El Lawrence

“The moral freshness of the world-to-be intoxicated us. We were wrought up in ideas inexpressible and vaporous but to be fought for. We lived many lives in those whirling campaigns, never sparing ourselves, yet when we achieved and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to remake in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win, but had learned to keep; and was piteously weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace”.

T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom



Good evening from Petra. Had a great day today- went to Wadi Rum where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. We traveled south on the Kings Highway, and then turned southwest on the Desert Highway to go to Wadi Rum. The Kings Highway, as I mentioned yesterday, has been paved for 3000 years. In Arabic, it is the Al Rssef, meaning paved road. Along the highest point on the Kings Highway in this area are 1000 year old Phoenician junipers, lavender, worm word, sage and thyme. The herbs are used by the locals for medicine and for goat, sheep and camel forage.
We passed several Bedo encampments. There are still 45,000 nomad Bedo in Jordan. You can see their goats and camels grazing near the tents. Often the camels are hobbled out near the road, and still provide a ready means of transport.
Wadi Rum is really amazing geology- Precambrian granite overlain by the same sandstone as Petra and huge basalt dikes. I told our guide I would find out the geology for him and send it to him, as he is really interested and knows a bit about it himself. We went around Wadi Rum by jeep with a Bedouin guide, stopping at several spots. First was Seven Pillars Jabal, (mountain) which inspired El Lawrence to name his book. Next was a vista stop. The third was a petroglyph site, with camels and the like on the rock, similar to what you see in the US southwest. The next was a Bedo camp, where you can camp all night if you wish. We had tea spiced with herbs, served everywhere, and I bought some amber and incense and soap made by the Bedo, plus their herbs for tea. Next we stopped further on at another Bedo camp for lunch- the typical mezza, with hummus, salads of different kinds, pita, and then barbecued meats like lamb, chicken and sausage. Good stuff. Then the trip home to Petra.

During the drive back we stopped at a way station where workers were eating their lunch- a large brass platter full of Arabic pasta and veggies that they were dipping their pita and right hands into. They offered me some but I am allergic to wheat- so sad. This place has the best bread in the world (yes Laura I cheated some). The Jordanians are endlessly and genuinely polite and welcoming- a very heart- based people who are glad to meet you and anxious to help you.

We hauled it home then, passing one Bedo encampment with a satellite dish! The picture problem continues, as there isn’t enough band width here to upload pics. Too bad but I will catch up when I can.

Tomorrow we leave for the Dead Sea with a couple stops in between, including the site where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. We have a couple days of R and R at the Dead Sea Ishtar resort to unwind a bit and do some laundry!! Best to all!