Wadi Rum

Our day started by leaving Aqaba and driving north through the Great Rift Valley and then up and over the mountains to the Wadi Rum plateau. Once there we transferred to desert rovers for our safari through the Valley of the Moon.

The landscape changed quickly to wind sculpted sandstone mountains striped with black layers of magmacite. The mountain with columns pictured is called the Seven Pillars of Wisdom and was the site for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia, the Red Planet, Mission to Mars, and others.

The desert area is also the site of one of the largest aquifers in the world-in fact it may be the largest since its total volume is unknown. This area geologically dates back 65 million years.

Question: What do you call a camel without a hump? Answer: Humphrey

We drove further into the park to see petroglyphs dating back to 700 B.C. made by ancient Bedouin caravans advertising protection services and directions. Here several of our group opted for a camel ride while the rest went on ahead to the camp of Lawrence where we enjoyed tea and some trinket shopping.

Another dune ride and then through some winding canyons brought us to a Bedouin camp for lunch.

After lunch we headed further north through desert canyons and high plateaus to Petra where we will enjoy two nights in an absolutely spectacular desert mountain hotel.

Look it up: Hotel Beit Zaman in Petra.