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Travel

Desert refuge

Visitors to Jordan's Wadi Rum can stargaze by night or follow the footsteps of Col. T. E. Lawrence from Lawrence of Arabia by day.

By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
Published April 8, 2007

Camels are still the ideal way to navigate the vast sand dunes of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.
	[Times photo: Susan Taylor Martin]

WADI RUM, Jordan - As it has for eons, the wind whips across the dunes, sucking up sand and scouring the mountains into ever-more fantastic shapes. Billowy clouds race toward the east, leaving behind a brilliant blue sky and the promise of another magical night.

"I've been here 1,500 times and I never get tired of it," my guide says.

Petra, that "rose-red city half as old as time," is the undeniable show stopper of Jordan's many tourist attractions. But an hour to the south, Wadi Rum is the place that speaks to the soul of most Jordanians. It is here, amid the primordial beauty of sandstone mountains and shifting dunes, that they feel closest to their desert roots and nomadic Arab ancestors.

Wadi Rum is best savored if you are not in a rush, but have time to sleep under the stars, so abundant they look like silver glitter flung across the heavens. But a two-hour jeep tour, such as the one I took in February, provides enough of a taste to make you want to come back for more.

For those of a certain age, Wadi Rum is best known as the setting of Lawrence of Arabia, the 1962 Oscar-winning saga of the British officer who helped lead the Arab revolt against the Ottomans during World War I. At the time, the Turks ruled much of the Middle East, consolidating their hold with construction of the Hejaz Railway through what are now the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Col. T. E. Lawrence and his Arab cohorts repeatedly sabotaged the railroad - about all that remains is a weathered wooden boxcar that sits a few hundred feet off the main road into Wadi Rum. It is a mute witness to the transience of empire.

Our jeep quickly leaves pavement, and jounces across the desert floor toward the most famous of Wadi Rum's spectacular formations. Legend has it that Lawrence, shielded from the blazing sun by the Arab robes and headdress he favored, spent hours gazing at the mountain molded over time into distinct columns. They would inspire the title of his bestselling memoirs, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Wadi Rum is strongly evocative of America's desert Southwest, but the sight of camel and rider loping across the dunes is a reminder that this is not Arizona but a gateway to the vast Arabian Peninsula. For centuries, caravans laden with spices traversed Wadi Rum's valleys, scratching messages into the soft sandstone for those who followed.

Some of the ancient pictographs are still visible today. They are about the only signs of civilization apart from the bedouin tent where we pause for mint tea.

If it weren't so cold, my guide says, he would take off his shoes and sink his feet into the sand, as he does in summer when the desert soaks up the heat of the sun.

"It sounds crazy," he says, "but when I do that, I feel like all my problems just drain out of my body."

It doesn't sound crazy at all. We fall silent, and all we hear is the soft cooing of a bird and the roar of the wind through a distant canyon.

A different invasion

Nearly a century ago, Lawrence helped direct the Arab attack on the port of Aqaba, strategically located on the Red Sea 30 miles south of Wadi Rum. In the movie version, the Arabs' arduous trek across the desert ends with the miragelike sighting of a freighter just beyond the enormous dunes.

Today, freighters still anchor offshore, but the guerrillas have given way to foreign tourists drawn by Aqaba's appealing mix of luxury and small-town charm.

Since I was last here in 1998, Aqaba has gained two new resorts: the Movenpick and the InterContinental. To make up for the relatively modest beach, both have world-class pools: The InterContinental's is in the shape of a lagoon that flows under small wooden bridges and curves past the patios of first-floor rooms.

I stayed at an older, cheaper hotel, but had a drink on the Movenpick's spacious terrace - romantically lit at night with tiny white lights - and wandered around the InterContinental's beautifully landscaped grounds. Both resorts are on a broad, palm-lined boulevard where horse-drawn carriages share the road with a surprisingly small number of cars.

At the nearby marina of the Royal Yacht Club of Jordan you can make arrangements for parasailing or glass-bottom boat rides. Though the surrounding mountains give the Red Sea its unusual hue, the water is crystal clear and rich in the fish and corals that have made Aqaba a popular spot for scuba diving.

Unlike the neighboring Israeli resort of Eilat, a Mideast version of Miami Beach, Aqaba's nightlife revolves more around cozy cafes than raucous nightclubs. I ran into some Westerners on R&R from jobs in Iraq who wanted little more than peace and quiet.

What better place to find it than in Aqaba's low-key hospitality. Or the magnificent solitude of Wadi Rum.

Susan Taylor Martin can be contacted at susan@sptimes.com.

IF YOU GO

Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum is about 3 1/2 hours by car from Amman, the capital of Jordan, and 45 minutes from Aqaba. Royal Jordanian Airlines flies nonstop from New York's JFK Airport to Amman, and has connecting flights to Aqaba.

Rates at the Movenpick resort in Aqaba start at about $200 a night. For more information, go to www.moevenpick-hotels.com.

At the InterContinental, standard rooms are $119 a night and a king room with a sea view balcony is $162. For more information, go to www.ichotelsgroup.com.

[Last modified April 5, 2007, 12:37:49]