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By Rakan Mehyar
His name is Salem Zalabia, better known as Abu Zhair or Abu Zhayer; a 24 year old Bedouin guy from Rum.
Salem was born in the desert of Rum and has been living there ever since. He literally knows every mountain, sand dune and grain of sand! While his family still lives the traditional Bedouin life,in a goat-hair Bedouin tent grazing goats and herding camels, Salem works in the local tourism industry as a desert guide.
To me, he is more than just a desert guide; he is also a good friend and the best host you can ever have. He's not much of a morning guy as he seldom talks then, but once the sun starts to set Salem starts getting in the mood; the best times I had there were around a little fireplaceafter dinner, chatting with Salem over an endless supply of sweet Bedouin tea.
If you're bored, he entertains you and tells you exciting desert stories spiced up with his wonderful sense of humour. If you're hungry, he prepares the best food you can ever have. If it's cold at night, he makes sure you have enough blankets to keep you warm. If you're in need of a friend, he's there for you; an absolutely genuine and sincere host.
Special thanks to Abed Sultan for raising the issue and providing the photos...
By Tala Bassam Momani
Let me tell you what happened yesterday: we were sitting peacefully in the office (Friends of the Earth - Middle East) when Abdel-Rahman (my colleague) came running from outside the office yelling 'Tala and Rakan come and see this!'
We went up to the building roof, clambered over the water tanks and looked where he was pointing to - I honestly don't know how Abd knew about it - there was dark yellow smoke coming out of the building next to us. It turned out that the smoke was Nitrogen Oxide (a toxic air-polluting and carcinogenic gas) which is typically a by-product from gold crafting.
Abd found out that we do have a gold workshop in the building next to us so I called the Civil Defence after unsuccessfully trying to reach the Environmental Police. We transformed our office into an operations room!! About 20 minutes later we heard sirens and three fire trucks and two ambulances pulled up with about twelve firemen fully equipped and holding masks and air regulators went up to our roof to see what we called about.
I honestly felt guilty after I saw them carrying heavy oxygen tanks on their backs and up three storeys (I wondered whether we might have over-reacted!).
Anyway, we told them about the fumes, however it turned out they could not do anything since by the time they had arrived the smoke had stopped coming out and we had no proof or evidence and quite naturally the people in charge of that workshop denied everything we said!
For me the case has not ended yet; I'm going to keep a close eye on that workshop which is polluting and poisoning Amman's air.
By Rakan Mehyar
What do you think of the urban planning of Amman?
Where is the countryside of the city?
What happened to Al-Biader - the wheat fields of West Amman?
By Ullrich Kastner
Claudia and I stayed for two weeks in beautiful Jordan and the number one on a list that is full of spectacular places is definitely Wadi Rum. There can hardly be a place in the world that has such a fine combination of tranquility, back to the roots, culinary top spot and local ( Jordan) culture.
We stayed for 3 days and 2 nights (clearly not long enough) in a bedouin tent right in the middle of the Wadi. You can feel the wideness and endless features of huge rocks and sandy deserts. From here we explored the surroundings, had fantastic hikes and an extremely funny camel ride through the desert (it was actually more a race, with lot's of yalla, yalla and shouting!).
Hiking is obviously the most practical activity in the Wadi as you could do it for a complete year around and still would have space left to discover. Anyway, having some fantastic local bedouin guide and a little time, we were able to capture the best locations in the most efficient way, without running stressed from one place to the other. A clear advantage of our tour was that it was organized by Rakan, who definitely knows the right guys around. We actually had the exclusive treatment of being the only couple with the local team and therefore had a very personalised experience.
The evenings especially were always close to being perfect. We had local Bedouin BBQ, with lamb grilled under the earth and chicken made over an open fire. It was, honestly, the best meat I ever had! No five star restaurant in Europe could do any better. Sitting in a tent with an open fire and devouring the feast with your fingers is the real experience. Having some sweet tea afterwards (bring some brandy along if you wish) and falling asleep under the stars was heaven on earth.
It is hard to capture in words what the feeling of peace is like when you are out in the desert and it is best to find out yourself anyway. Just make sure you take your time (3 days is minimum) as you will need it to leave all your troubles behind. Try to get a personalised tour with somebody like Terhaal, so you don't get sucked in by a commercialised tour group that can be found at other places. Only that way can you experience the true Jordan.
And by the way, don't think you can get a shower or anything else you are used to from five star hotels. There is nothing like it in the Wadi. But amazingly the sand on your skin keeps you dry and clean...
By Tala Bassam Momani
One of the most fun things I've ever done is kayaking off the shores of Aqaba in the South of Jordan on the Red Sea; I went there not long ago with a friend of mine. We started paddling out to sea, bobbing up and down with the waves and fighting against the current that kept trying to push us back to shore. Seeing a tour boat in the distance we decided to paddle towards it and say hello to the people on board. Easier said than done! After a back-breaking 20 mintes of non-stop paddling we arrived, too breathless to say anything! The Captain and his crew waved down to us and said 'Are you inviting us to lunch?'. At that particluar moment I had no idea what they meant by that. But after deciding that we'd had enough of kayaking for the day, we clambered aboard the boat (with the Capatin's permission) and dragged our kayaks on board for the trip back to terra firma. It was one of the crew that later explained to me the meaning of the Captain's words: apparently fish have a habit of congregating around boats and ships and the fishermen in Aqaba have an agreement with the ship and boat crews there – in exchange for one third of their catch the fishermen are allowed the opportunity to fish around the ships and bigger boats. You learn something new everyday. In any case, I'm afraid lunch was on the Captain!
By Tala Bassam Momani
Restless and finding it impossible to sleep I sent him an SMS at 5:30am "awake ?!!"; the last thing I expected was a reply but he did , before the sun had risen we were on our way, driving east of Amman not knowing where we were going. For that reason we named our journey 'Heading into the Eastern Desert where the Sun Rises'; it sounded poetic at the time!
The road was empty but for trucks with Saudi and Iraqi license plates, flanked on either side by the endless expanse of hot sandy desert. It comes as a complete surprise that within this arid landscape resides the green expanse that is the Azraq Wetlands Reserve. We arrived after a one and half hour drive at around 8am to find the main gate closed. Without hesitation we walked around trying to find a place in the fence to climb over; I couldn't accept that after getting out of bed before sunrise we wouldn't be able to get into the reserve. We eventually managed to clamber over after getting entangled in the barbed wire and managing to tear most of our clothes. To reach the Wetlands we had to climb again, this time over a granite wall. After jumping down off the wall, we finally reached the Wetlands! Wooden bridges cross over linking the freshwaterpools that make up the Azraq Wetlands. We walked the trails to the sound of birds singing and the crunching of deadwood beneath our feet. I related to my friend how I had seen a Water Buffalo the last time I had been there. We spent most of our time in a mud hut bird-watching; I was hoping that we would see a stork fly by. Azraq is a great place for bird-watching; thousands of bird species can be seen milling about as it is on the bird migratory route.
Before we left, I insisted that we have a traditional Azraq breakfast in one of the local restaurants. On the main street there are a number of restaurants that mostly cater to people heading to Jordan from Saudi Arabia or Iraq and serve meat and only meat! The place we chose was unique in that it had private dining rooms with mattresses for snoozing after a heavy meal.
Heading back after a glorious day, Rakan found it difficult to remain coherent after his meat-only breakfast. By Ahmad Hallak
It was almost 5 years ago when I first heard of and visited Wadi Mujib. Having heard that exploring the Wadi is quite an adventure but never having visited it myself, I convinced a friend of mine to join me on an expedition to discover Wadi Mujib for ourselves. However I had no idea that at the end of the winter season's rains the waters in Wadi Mujib would be quite high so I never expected to have to swim! So when I went to go and pick up my friend to go to Wadi Mujib I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion. Sure, I wore Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt but I also wore heavy hiking boots that wouldn't help in keeping me afloat!
Anyway, I passed by my friend's house at around 7am and didn't wait very long before my yawning tousle-haired friend climbed into the seat next to me. About an hour later and we had arrived at the edge of the Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve which is on the shore of the Dead Sea. We paid a small fee to a reserve attendant and walked down to the entrance of the gorge we would be exploring. The entrance to the gorge had a shallow stream flowing towards us and we had to scramble over rocks and climb around the bigger outcrops, but all was well. As we moved on the stream became deeper and deeper until it reached a point were we had to swim against the current. My friend being the very fit person she is and despite wearing hiking boots as well, swam ahead easily whilst having a running commentary with me at the same time. On the other hand I was sinking slowly as the weight of my water-filled boots pulled me down; there were safety ropes attached to the side of the gorge to help weak swimmers but my masculine pride would not allow me to avail of them! Thankfully though, I managed to reach shallow waters safely although I was panting like a mad man by then; oblivious to my distress my friend was walking ahead, looking around herself in wonder and still telling me how glad she was that I had brought her there.
I don’t want to go into any details about Wadi Mujib because I don't want to diminish any of the enchantment for any first-time visitors. Suffice to say that we spent the rest of the day clambering over little waterfalls, walking along paths through narrow walkways and surrounded on either side by high rocky walls open at the top to the sun and climbing up steep but short rock faces. The trek requires only moderate physical exertion but depending on the time of year and seasonal rainfalls it can get quite difficult. You can also approach the pass we explored from another route, entailing a less tiring but equally exciting experience. The Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve also has many attractions, hiking trails and wildlife which are worth visiting.
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