Wadi Rum, Jordan, Middle East

[The Solemates]

I may have a free! opportunity coming up to explore the Wadi Rum area of South Jordan with my father, who frequents Iraq. There are 3 main ways to do this...by camel, by hummer, or my foot. There is no water, but it is supposed to be absolutely beautiful. The landscape somewhat resembles southern Utah. If anyone has ever been to this area in the Middle East, any and all advice/suggestions/comments are VERY appreciated.

[chris]

Pass along any info you might get. I would LOVE to go there and almost did a couple of winters ago. I went to Lebanon and Syria instead. I haven't gotten around to putting the photos on line yet, as I've been working on my AT section hike instead.

The Syrians are about the nicest people you can imagine, and I've been told the Jordanians are just barely a step below. Arab culture is very helpful toward visitors and strangers (yes, this really is true). You'll have to fend off a lot of salemen, but this isn't a big deal. I ate a lot of street food and loved it and never picked up food poisoning. I did treat some of my water with Potable Aqua. In Syria, I lived well on about $8 a day (everything included here, except for gifts for those back home). I'm told Jordan is a little more expensive. Lebanon is more expensive than Syria, but cheaper, I'm told, than Jordan. You'll have a higher expense in Wadi Rum. I'd go in via Jeep. If you want, I can send along some web links for Jordan that seemed to be pretty good. If you need some motivation, see Lawrence of Arabia, which has a of scenes from Wadi Rum. Also, TE Lawrence's masterpiece, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is an excellent read and takes place, in part, in the region of Wadi Rum. You might need a map to go along with it if your geography of the Middle East isn't superb (I needed one).

I can't recommend the Middle East enough. If you are a history person, it is one of the world's great treasures since it has been a cross roads for many different cultures. I was the only American I met in Syria and Lebanon and everyone seemed to want to take extra care of me. They were friendly and helpful and wanted to talk as much as my Arabic and their English allowed. Language is not much of a barrier to getting around, even if English isn't heavily spoken except in the souq (market). Wadi Rum will have a lot of English speakers, though.

[Slaughter]

No experience in the Middle East (North Africa instead)..but as far as travel goes...

Going by camel would be my last resort of the three you gave as options...cames are by no means comfortable, or nice, or hygenic, or anything else that you would possibly want to have on a journey of any significant length. Nasty animals with bad tempers, and after a few hours on one you're going to wish you had chosen something else. :)

If the terrain isn't too crazy or soft or tough to navigate (and assuming someone has experience driving in those conditions) vehicular support will probably be appreciated. Though I have to admit a nice long walk through such an interesting area has its allure as well. :) Just two cents, from someone with very little reason to give even one. ;)

[The Solemates]

I got news today that it is gonna turn out to be an almost 3 week trip, which unfortunately I cannot afford the time right now, so its back to Land Between the Lakes, KY/TN instead.