How to Ride a Camel - A Photo Tutorial in Five Easy Steps

A beautiful morning in Wadi Rum is best enjoyed from atop one of the local Diseh camels. No previous experience riding camels? Not to worry! This simple tutorial, courtesy of Ms. Becky Neil, San Francisco, CA and Mr. Hussein Abdullah, Diseh, Jordan, should allay the fears of even the most reluctant of camel passengers, while inspiring the excitement of every camel enthusiast!

Step 1: Meet Hussein Abdullah and your camel steeds. Hussein will assist you as you mount.

Step 2: Grip the knob at the front of the camel saddle (see Becky's left hand) and swing your leg over the saddle as though you were mounting a horse.

Step 3: Hold on tight as the camel stands up - raising her back legs first.  You are halfway there!

Step 4:  Whoops!  There go the front legs - don't let go of that knob just yet!

Step 5:  Smile for the camera as your stomach settles back into place...

... and you head off on your desert adventure!  

Extra special camel riders will receive a special camel kiss upon completion of their journeys!

Welcoming Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks!

I've started to look forward to visits from Yoshiko Chuma, New York City-based performance artist and her School of Hard Knocks, who were in the midst of GATHERING SPACE in Jordan and Palestine.  At the end of November, they visited me in Wadi Rum and spent a night under the stars and a day exploring the desert.  Our time together is always too short, but we look forward to their return to southern Jordan in 2011!

L to R:  Ryuji Yamaguchi - performance artist, Hugh Burckhardt - photographer, Samer - local guide, Yoshiko Chuma - director, Alena Bartoli & Bob Smith - hosts, Koutarou Inoue - actor, Yuko Mitsuishi - performance artist, Obeid Zawaedeh - host.


Photo by Hugh Burckhardt, 2010.

Alena, this is just the most amazing thing I have ever seen!

Last April, I had the pleasure of accompanying Bob and Stephanie Sherman during their brief visit to Jordan.  Above find Stephanie's reaction to Petra's Monastery - hidden high in the hills at the back of the site.  The Monastery, not actually a monastery but more likely to have been a temple to the Nabatean king Obodas I, is my favorite place in Petra and a wonderful view to contemplate with a cup of tea in hand.

Wild Wadi Rum!

This past weekend, I completed a project with Matt Epler, a local photographer, shooting a variety of images in the Wadi Rum/Diseh area.  Together with Awwad Radi, we scouted a variety of locations inside the protected area in order to recreate several stills from famous American Western films, with a Bedouin cast replacing the likes of John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.

For more information, or to see the photos on display, please contact me at: alena@enter-east.com.

On Top of the World

One of the special things about Jordan is the abundance of places where one feels on top of the world. This month, I had the opportunity to (finally!) climb Jebel Haroun, one of these places, with guests visiting from the US.

According to legend, the summit of Jebel Haroun (Mount Aaron in English) is the final resting place of the Prophet Aaron, brother of Moses. The spot is commemorated by a small white mosque and the area is considered to be sacred to all three Peoples of the Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims).


In contemplation atop Jebel Haroun.

Birth... from the Backseat

This past week, I was visited by Elizabeth and her husband, Jason. Newlyweds from NYC, they are on a year-long motorcycle voyage from London to Cape Town. Elizabeth, who is a doula and manages the New York based Birth Focus is researching birthing traditions as they travel through Europe, southwestern Asia and Africa. While in Diseh, we had the chance to sit with a local Bedouin woman and hear her recount some of the experiences of her 13 childbirths - 2 in the hospital and 11 at home. Each one of us came away with the sense that childbirth then and now was a challenging experience and that modern medicine was able to provide some of the lifestyle needs of modern women.

For more on Elizabeth's project - click here.

Wadi Rum Desert Marathon!

Each year, a series of endurance horse races are held in the desert surrounding the Wadi Rum Protected Area. Sponsored by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum of the UAE, the marathon attracts competitors from throughout the Kingdom and the region.

As the race is governed by a stringent set of international regulations, controls are made at regular intervals to ensure that the horses maintain a healthy temparature and heartbeat given the challenging desert conditions. Any horse not found to be in perfect health is disqualified immediately and so riders must carefully monitor the temperature and heart rate of their animals in order to ensure a safe and healthy race.

Last April, I had the pleasure of being part of Hamza Hasanat's racing team for one of the endurance races. He and his horse Andie competed and with a group of friends, we assisted him along the course in providing water and breaks for him and Andie. It was a great experience for all and a wonderful way to experience a day in the desert.



Hamza and Andie air-borne!



Team Hasanat at the start of the race.



Louis grabs an empty water bottle from Hamza en route to the finish!