Wadi Rum and Petra

“What does the desert have to whisper to your soul?”

September 22, 2019 – I had the most amazing experience of my young life this past weekend. Through CIEE, several of us were able to explore and camp overnight in Wadi Rum and go to Petra the following day. Here’s how the weekend went:

We arrived in Wadi Rum after driving south from Amman on the desert highway for about 5 hours. Wadi Rum, also called the Valley of the Moon, is most famously known in the West because of T. E. Lawrence’s book Seven Pillars of Wisdom about his time in Wadi Rum, and the film Lawrence of Arabia, which was filmed in Wadi Rum. After we got settled in at camp and a quick lunch, we loaded into the back of pickup trucks for a tour of the desert.

Our first stop was a large sand dune that led up to a small rock formation. Being young and adventurous, my friends and I decided we had to climb the dune and reach the top of the cliff. We quickly realized that attempting to run up sand dunes is the best cardio workout in the world, as we stumbled over and over while the sand provided no traction. When we reached the overlook, we were relieved for a few minutes of rest before we had to run back down the dune.

After this we loaded back into the trucks to see something truly amazing. High up on a cliff, archaeologists uncovered inscriptions from approximately 3000 years ago. Desert caravans used to inscribe on the soft sandstone as a means of leaving messages for other caravans.

After one last ride in the trucks, we found ourselves taking a new form of transportation: the ship of the desert.

I’m going to be absolutely honest. Riding a camel is very cool, but not very comfortable. Camels do not provide a smooth ride like horses, they bob up and down because of their odd gait. It makes for a sore core and lower back the next day. After we disembarked, we climbed up a small rock formation to sunset point. Watching the sunset in Wadi Rum was probably one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life.

When we returned to camp, we quickly learned that going to bed early would not be an option. Our CIEE Center Coordinator loves to dance, and made it clear that we would also love to dance. So we all danced dabke for the better part of three hours with a group of professionals. It was honestly a lot of fun, and, another amazing cardio workout.

After dancing was over, we stayed up by the fire for a few more hours, and then, one by one, we all began to retire to our tents.
The next morning we woke up quite early to go to Petra, the Rose City. Petra was also famously featured in the West in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Petra has also been inhabited since prehistory, but its great stone carvings were made by the Nabataeans, an Arabian tribe who settled there. Petra is hidden in the mountains, it cannot be seen until one passes through the rock cut that leads to the Treasury. This was the largest asset to Petra’s security, as its location puzzled the Greeks and Romans alike. After the Crusades, the city was thought to be lost, until its rediscovery in the 19th century.

However, the treasury is not the largest structure at Petra. To see that, its a hike up 950 stairs in direct sunlight to the Monastery. Again, feeling young and adventurous, my friends and I committed to the challenge. This was also another amazing workout. I think I doubled my Apple Watch’s daily exercise goal at Petra and Wadi Rum. But I (eventually) reached the top, covered in sweat, to see Petra’s Monastery in all its glory.

Finally, we started to head back to the bus. But not before I got my signature photo.

The long bus ride home was filled with sleep and listening to The Lumineers’ new album (which is really really good). Now I’m back in Amman, resuming my normal routine of classes and cafe-hopping.

The desert whispered a message to my soul, and, maybe one day, I’ll fully understand what it said.

– Matt