January 20, 2026

Petra, Jordan > Wadi Rum, Jordan

This morning, we are heading south of Petra towards, the Gulf of Aquaba. Aquaba is Jordan’s only seaport. Aquaba is also the one place where Egpyt, Israel and Jordan have a common boarder. However, we aren’t going all the way to Aquaba, we are going to the Wadi Rum Protected Area to the east of Aquaba.

Wadi Rum is a UNESCO site recognized for it outstanding natural beauty and cultural significance. Wadi Rum's cultural significance lies in its 12,000-year history of human habitation, showcased through vast collections of petroglyphs and inscriptions detailing the evolution of thought, alphabet, and daily life, alongside its importance as a strategic area during the Arab Revolt (T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia) and home to vibrant Bedouin culture, known for hospitality, poetry, and traditional crafts. Its unique desert landscape also holds religious significance, mentioned in the Quran, and serves as a modern cultural touchstone. It is probably where the Israelites got lost for 40 years.

We had breakfast at the hotel about 08:30. We met Sami in the lobby just after it ha gone 10:00. When then spent two hours going to 105 km (61 miles). You may ask why it took so long. Well, getting from Petra to the main highway is 42 km (25 miles) along the Jordan’s Highway 35. Highway 35 is famously known as the King’s Highway, an ancient trade route that runs north-south through Jordan. Highway 35 is a combination of the Old King’s Highway and Trajan’s New Road, or the Via Traiana Nova, a significant Roman highway built about 2,000 years ago.

Parts of Via Traiana Nova and UNESCO sites. Both of the old roads were vital arteries for trade and military movement. They both connect historical sites like Madaba (tomorrow), Karak, Dana and Petra. As you can imagine it is somewhat of a serpentine path. The Jordanians also like to control the speed of the vehicles on the highways by putting in speed bumps every so often. Even out in the middle of what might be called nowhere.

We did stop on our way at one of the “clean restroom” sites. Where we were told we could climb the stairs to the roof of the building as look out over Petra and the surrounding area. Yes, it was a beautiful view, we could even see the Dead Sea. We did manage to walk in, go up the stairs and walk out without looking at any of the trinkets they had to offer.

Highway 35 connected to Highway 47, near the Ras Al-Nagab Inspection Station. Highway 47 is also known as the the King’s Highway and roughly follows the path of the ancient roads. However, it is a very modern highway and busy highway with a number of trucks going to and from the Port of Aquaba. We stay on Highway 47 for about 70 km (48 miles) before we turn off on the Wadi Rum road. The last 20 km (12 miles) to the Visitor’s Center are spent on Wadi Rum Road. We do stop along the way at the Wadi Rum Train Station where we see a train similar to Turkish train Lawrence blew up during the Arab Revolt in 1916.

Just after it had gone noon, we reached the visitor’s center. They were cleaning the place up, apparently in the expectation of VIPs. They were washing, with water, the parking lot and entrance. Seemed really waste full use of water in the desert. The visitor’s center is basically a place to buy tickets to visit Wadi Rum, a restaurant and the Wadi Rum head quarters of the Jordanian Royal Film Commission. Dune, Star Wars, The Martian and John Wick: Chapter 4, among others, have used Wadi Rum as a filming location.

There is a buffet lunch for us in the restaurant, whose walls are covered in movie posters for the various movies made in Wadi Rum. After lunch we are transferred to a four-wheel-drive truck for our two-hour ride though Wadi Rum and to our “camp site” for the night. Our first sight out of the visitors' center are the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  

The "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" in Wadi Rum is a massive sandstone mountain with towering columns which were sculpted by wind and water. They are known for their dramatic beauty. They aren't about literal pillars of wisdom, the name is a reference or acknowledgement named after T.E. Lawrence's (Lawrence of Arabia) memoir.  Wisdom's seven pillars, according to Book of Proverbs, are: fear of the Lord, instruction, knowledge, understanding, discretion, counsel, and reproof. Which has nothing to d with these mountains.  Historically, ie. Before Lawrence was involved, this massive rock formation was known called Jebel al-Mazmar, which translates to "The Mountain of the Plague”. Couldn’t find out why.  So, the name Seven Pillars of Wisdom is used solely for the tourist trade.

We stop to look at the Alameleh Thamudic and Nabataean inscriptions carved into the the rock, depicting camel caravans, hunting warriors and various animals, are common throughout the Wadi Rum area. These are some of the most comprehensive and best preserved according to Sami. Sami has the driver stop along the way to demonstrate a plant used by Bedouins as a natural soap. It is a type of saltwort, specifically Seidlitzia rosmarinus, a desert species whose twigs, when crushed and mixed with water, produce a foamy, soapy solution for cleaning. Harry V even gave it a try. Yes, it is foamy and looks like soap and it has a very pleasant odor.

We continue our ride through Wadi Rum admiring the sandstone mountain formations, the various colors of the sand, and just enjoying the clean air. We finally reach our stop for the night, Memories Aicha Luxury Camp. This is a complex consisting of tent cabins and geodesic domes setup against a hillside. There is a coffee lounge, restaurant and about twenty-five sleeping accommodations.

The geodesic domes tucked away in the niche of this red valley make the site look more like a Mars colony than a camping site in Jordan. In fact, when you pull back the curtain covering the windows which occupy about one-half of the entire wall space, and look out you could, without too much imagination, this you were on what has always been portrayed as a Martian view. The geodesic domes are spacious and comfortable. The sun is hitting one side and you can feel the heat being generated by that western exposure. The eastern side, the one with the windows as cold. What is might be like in the summer is difficult to imagine. There is a European type room heating/air conditioning unit, which right now is doing a great job of warming the place up. It is maybe 4° or 5° C (somewhere around 40° F outside).

There is a deck surrounding the geodesic dome, there are even two chairs out there. Sitting on the deck this evening probably isn’t going to happen – too cold. The point of staying here is to see Wadi Rum, and to see what the stars look like at night without in light pollution. The sun was setting as we walked to the coffee lounge at 17:00. We wanted to get a drink and play at least one hand of canasta before dinner. The lounge was beautiful with space for maybe 50 or 60 people. It is built right into the side of the hill. Quite unique, at least to Americans.

Mary got a hot chocolate, V got a mint tea and I got the local equivalent of Coke Zero. It was all very good. We played a whole canasta game, with me winning, before we headed out to dinner just after it has gone 18:00. The dinning room is a large white geodesic dome just a few steps from the lounge. When we got to the dinning room there were only a couple other guests. There was a family but it was probably some of the local workers. Eventually a few more guests dribbled in, but in total there weren’t more than ten guests. Dinner was buffet style. A good selection of foods, fruits, salads, and vegetables.

It was dark by the time we we left the dinning room and headed back to our domes. Unfortunately, the sky wasn’t clear, and you couldn’t see any stars, However, it was dark, no light pollution, and had the sky been clear it would probably have been spectacular. We snuggled under our comforters, yes, we each had our own :>). And were off to sleep.  

Buonanotte e ciao

Enrico e Maria