Thomas Edward Lawrence...
Ever since I was a child, the story of T.E. Lawrence fascinated me, mostly because of the cinematic masterpiece, David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". While historically inaccurate and (as I was to learn) culturally incorrect when it comes to the Bedouin people, the majesty and beauty of this movie captivated me, capping off a few years ago when a new print was released in theaters and I watched it on the big screen. Especially those scenes of Lawrence and the Bedouin army going through the amazing desert landscapes....I just couldn't get enough of it.
Ever since I was a child, the story of T.E. Lawrence fascinated me, mostly because of the cinematic masterpiece, David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". While historically inaccurate and (as I was to learn) culturally incorrect when it comes to the Bedouin people, the majesty and beauty of this movie captivated me, capping off a few years ago when a new print was released in theaters and I watched it on the big screen. Especially those scenes of Lawrence and the Bedouin army going through the amazing desert landscapes....I just couldn't get enough of it.
“Dine with Auda, English. Dine with a Howietat, Harieth. It is my pleasure you dine with me at Wadi Rum!” - Auda Abu Tai, played by Anthony Quinn, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, directed by David Lean, 1962
One of the great scenes of "Lawrence of Arabia"...
So when I learned that much of this movie was filmed in Wadi Rum in Jordan, this added to the desire to go to this country.
Lawrence is a big deal here, as many tourists are drawn here for the same reason that I was. There is the Lawrence Spring, where he watered his camels, the Lawrence house, where he reputedly slept, and there is the beautiful mountain, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which is named after his book. Lawrence stayed in Wadi Rum while he gathered his Bedouin army to attack Aqaba, a Turkish stronghold during World War 1. But Wadi Rum has much, much more than the story of Lawrence.
We arrived at 10am in the village of Wadi Rum to meet our guide for the next few days. We were to stay at Rum Stars Camp, one of several tent camps run by local Bedouin families. Rum Stars has great reviews on Trip Advisor, which always helps in picking a place. For our first day, Amy and I and a couple from France, Raphael and Amanda, were to be driven around in the back of a pick up truck, with a tent like structure on top to protect us from the wind and heat. Luckily, the weather was really cooperating. Normally during mid May, Wadi Rum sees temperatures of 100 degrees and more. But this part of Jordan was enjoying a cool spell and it didn't get above about 80.
Okay then, off we went in the pickup truck. Our first stop was Lawrence's Spring, the place where he watered his camel once or twice and actually a place well used by the local people. It's a bit of a climb up to the actual spring, which comes out of the side of the mountain, and I didn't get to it, but on the way up are beautiful views of the surrounding area. Here you see why it's called Wadi Rum, rum meaning rock in some language (not sure which). Huge mountains, which are solid sandstone, tower out of the flat desert. Wadi Rum is composed of many of these huge mountains of sandstone which are 400-600 million years old and were uplifted by seismic action more than 100 million years ago. As we will see later, fossils are easily found here, very old ones, as the sandstone contains literally trillions of shells and other sea creatures.
Lawrence's spring...
Beautiful views everywhere...
In a narrow canyon, complete with water from a recent storm...
All of the pickup trucks follow 'roads'. This protects the area...
From here we went to the 'sand dune', which is a pretty large one lodged up against a hill and which we had a sandboard for anyone who wanted to sandboard down the dune. But once I got out of the truck and looked around i couldn't have cared less about sandboarding because there it was in all it's glory, what I wanted to see most of all in Wadi Rum; Jebel Umm Ishreen, the great mountain under which David Lean filmed some of the greatest scenes of "Lawrence".
Amy and I climbed a nearby rock and just gazed at this marvelous sight. it was so beautiful that the tiny trucks and people underneath were lost in its grandeur. I'm sure most of the tourists here had no idea of what they were looking at, as almost everyone I talked to, and most were under 30 years of age, had never seen "Lawrence". (Note: if you are coming to Jordan, then your homework assignment is to watch this movie!).
Jebel Umm Ishreen...
The same mountain, under which David Lean filmed some of "Lawrence"...
From here we made a few more stops before lunch, including a narrow rocky canyon which contained Nabatean writing and even some water at the bottom from recent rains, and another canyon which we walked through, that had amazing red walls and huge boulders.
A natural arch in the sandstone...
Sunlight goes through an arch high up on the hill...
Then it was time for lunch. Eid drove us way out in a far valley and parked under a large boulder, which provided some shade for us. We had some pita bread, a tin of tuna, some fruit, a cucumber and tomato. Also a cookie for lunch. We had a couple of hours rest here, so afterwards, Amy and I took a hike around the area, which had more of the huge beautiful sandstone mountains, more beige than red here.
In the back of the truck...
Eid making fire for tea...
Our picnic spot...
During lunch, we had a long talk with our Bedouin guide, Eid. He was only 24 years old and unmarried. His father is 89 and has three wives. Eid's goal, he said, was to have four wives. This brought some reaction from the French woman about isn't one enough? I asked if he had a girlfriend yet, which he didn't. I mentioned you might want a girlfriend first, as you kind of need one of those before you get a wife, let alone four. And nowadays, marriages aren't always arranged by families, as they were in the past. As the conversation went on, I was pretty sure Eid was pulling our legs, as he was quite a joker in the first place.
Then it was off to camp for dinner and sleep. We hadn't been to the camp yet, and it was getting dark. As I walked up to our tent on a rocky path, the first thing I did was hit my toe (the broken one) on a small, maybe 2 inch high, step. Well, that hurt. But we got into the tent, which had a nice light (all the lighting here is solar). We got a tour of the bathrooms, the public tent, along with fireplace, and the dining area. Dinner consisted of chicken that is cooked the Bedouin way, in a metal oven that is buried in the sand. There were also many salads, which, if you are vegetarian, you'd be quite happy. It was all delicious.
Some of the tents at Rum Stars Camp...
After dinner we were all quite tired so we spent a little time with Eid and the other guides in the public tent, but it was soon time for bed. As I was walking to out tent, BAM! I tripped over that same damn step one more time. I'd really have to be more careful about that.
So when I learned that much of this movie was filmed in Wadi Rum in Jordan, this added to the desire to go to this country.
Lawrence is a big deal here, as many tourists are drawn here for the same reason that I was. There is the Lawrence Spring, where he watered his camels, the Lawrence house, where he reputedly slept, and there is the beautiful mountain, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, which is named after his book. Lawrence stayed in Wadi Rum while he gathered his Bedouin army to attack Aqaba, a Turkish stronghold during World War 1. But Wadi Rum has much, much more than the story of Lawrence.
We arrived at 10am in the village of Wadi Rum to meet our guide for the next few days. We were to stay at Rum Stars Camp, one of several tent camps run by local Bedouin families. Rum Stars has great reviews on Trip Advisor, which always helps in picking a place. For our first day, Amy and I and a couple from France, Raphael and Amanda, were to be driven around in the back of a pick up truck, with a tent like structure on top to protect us from the wind and heat. Luckily, the weather was really cooperating. Normally during mid May, Wadi Rum sees temperatures of 100 degrees and more. But this part of Jordan was enjoying a cool spell and it didn't get above about 80.
“The wandering Arabs have certainly more wit and sagacity than the people who live in towns; their heads are always clear, their spirits unimpaired by debauchery, and their minds not corrupted by slavery, and I am justified in saying that there are few nations among whom natural talents are so universally diffused as among the Bedouins.” - Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, 1812
We sat in the office for awhile, talking about what we were to do. Ahmed, the owner of Rum Stars, gave us some tea. When I mentioned how I always wanted to come here because of the movie, he went on a long talk about how it was a nice movie, but totally inaccurate when it came to the Bedouin people. He gave me several examples, such as no Bedouin would kill another because he was drinking out of his well (the great intro scene of Omar Sharif) or that the scene where Lawrence executed Gasim would never have happened. Okay, fine, the screenwriters never had Bedouin consultants, and I can understand why he would be upset, but it's still a cinematic masterpiece.
”No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry.. the imprint of the desert… and he will have within him the yearning to return…. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match. “ - T.E. Lawrence, ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1926
We sat in the office for awhile, talking about what we were to do. Ahmed, the owner of Rum Stars, gave us some tea. When I mentioned how I always wanted to come here because of the movie, he went on a long talk about how it was a nice movie, but totally inaccurate when it came to the Bedouin people. He gave me several examples, such as no Bedouin would kill another because he was drinking out of his well (the great intro scene of Omar Sharif) or that the scene where Lawrence executed Gasim would never have happened. Okay, fine, the screenwriters never had Bedouin consultants, and I can understand why he would be upset, but it's still a cinematic masterpiece.
”No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry.. the imprint of the desert… and he will have within him the yearning to return…. For this cruel land can cast a spell which no temperate clime can match. “ - T.E. Lawrence, ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, 1926
Okay then, off we went in the pickup truck. Our first stop was Lawrence's Spring, the place where he watered his camel once or twice and actually a place well used by the local people. It's a bit of a climb up to the actual spring, which comes out of the side of the mountain, and I didn't get to it, but on the way up are beautiful views of the surrounding area. Here you see why it's called Wadi Rum, rum meaning rock in some language (not sure which). Huge mountains, which are solid sandstone, tower out of the flat desert. Wadi Rum is composed of many of these huge mountains of sandstone which are 400-600 million years old and were uplifted by seismic action more than 100 million years ago. As we will see later, fossils are easily found here, very old ones, as the sandstone contains literally trillions of shells and other sea creatures.
Lawrence's spring...
Beautiful views everywhere...
In a narrow canyon, complete with water from a recent storm...
All of the pickup trucks follow 'roads'. This protects the area...
From here we went to the 'sand dune', which is a pretty large one lodged up against a hill and which we had a sandboard for anyone who wanted to sandboard down the dune. But once I got out of the truck and looked around i couldn't have cared less about sandboarding because there it was in all it's glory, what I wanted to see most of all in Wadi Rum; Jebel Umm Ishreen, the great mountain under which David Lean filmed some of the greatest scenes of "Lawrence".
Amy and I climbed a nearby rock and just gazed at this marvelous sight. it was so beautiful that the tiny trucks and people underneath were lost in its grandeur. I'm sure most of the tourists here had no idea of what they were looking at, as almost everyone I talked to, and most were under 30 years of age, had never seen "Lawrence". (Note: if you are coming to Jordan, then your homework assignment is to watch this movie!).
Jebel Umm Ishreen...
The same mountain, under which David Lean filmed some of "Lawrence"...
From here we made a few more stops before lunch, including a narrow rocky canyon which contained Nabatean writing and even some water at the bottom from recent rains, and another canyon which we walked through, that had amazing red walls and huge boulders.
A natural arch in the sandstone...
We learned that 'jumping' for the camera is kind of a thing, so we got into it...
Eid, Raphael and yours truly...
Eid next to some Nabatean carving...
Sunlight goes through an arch high up on the hill...
In the back of the truck...
Our picnic spot...
“The crags were capped in nests of domes, less hotly red than the body of the hill; rather grey and shallow. They gave the finishing semblance of Byzantine architecture to this irresistible place: this processional way greater than imagination. The Arab armies would have been lost in the length and breadth of it, and within the walls a squadron of aeroplanes could have wheeled in formation." - T. E. Lawrence, ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’, 1926
After a few more stops, including a beautiful arch and another canyon walk, it was onto the 'Sunset Stop'. This is the place where Rum Stars brings their guests to view the amazing sunsets here. And i didn't disappoint, as we were up on a rocky hill and had an amazing view of the distant mountain ranges and the sun setting behind them.Some of the tents at Rum Stars Camp...
Fabulous! The land looks so old!
ReplyDelete400 million year old sandstone!
DeleteHi from Czech Republic! Happy travels, toes and all
ReplyDelete