Wadi Rum is a very beautiful desert area in the south of Jordan. It is distinguished by its reddish-orange sand and tall rock formations. There are at least three natural bridges within the "protectorate" (national park.) Mostly, Wadi Rum is known from the tales of Lawrence of Arabia. Scenes from the movie by that name starring Peter O'Toole were filmed in Wadi Rum in 1962. Anyway, visitors to Wadi Rum experience the spectacular beauty of the area and can choose to stay overnight at a Bedouin camp. Our Bedouin guide was recommended highly in a tour book, and we booked his services last fall for our two days in the desert.
Mzied (pronounced "muz-yed") met us at the bus and took us to his home where we sat on the floor and his youngest daughter served us tea. Mzied explained to us that it was a special day for the family since the second oldest of his five sons was having a formal engagement ceremony that afternoon. The family wanted us to come as their guests if we were willing. We thought that sounded like a great opportunity to experience a piece of Bedouin family life, so we immediately said yes. The ceremony wasn't until the late afternoon, so we spent a few hours riding around the desert in Mzwied's pickup truck. We climbed on one of the rock bridges (and decided the higher one was more than our sore legs and our nerves could handle.) We learned how Mzied's father was an extra in Lawrence of Arabia. And we stopped at a tent in the desert to drink more tea. Mzwied had to get ready for the engagement ceremony, so we did some hiking on our own around Rum Village (the only community in Wadi Rum, populated entirely by Bedouins) and the surrounding hillsides. By late afternoon, we were back at Mzwied's house along with the many male relatives arriving to celebrate. Many were dressed formally in long white robes and red-and-white keffiyehs (head scarves.) Leroy had already purchased a keffiyeh of his own, and Mzwied loaned me one to wear.
At about five p.m., everyone got into their cars and pickup trucks. We were waved into an SUV by a cousin. The caravan drove about half a block and stopped at the home of the bride-to-be (we wondered why we didn't just walk!) Everyone found a cushion around the edges of a large tent and had tea. Then the ceremony commenced. Mzwied asked permission of the bride's father for his son to marry the man's daughter. A local dignitary of some sort witnessed the conversation and made everything official. Once it was over, there was more tea. The children moved to a nearby alley to play games. We were invited to stay for the dinner that followed (which would no doubt go on late into the night) but we were anxious to get back into the desert and settle into the campsite. Mzwied asked his nephew to give us a ride. He didn't seem too pleased to have to leave the party. I don't think you can say you have lived until you have ridden in a pick-up truck going 65 mph through the desert (no roads, just deep sand) driven by a teenager steering and shifting with his right hand and texting with his left. I thought we were going to tip over several times.
At the camp, we were assigned to a tent (a square, sturdy, canvass structure with two thin matresses) and were offered tea by the fire under the dining tent by the camp chef. Soon, three other travelers and their guides arrived. We enjoyed conversation through the evening and next morning with a couple from France and a gentleman from Syria. A delicious dinner was served. Not long after, we walked through the sand to our tent, enjoying the stars and sliver of moon in the otherwise very dark sky.
This morning, I woke early and walked through the desert on my own as the sun rose above the mountains and illuminated the red cliffs and sand all around me. As I sat on a rock, two large, white dogs bounded across the desert to me. As they got close, I was glad to see they weren't the wolves our guide had told us about the night before! They seemed happy to see me. After breakfast and a few cups of tea, we packed up the pickup and visited some enormous sand dunes. I showed Mzied some of the photos I had taken at the engagement ceremony and offered to email them to him. Instead, he drove us back to his house and his newly-engaged son transferred the photos from my iPad to a laptop. The contrast between the traditional practices and lifestyle of the Bedouins and their use of modern technology was very apparent throughout our visit. Cell phones rang often in the desert. The most striking - and from our perspecting distressing - evidence of the "old ways" was the complete exclusion of women from the engagement ceremony. Not even the future bride was present! About fifty men gathered to make the engagment official, with not one woman there to participate or witness the occasion. In general, women other than tourists were not seen often where we traveled in Jordan or in Egypt, especially among the Bedouin tribes.We are back in Israel, and the contrast is profound. We're an hour away from Wadi Rum, but we might as well be on another planet. Not only did we swim in the Red Sea this afternoon (after seeing very little water in the desert), but women were there in bathing suits in equal numbers as men. People might be surprised that Israel is also very gay-tolerant. Male and female couples are quite open in expressing affection publicly (not in inappropriate ways - just holding hands like other couples.) Anyway, the contrasts in this part of the world from country to country are pretty amazing.
Tomorrow we'll enjoy the beach for a short and will be in Jerusalem by early evening.
