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Postcard: Amman, Jordan

Tim Muller,
Grand Central Magazine

If not traveling across the desert by foot or camel, then pick-up trucks are the next best choice. Photograph by Tim Muller
(Click here for more images.)

Traveling in Jordan is just more adventurous than in the United States. Forget about safety rails, warning signs or civil liability – this is Jordan. If we see a crumbling arch on a castle, we stand on it. If there’s a rock face, we climb it. This is not the place for safety lectures or worried mothers.

The past two weekends gave me a chance to experience some of the best natural wonders that Jordan has to offer: Wadi Rum and Wadi Mujib.

Although you may have never heard of Wadi Rum, its images are prevalent throughout Western media. It was both the theatrical and historical backdrop for the 1962 classic film “Lawrence of Arabia.” Complete with vast open desert, inexplicably red sand and enormous rock formations, Wadi Rum was also used to portray the surface of Mars in “Red Planet.”

The bus from Amman took us through the outskirts of the city, desolate flat desert, winding mountain roads, and finally stopped unceremoniously on the side of the highway. We piled into the back of pickup trucks and began our bumpy three-hour ride under rock arches and onto sand dunes.

The trucks raced across the desert while we clung onto whatever we could: the makeshift seats, the cab of the truck and each other. I peeked inside the cab to see how fast we were going only to find that there was no speedometer and the windshield was smashed. The driver skillfully, albeit seemingly blindly, raced with the other groups and led us to our first stop at a rock formation.

After climbing for about an hour, we got back in our Toyota death machines and headed to our next destination. We stopped for tea with Bedouins who showed us 2,000-year-old carvings depicting camel caravans through Wadi Rum.

One more jostling trip led us to a massive red sand dune to watch the spectacular sunset over the mountains. We watched as the shadows grew longer over the wind-blown sand and the eerie redness of the desert faded away to darkness. The adrenaline rush of the bumpy desert ride turned into subdued wonder at our completely foreign surroundings. We watched silently as the last rays of the sun sank behind the rock face, and then drove to our Bedouin camp for the night.

The primary mode of transportations used by Bedouins in the desert is camels. Photograph by Tim Muller
(Click here for more images.)

Our dinner was lavish, even in the middle of the desert. Piles of lamb, goat and chicken greeted us as we pulled into the camp, still in awe from the day’s activities. After eating around a bonfire, a group of us started off into the desert again. We walked more than an hour through the desert until we found a huge dune settled against a rock formation. After building a small fire, we stargazed and struggled to remember Astronomy 101 while lying in the soft sand on the dune.

I woke up after three hours of sleep to pigeons squawking in the cliffs above me, and strange screeches in the distance. Our 60 camels were waiting and they screamed in protest to any command given by their Bedouin handlers. Any remaining drowsiness was shaken out of my body when my camel was grudgingly brought to its feet by its 12-year-old handler. After three hours across the desert terrain, we galloped our camels into the base camp for the four-hour bus ride back to Amman.

The following weekend I made the switch from arid desert to water-filled gorge. Wadi Mujib gave yet another great example of Jordanian wilderness. The Mujib River slices deep into the sandstone, leaving 200 meters of sheer rock on each side.

We began our trek from the Dead Sea and went the only direction you can go from the lowest point on Earth – up. After an hour of hiking an exhaustingly steep grade, we reached what appeared to be little more than a shallow stream running through a meadow. The situation changed quickly once the river meandered around a rock formation. The gorge walls came into sight a few minutes later. The river shed its previously calm demeanor and the rock walls seemed to close in on us.

Walking through the river created a strange mix of problems. The varying current pushed us downriver while boulders and waterfalls blocked our path. The smooth boulders made for a natural water park, complete with slides, ladders and deep pools. The height of the water adventure was descending down – and through – a 75-foot waterfall.

Trying to rappel a rock face is difficult enough. When thousands of gallons of water are crashing against you, it seems nearly impossible. Working my way down the waterfall left me no option but to respect the pure power of the river as it smashed my body against rocks, tried its best to drown me, and tore off my glasses.

Despite nearly being washed away by a river, it was good to get out of the vast emptiness of the desert and the overcrowded city, which made for yet another unique Jordanian weekend.