Desert Treasure

At the beginning of November, I was waiting at the bus stop on my way to Aqaba when I was approached by Zidan, a friendly, talkative gentleman who works at Disi city hall.

"Lina," he said, "Dr. Edoardo is here. You must meet him!"
"Can you take me to him?," I replied.
"Yes," replied Zidan.

Dr. Edoardo - a Disi legend - is a Czech-German-Italian paleoanthropologist who has spent the past 40 years studying Wadi Rum and published over 300 articles - all in Italian - on his findings.

And so Zidan and I wandered down the main street of Disi to Dr. Edoardo's house on the far edge of the village. As we proceeded, Zidan took great pleasure in telling the people we met that he was taking me to Dr. Edoardo's house to marry him.

"No, no!," I protested, "I'm already married!" To no avail.

We arrived and were met by Dr. Edoardo and one of his colleagues. As it turned out, the only language that we shared was Italian and so I found myself translating from Arabic to English to Italian so that everyone could communicate. As I was in a bit of a rush to get to Aqaba, I agreed to meet the two scholars the following day for lunch.

I returned the next morning and spent a good part of the day (we had pasta for lunch!) learning about the research that Edoardo and his colleagues had done in the area. Dr. Edoardo's house, which is located on land given to him by Sheikh J'lael, the leader responsible for settling the Zawydeh tribe in Disi, is full of knowledge reflecting the history of the area. The walls of the house are covered with photographs, drawings and articles reflecting his work to date - including several representations of the rock inscriptions found throughout Wadi Rum. Most, if not all, of this rock art - inscriptions of figures and symbols in the sandstone - has been documented by Dr. Edoardo. I was fascinated to learn that the rock art in Wadi Rum can be anywhere from a few thousand years to a few decades old, as this art was the primary method of recording history used by the pastoral Bedouins until their settlement in the later part of the 20th century. My conversation with Dr. Edoardo opened my eyes to the speed and amount of change that has occurred in this part of Jordan over the past century.

Of course, I could not leave without a task to complete. As we looked through Dr. Edoardo's books, he informed that someone had inscribed the death of Lawrence (random motorcycle accident or calculated assassination attempt? you be the judge - the artist sure has!) in a cliff out in the desert. He described the place and I told him that I would go to look. And here, the next day, is what we found:

Taking a Tumble?

Vroom!  Vroom!

??

The Whole Picture

Full Moon Wedding Trip Excitement!

One of  my dearest friends in Aqaba, Zainab Chang owns Formosa Restaurant, where I spend a great deal of time when I am in Aqaba!  In recent months, Formosa has become a gathering place for our group of friends.  Imagine Cheers - in Jordan - with tasty Chinese food.  Seriously.  ;)

In August, Zainab's son Khaled got married to a lovely girl from Taiwan - after their wedding they invited their closest friends on a trip to Jordan!  And, of course, one stop was with me in Wadi Rum.  Luckily it was a full moon night in October - warm and beautiful!  The group rode camels to the camp and feasted on zarb before an enjoyable night climbing sand dunes and exploring the desert.  We had a wonderful time together and I hope that they'll be back soon!

At Lourans House Camp

Disi Dawn

I've gotten in the habit of rising at dawn.  The silence is spectacular and I begin each day with a quiet walk around the neighborhood.  It's a chance to organize my thoughts and to prepare for whatever adventures the day will bring.  The sunrises are most stunning this time of year, as November brings the occasional cloud and the even more occasional rainstorm to the otherwise dry desert.

Dawn from my front door

Disi Camel Races! (redux!)

As many of you have come to discover, the Disi camel races are generally of an ephemeral nature.   Rumors of their existence occur, sheikhs are known to negotiate over prize money and ultimately the races are held when least expected or not at all.  Those who are able to catch their rare occurrence discover a wonderful experience - dashing camels, raging four wheel drive vehicles, nervous owners, each one hoping that his camel will claim a coveted cash prize, put up by the benevolent sheikh, and, of course, a lot of dust!

As great as these races can be, Mohammad Attallah, the camel race track manager and I thought it might be worth a shot to put on our own set of races, with a firm date and to raise money for a prize by charging for tickets!  The result of our efforts are advertised here and may be enjoyed at the upcoming race on 12 November 2011 in Disi!  Hope to see you there!

And they are off!  14 Oct 11

Exploring Pharaoh's Island

A few months ago, a friend who works for Sindbad, Aqaba's premier company for enjoying the Red Sea (cruises, water sports, ferries), asked me whether I'd be interested in promoting their work.  A conversation ensued and we came up with the idea of an overnight cruise to Pharaoh's Island, off the coast of Egypt across the gulf from Aqaba.  Named for Ramses II, who is purported to have built its original fort, Pharaoh's Island played a strategic role in protecting the Cairo-Damascus route during the Crusades.  It is now home to a renovated citadel, built by Saladin in the 12th century.  I had a chance to visit the island last week - it was an amazing experience - the citadel was fascinating to explore and the snorkelling off the reefs that surround the island was among the best I have experienced.

Northern Citadel, Pharaoh's Island

Aboard Aladdin

The Luxury is the Difference

A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend who edits a luxury magazine to come up with the 'most opulent' possibilities for luxury camping in Wadi Rum.  Frankly speaking, I have been waiting for years for this request!  My mind instantly shot into high gear as I began to envision private camel races, rides in the King's helicopter and an on-call astronomy expert, who would act as a guide to the night sky.  I also did a poll of my best guides, Suleiman Sabbah, Salah Radi and Harb Salem, to see how they would create a truly luxurious experience of their desert homes.  Each came up with his own unique plan - incorporating elements such as candle light, night time jeep tours and gourmet desert cuisine.

As Harb and I drove out into the desert to visit his private camp, we discussed the concept of luxury in the desert.  As always, he provided valuable insight - pointing out that for most of his clients, the luxury of the desert was the difference in the experience between their home and his.  'When I make barbeque with my own hands, when I serve them tea that I have made over the fire... that is the luxury... because they are my guests and that is a unique experience of my world."

Harb's Desert Camp

View from the Front Entrance

The View from the Back Window

For over a year now, I've been fortunate to call the village of Disi, located on the northern edge of the Wadi Rum Nature Reserve, home.  Disi is also home to the 3.000 member strong Zawydehs, a subtribe of the Jordanian Howeitat family, who were made famous by Audeh Abu Tayeh in Lawrence of Arabia.  Disi was settled in 1967 at the behest of King Hussein, who provided Sheikh Jaleel, the leader of the tribe, with all the accoutrements of settled life - from schools and homes to water and electricity.  In exchange, the tribe continues to give its allegiance to the Hashemite Kingdom and many of the graduates of the boys' school in the village continue on to careers in the military.  Disi has grown exponentially over the past 50 years - once home to a few tents, it now lays claim to a water station, post office, two schools, a medical clinic and the homes of hundreds of families.  One of my favorite things about my home is the sandstone mountain that acts as a back drop for life here.  Every morning for the past few days, I have woken to see the moon setting over the mountain and in the evening the sun sets behind it.  Kids play in the nooks and crannies and the names of at least one generation may be found carved in the soft rock.  Here it is!

Looking out the window...