From Petra we drove a couple hours towards the Wadi Rum desert, headed first to the Wadi Rum village to register ourselves, then left our car at the designated area at the beginning of the desert and met our host who drove us into the desert in his truck.
Wadi Rum is another UNESCO-listed site in Jordan. It's a stunning mountainous desert of endless red sand valleys. The whole area should be around 721 km². The mountains of Rum are still home to several Bedouin tribes.
Our bubble tent for the night! There are many different camps with similar accommodation options, either a room, a luxury tent or these bubble tents. The bubbles have a large window that offers beautiful sky views and at least off season are not expensive. It was full moon when we were there, so the Milky Way was not as visible as it could have been, but it was still mystical enough to be in the desert, without reception and isolated of everything. The only noise was the planes flying high over the desert.
Found a cool rock formation to enjoy sunset from.
Early morning start and went on a tour into further parts of the desert.
Started from Lawrence's spring, where Lawrence of Arabia supposably washed during the Arab Revolt.
Khazali canyon - beautiful narrow canyon containing many ancient rock inscriptions.
Sand dunes! A peaceful moment enjoying the scenery after a climb up.
Films like Lawrence of Arabia, The Martian, Dune, Prometheus, Aladdin and Star Wars have been filmed in the Wadi Rum desert!
A tea-break!
Little Bridge and its stunning views. It's allowed to walk on the actual bridge part one by one, quite a cool feeling!
After the tour we walked around in the Wadi Rum village, checked out some local handicrafts and found a superb home-made falafel place. After lunch headed out of the desert and towards the coast.
Hello Aqaba!
Aqaba is a coastal city next to the Red Sea and Jordan's only access to the sea (if you exclude the Dead Sea).
Al-Ghandour city beach
Found a nice hotel with a rooftop terrace and these magnificent views!
Majestic Sharif Hussein Bin Ali Mosque right next to the beach front.
Aqaba Fortress or Aqaba Castle, built by the Crusaders in the 12th Century.
Although Jordan seems fairly liberal compared to many Arabic countries, modest dresscode is encouraged and when going to swim on a public city beach, women should wear some coverage. First time swimming with the dress on. Water was superb still!
Ruins of the ancient Islamic city of Ayla
Our loyal ride for the trip!
Into the mountains we go. Drove the King's highway and headed to our next destination - al-Karak and Karak castle (one of the largest Crusader castles in the Middle East). The castle on the hill was built in 1142 AD, and thanks to the strategic location, the castle and the surrounding area became the Crusader center of power.
Fun fact, Karak castle was also featured in the Hollywood movie the Kingdom of Heaven.
As it is quite high up, it was a lot colder, and the only time we needed proper jackets.
And finally, towards the Dead Sea.
It’s the lowest point of land on Earth at over 400 meters below sea level, also it is 10 times saltier than typical sea level which allows you to float. It really is a funny weather when you try to swim, and pop up on the surface like a cork.
There is a bunch of resorts and a public beach on the Northern side, but they are quite pricy. For a quick visit and swim stop, there are a couple spots where it is possible to stop on Jordan Valley Highway (the Dead Sea Highway) and hike a small path down to the "beach" from the cliffs. The cliffs are mostly quite steep, but there are a few parking areas and trails down. Google Maps will guide you to Dead Sea Free Swimming.
Have some water with you! Comes very handy after a swim when the skin feels like it still has somewhat of a salt-mask on.
Bye beautiful Jordan! It has been wonderful!
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