Photos of Jordan : Wadi Rum

The majority of people visiting Wadi Rum never leave the vicinity of Rum Village. The scenery there is as beautiful as the rest of the area, and the Bedouin jeeps take you in and around the valleys so that you only have a vague idea of where you are - and anyway everything is beautiful!

"Wadi Rum" incidentally is the name now given to the whole area lying roughly between Rum Village and the border of Saudi Arabia. Originally "Wadi Rum" was the valley between Jebel Rum and Jebel Um Ishrin only, and it is here that the village has been built, close to the fort which originally protected the spring.

The cliff currently called the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is at the entrance to the Wadi Rum. The new "Gate" to the Wadi Rum protected area is close beside it, and the new Visitors' Centre looks out over it. Just behind this jebel is Jebel Um Ishrin.

Most people assume that T. E. Lawrence's book was named after this cliff. In fact the reverse is true, and the name has only become generally accepted locally in the last 10 years or so. If you count the "pillars" carefully, you will only find 6 of them!

This dramatic photo shows the village of Rum beneath the mountain of Jebel Rum. The high cliff you see in the centre holds many of the better known rock climbing routes. They are popular because they need no jeep transport to get to them, and not much walking when carrying heavy gear.

Jebel Um Ishrin, seen here in the centre of the photo on the right, is the mountain on the left when you enter Wadi Rum. It is the third highest mountain in Jordan - the first four are all to be found in the Wadi Rum area.

Jebel Um Adaami (see photo lower down) on the Saudi border is 1830 meters above sea level; Jebel Rum 1754, Jebel Um Ishrin 1753 (!), and Jebel Khazali 1748.

It is not surprising that Wadi Rum has become a world class climbing centre, with most of the world's top climbers visiting it, many coming back year after year.

These views are all of mountains close to Rum Village. On the upper left, the sand dune behind Jebel Annafishiya - you can see Jebel Um Ishrin on the left. This dune is very popular with the visitors, who invariably enjoy climbing it - all 100 meters of height! From the top there is a magnificent view.

IUpper left, a view of Jebel Burdah from the south. And underneath the others a beautiful photo of Jebel Khazali taken from Jebel Rum; Khazali Canyon is normally the first stop on the usual tourist route;

Jebel Qatar is the central point of Wadi Rum, lying almost exactly half way between Rum Village and the Saudi border. You would only see it from close up if you were heading down towards the southern valleys - this is a wonderful excursion that takes you far away from the tourist tracks. Qatar is also the central point of a number of valleys, so it is visible from almost every angle and can be seen on just about every photo taken around here. It always makes me think of a medieval castle, with its turrets and battlements. It is quite unmistakable, even from a long way off.

On the left above you have another photo of Jebel Qatar, taken from a different angle and from much further away. The right handl photo shows one of the "moonscapes" for which Wadi Rum is renowned, this is taken in the late afternoon sunshine. And finally the evening shadows are forming on a valley leading directly towards the "pyramid" shape of Jebel Barragh

Besides a simple jeep trip, there are numerous other ways to visit Wadi Rum. The obvious is of course, camel trekking, but you can also hike along the sandy valleys, climb higher into some of the lower hills, or go in for scrambling into the mountains. Any (or all) of these are easy to arrange if you apply to the more specialized local guides - see the web page on "Tours of Wadi Rum" or in the "useful contacts" section.

Scrambling is probably the most exciting and the most rewarding of all, and if you have a reasonably good head for heights, and if you are reasonably fit, you should try it. Several of the mountains are pretty easy going if you have a guide to show you the way. The one that most people think of is Jebel Rum, but this is hard, and you should not attempt it without a fair bit of experience of scrambling. If you can afford the time and the money for a week's scrambling (yes, indeed, many people do stay for a week in Wadi Rum!) the programme will usually finish with Jebel Rum, if the guide thinks you can manage it.

If you are already experienced in easy climbing and abseiling, then you shouldn't miss the chance to climb it.

Here we have the summits of the two highest mountains in Jordan : Jebel Rum on the left, and Jebel Um Adaami on the right. Jebel Um Adaami is no more than a steep uphill walk on stony ground, and it is very easy to get to the top and to see the views stretching out to the south over Saudi Arabia. It's a long drive to get there, though. On the other hand, Jebel Rum is a HARD scramble, and is not suitable for novices in the mountains. Even experienced climbers need a full day to go up and come down again - something between 8 and 10 hours. This is most definitely NOT a hike!

Here are some photos of scrambling on the mountains with a guide

And here are some climbers on difficult routes
(See the web pages on climbing, on climbing photos and in the
Photo Gallery called "Cliffs and Climbs"

And at the end of the day, you watch the sunset ......

And sit beside the campfire drinking coffee after supper

Rock Inscriptions

Tourists are routinely taken to see the rock drawings near to the sand dunes at Jebel Annafishiya. Sometimes doubts are expressed about the authenticity - they are too clear apparently. While I wouldn't put it past the Bedouin to brighten them up a bit if it was considered necessary, it is indisputable that there are thousands upon thousands of rock inscriptions of different sorts in the area around Wadi Rum. If you climb up to Wadi Shelaala, behind the Rest House you can see some on the edge of the path, and there are numerous others on Jebel Rum.

In Wadi Saabit there are two particularly dramatic examples, both in tiny hidden valleys away from the main track. Close to Wadi Nogra on the northern edge of Saabit, there is a completely unsuspected valley deep in the rocks. Even from fifty meters or so away, one would not dream that it is there. It is known as the Siq Barid ("the cold ravine") and indeed it is beautifully cool in the heat of the day.

Here can be seen a number of drawings, mostly of ibex - possibly directions for hunters ? - but also for some reason that I cannot imagine there are a number of drawings of feet!

Wadi Nogra and the Siq Barid are very well protected by quantities of soft sand, and on the whole drivers avoid it unless they particularly need to go there. Another valley, on the southern edge of Saabit, is easier of access. I don't know if it has a name, but the walls are completely covered with writing: I took a while to believe it! It must have taken somebody a long time. At the deep end of this valley there is one of the dams which are usually associated with the Nabateans.

Far to the south on the Saud Arabian border there is a large rock guarding the frontier. This frontier isn't guarded by anything else, actually, although there is a line of quite large stones across the valley so that no vehicle can get through. An animal could pass, a horse, a camel or a donkey, and I suspect they often do, presumably with a Bedouin riding them. In ancient times, this was the main road to Mecca unless one followed the coast.

The rock has a series of hands signifying - what ? The friend who drove me here kindly lent his hand to show the scale - pretty much the same size as a hand today. I have no explanation of the rock, just that this is another kind of inscription.

And inscriptions can be found in the most unexpected places. Once on a longer trip, we drove into a tiny valley to make tea. This valley must be some 80 kilometers from Rum Village, perhaps more, and it couldn't have been longer than 20 or 30 meters deep. One of us noticed a drawing on a high rock. Sorry, I couldn't get closer to take a larger photo, but we speculated for some time about just what adventure the drawing commemorated, how long it had been there, and why it had been drawn in this particular place.

Another rock in another place closer to Wadi Rum holds a different series of drawings! This is a rock that is often used as a meeting point to collect people in a jeep after they have hiked across the mountains. I was amused to see the drawing on the right, signed by a young man of my acquaintance - presumably when he was bored with waiting for his tourists. The colours, incidentally, are strictly natural, many of the stones lying around will mark different colours on the rocks.

His friends teased the artist later for his dream of a "beautiful girl"....

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