Aceves of Arabia
In the morning we had breakfast and Nasser called for our cab. When it arrived Nasser gave us all a hug and off we were to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum was about an hour from Wadi Musa and it was back down in the low desert region. Not too far from Wadi Rum we passed the 7 Pillars of Wisdom, a large rock formation named so by T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. The desert here is enormous and divided up by giant ancient rocks. It’s pretty much uninhabited except by nature and the Beduins who have lived here for generations.
When we arrive the cabbie drops off the American father and daughter to meet their guide then continues on to our guide Mohammed’s house. Mohammed is a very friendly old guy who is basically the chief of his village and is somehow related to most of the people in the village as well. He’s lived in this desert all his life, he knows this desert in a way that only the Beduin can, with knowledge passed down through the generations. He welcomes us into his home and has a pot of tea ready to share. He explains that we’ll get a jeep tour of the desert during the day and then meet at his camp at sunset for Beduin dinner and finally sleeping in the Beduin tents. Rafa and I want to do a camel trek and end up arranging to do it the next morning on the trip back to the village. All is agreed upon so we stock up on water and pack out stuff into one of his jeeps and his nephew Mehedi gets in. He is to be our driver. He is a young 20 year old Beduin with a warm smile and a friendly demeanor. That’s one thing I’ve really noticed about the Jordanians, particularly the Beduins, there’s an authentic warmth and open heartedness that I was not expecting. These were simple, friendly people and they seemed happy and content in life. Genuinely.
Off we go bouncing along in the rickety old jeep, swerving to and fro in the loose sand. Mehedi stops occasionally to show us things of interest, like a desert spring, an old Beduin cemetery, natural rock bridges, and rock formations that look suspiciously like animals. When you step out of the jeep and into the big emptiness, you feel so small and insignificant. It’s so quiet that when you stand still and just listen, the silence itself rings in your ears. It’s a little unnerving, and humbling. The land itself looks alien at times, like as if you were on Mars. The desert is painted with different color rock and sand; red, yellow, white and black. From one hill you can see miles of the desert that goes from red to yellow to black. Mehedi took us to one large rock formation that we climbed up on and he started singing loudly, and when he stopped the echo if his voice bounced around the rocks and mountains for a good 30 seconds. On top of the same rock I found some Arabic scratched into the rock, so I grabbed a quartz rock and carved ACEVES below it. The sandstone was soft and easy to cut. Maybe sometime some other Mexicans, Chicanos or Spanish will happen upon it and smile and say “just like a Mexican to do that!”.
Speaking of Spanish I forgot to mention that we were sharing this experience with a couple from Spain, Manu and Susana. Rafa and I conversed with them in Spanish as much as we could, or at least as much as Rafa could. Mehedi stopped for lunch and while we ate, he started a fire and warmed some tea for us. I love that red tea. Great stuff. After lunch the tour continued until we finally hit camp around sunset, in time to catch the sun going down over the mountains of Saudi Arabia.
The tents we we in that night were traditional Beduin, rectangular with the door in the middle of the longest side. Inside were woven Arabic rugs and mats to sleep on and a fire pit. It also had a bar like table with hookahs on it. In the center of camp was a circular tent where there was a fire already going. Mohammed was there and invited us in to prepare for dinner. We had chicken, rice, hummus, veggies and pita, prepared by Fatima, a muslim girl from Indonesia. It definitely hit the spot and the fire felt great since the dark outside brought with it the cold.
After dinner and a bit of conversation these 3 young Beduin men arrived. One had a tabla drum and another had a case that contained an ornate Ut. They were all polite and cordial, but I got some vibes off one of them that I didn’t like. They asked where we were all from, and I said Mexico. The one guy who vibed me was actually kind of a dick, but mellowed out later on. Turns out only one of them was a musician, the guy with the Ut, who was the most mellow of the 3. The other 2 were just his buddies, and neither one of them could keep rhythm on the drum while their friend sang and played the Ut. He sang really well, had a nice tenor voice and his Ut sounded like it was not cheap. He sang for a couple of hours taking smoke breaks in between. I asked what the songs were about and he said they were Beduin songs about the desert and love. Rafa told them i could play the drum so I ended up playing it while the guy sang and played his Ut. We jammed for awhile. I thought it was neat to be able to jam with a guy I can’t even speak to. The other 2 guys got up and danced and Mehedi joined them while the rest of us clapped.
I decided to take a break and stepped outside for some air. The night sky was incredible. It was like one from a Sci Fi movie. It was the cleanest most sparkly starry night I have ever seen. The stars in the sky were countless and crystal clear, and every minute or so you could catch a shooting star streak across the sky. I just stood and stared in the cold for what must have been a half hour. I even attempted some delayed exposure photos but they just can’t do it justice. Afterward I was feeling tired so I thanked the Beduins and bade them good night. I wandered into our tent and crawled under the two heavy blankets they gave us and slept warm and snug.
