People will buy these goods that
would not be bought in Japan or any western countries.
This one of the wisdom of desert people we have to understand. There was a car park.
In the car park, several bad shaped jeeps are parked in random way.
These seems no maintenance was made since purchased.
I heard later that they once purchased British Jeeps, but soon
they got many trouble and finally gave up using these any more. Now we
see rather bad shaped Toyota jeeps in the car park. They say Toyota jeep
will run desert land. (Obviously, no maintenance is made for long.)
These would be jeeps we are going to ride.I saw these jeeps with little worry.
Can this jeep go desert ?: I was in navigator seat by luck
Now, we all are on two jeeps, the same one I saw few ten minutes ago. Are
we OK going out into the harsh desert land in this fatigue shaped jeep?
Tires are completely worn out having no groove on it, cushion in
back seat is had as wood plate and even not fixed properly on the floor, seat
of navigator next to the driver is torn out, Overhead canvas sheet scantly
showing original shape. You might easily imagine what conditions of the car's
guest becomes once it started running the rock filled desert.
With these extremely bad conditions, no one claims it. We came here to
enjoy this kind of adventure experience. Our minds are filled with great
surprise and excitement, whenever the jeep turns corners and spectacular
scenes created by severe nature struck into our eyes.
Barrah valley: up rise high rise rock wall overwhelming us
After two hours drive in the rock and sand desert,
our drivers suddenly parked jeeps in the behind high rock where large area of shadow was made.
We got off jeeps. Drivers said “Shay” (Tea).
We picked tiny wood stick scantly scattered in the desert.
One of the drivers quickly made fire and put pure black colored kettle on the fire.
He put water and tea into it.
The water soon started boiling to out little surprise.
A cup of tea extremely comforts our body after hours drive in the desert land under burning sun.
Tea break in the desert
At seven thirty, we reached to the camp site for tonight, where we can
also enjoy the magnificent sunset over the far stretched rugged mountain
range. Color of the desert changes kaleidoscopically while the sun approaching
to the horizontal line. No car buzz, no azan from mosque, no crow’s cry.
The real serene peace time passes. We enjoyed wonders of nature’s gift.
A particular bright Venus was shining just near 2 days moon.
Red sand dune: There are many more color you find in Wadi Rum
More pleasures follow, desert diner is Bedouin camp.
Today’s special is so called Zarp, a Bedouin dish,
chickens and vegetable are cooked in the dug underground oven.
Diner was already cooked by one of 27 sons born from three wives of our camp
guide. Bedouin is so vitally fertile. This is one of the wisdom of the desert
people. Camp is made so thick fabrics so that in rather strong desert wind it
stays solid without making flap. Even a buffet style table was prepared in the
camp. This style must be for the tourist only. A law long table placed in the
center of the long camp. On the table, several simple but romantic candle
stands made of paper bag half filled sand were placed. This light stand really
cast warm atmosphere in the camp. We all enjoyed wonderful unique experience of
dinning in the Bedouin camp in real desert.
Half sand filled paper bag candle sand cast romantic atmosphere in the camp
More funs await after dinner. No artificial light makes twinkling stars all over sky so close to us.
So many bright stars upon us, we could not distinguish constellation each
others. Our life seems so tiny in this vast universe.
Temperature in the desert drops sharply.
We put pullover since it dropped as low as 10 degrees C.
In the camp, 14 make shift bed made.
A mat, a blanket and a pillow, that’s all, put on the camp floor.
No one know when the blanket was washed.
But, no one care it.
This is the desert camp. Only slight sound of desert wind heard outside the camp.
I was asleep in complete darkness in short time.
Thistle flowering even in this desperately perched dry desert