Adventure trip to Wadi Rum

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Claire’s friends told her that this time she had gone too far. At twenty-nine, Claire lived a life of mystery and suspense as an adventure traveler. Until this trip, he had persuaded his friends to come. However, the friends had begun to fall into a boring routine. Only one friend had joined her on previous adventure vacations. This time, for the first time, Claire traveled alone. From his window seat, he drank as much of Amman, Jordan as his eyes could see in an Airbus 380 as it began its final approach to Queen Alia International Airport.

Her friends were scared by ISIL fans near Syria, but Claire didn’t listen to them. She countered her fear with facts: The Americans and their allies had crushed ISIL there and thus Jordan, one of the allies, had become safe for tourism. However, none of them agreed to go with her, so she challenged them by taking an Emerates airline flight from London to Amman. The wheels landed on the runway with a slight jolt, and Claire had no regrets about flying with the hospitable UAE airline crew. However, she felt a little scared to get off the plane, a young single British woman, alone in a sea of ​​Arab culture. He regained his courage after carrying his luggage through Jordanian customs to the common area of ​​the airport. A young Arab was standing, holding a sign for the tour company he had hired. She wore a lily-white thobe, a red plaid keffiyeh, and a finely woven gill holding her colorful headwear in place. As Claire walked towards him, the man smiled at her and asked, “Miss Claire?” He introduced himself to Hashem, his guide. Adventure on the go!

Other tourists joined her, mostly a mix of British, other Europeans, Americans and Australians, twelve in all, and Claire felt welcomed among them. Hashem was driving a small tour bus as he told his guests how he would provide the best hospitality, and promised that no one would want the fun and excitement of their tour to end. Thus began an eight-day adventure in the Middle East of go, go, go!

Hashem remained in the lobby of the Jordan Tower Hotel while his group of tourists checked in and stored their luggage. She then took Claire and the others on a total Jordanian cultural immersion in the souk (markets) where she had arranged with various vendors to show them gold, precious gems and pearls, handwoven rugs, a look here, a sample of her, a hint of fine perfume, and no one pressured Claire to buy any of it. If he chose to own something, an Arab supplier quickly closed the deal with a credit card, a package, and a promise to expedite the purchase of his house to arrive the day after he returned to London.

The pace slowed and the mood shifted to relaxation as the sun reddened and set, gas lights bathed the streets and houses a soft golden red, and Claire heard the Muslim call to prayer for the first time, a hauntingly beautiful song. Hashem apologized as he threw down a prayer rug to join the faithful in prayer to God, something he did five times a day.

After just one night and one morning in Amman, Claire and the others were taken in three Land Rovers to the ancient Roman city of Gerasa, located in the modern city of Jerash, northwest of Amman, near southern Syria and the Israeli West Bank. . . Claire and the others chatted like birds as they walked through ancient Roman streets to gaze at and photograph pillars, artwork, and the remains of buildings erected sometime after 63 BC. A local guide filled the minds of tourists with fascinating facts as they visually absorbed the mysteries of the ages that surrounded them. After six hours, Hashem drove his Land Rover caravan southwest to the historic Dead Sea.

While it seemed like just a photo opportunity, Hashem placed them in a remote Dead Sea resort where they all received extra attention with food and drink as they watched several tremendous storms fly across the water. Once again, a local historian entertained the adventurers with stories of what had happened there long ago. Many stories supplemented the biblical accounts. The group left early the next morning to travel to the most sought-after destination in Jordan, the ancient Arab trading capital called Petra. Everyone in the tour group commented on how intrigued they were by Petra, who was first envisioned as the setting for the final part of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Over and over again, the group found hidden locations in and around the front of an ancient building carved into a mountainside that they remembered as settings for actor Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones). While Hashem led the tour, the other Land Rover drivers set up camp for the night. Claire camped under a moonlit sky in the desert!

The unforgettable experience, but a taste of the adventure to come, slipped into the memory of adventurous travelers, people who want to drink life to the lees! The next day, Hashem led his expedition to Wadi Rum, located in the extreme south of Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia and the port of Aqaba on the Red Sea. Wadi Rum, a filming location for Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, The Red Planet in 2000, Prometheus in 2012, The Martian in 2015 and Rogue One in 2016, promised to be the pinnacle of the journey. In Wadi Rum, the combined income from film production and tourism had tempted a normally nomadic Bedouin tribe to settle there permanently. The Bedouins became the hosts for Claire and the other tourists under Hashem’s care. They provided shelter in two of their traditional tents, authentic Bedouin foods, and facilitated hiking, rock climbing, camel rides, and even balloon rides! Wadi Rum, a gateway for travelers for thousands of years, was packed with memorable video shots. Many rock formations sported etched rock drawings that gave a voice to adventurous travelers from long ago.

As Hashem had predicted, Claire and her fellow travelers reluctantly He left Wadi Rum to return to Amman, where a final night’s stay sealed a lasting appreciation for Jordanian culture. At the airport, young Hashem said goodbye to each of them, in the same way he greeted them: with a wide smile and a small bow. While waiting for her Emirates plane to disembark, Claire texted her best friend. “I’m coming home. Tell the others that I will have a party to celebrate my time on Mars, where the Force was with me as I rode a camel!” # TAG1writer.

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