The border crossing between Israel and Jordan passes us efficiently (relatively, of course) and without unusual incidents. Cross to the east of Jordan, pick up the policeman from the tourist police and the local guide and set off.
Most of the caravans turn right and south towards the Dead Sea, while we turn left and north towards the Dead Sea Irbid And already at this stage the policeman with us loses his orientation, even though he lives in the area… we’ll wait for the night! A period of the beginning of Ramadan – a whole month when Muslims fast during the day and restaurants are closed. Food can only be found in places that prepare food for the iftar – the meal at the end of the fast, which these days is eaten around 19:00. Of course, we indulge ourselves with a good bakery, hot falafel, fruits, vegetables and lots of sweets.
Continue south through the energy plant area of Zarqa and turn east to roads that become desolate. We bypass a huge refugee camp (poor Syrians who are locked up so they don’t mix with the population) and before dark we turn south and enter the desert area. A quick section of paths passing through the desert that is a little wet from water brings us behind an ancient villa from the Umayyad period – from the seventh century AD, Amra catcher. A magical villa, a UNESCO conservation site, whose thick, painted walls hide the secrets of the rulers who turned the Arab nation into an empire about 1,300 years ago. Outside, the wind is already blowing frozen and the darkness is complete!
A short road section brings us toCatcher Harna – a huge citadel that is a khan for the rich who go on the way of the Hajj – the way of the revelers, on the way to one of the five important commandments of Islam.
It’s cold, windy, even a little drizzling, but the group happily goes on the short “walking journey” towards the citadel, walks around its rooms, climbs to the second floor and returns to the vehicles.
Now the night is just beginning… about 70 km of fast desert roads, deep south into the heart of the desert. The policeman, to whom this whole “business” is new, is a little afraid. He strengthens himself and reads verses in the Koran, I think he manages to cross it twice. The local guide I reassure him that I know where we’re going, but it’s very hard to believe when everything is completely dark around and for several hours there doesn’t seem to be any purpose to the trip. About three hours of driving that combines fast paths, canal crossings, rough ascents, sharp descents and finally the small tent and next to it the van of G Yehad, the wonderful Bedouin who brought us dinner (11:00 p.m. is still evening!) straight to the field. There are no words to describe the policeman’s happiness… (and I think some of the people in the group as well).
Park and build the camp next to Good catcher, another citadel on the Hajj road, this time neglected and out of sight in the heart of the Jordanian desert. The wind is strong, a little cold, a lot of fatigue and the group retires to sleep, each in his tent. What a day! And a huge thank you to the participants for their composure, courage and quiet support.
A cool, windless morning, a Bedouin breakfast, hot tea and a short tour of the special citadel of Tuba. We drive the convoy and head north (not before threatening Rubicon with cables and then he drives off and at the same time helping Bedouin Jihad drive his Toyota van). A deep water well, dug in the heart of the desert, an up-to-date water well and next to a Bedouin camp, with the idea of blooming the desert and finally getting on the concrete road to the north with the signs for Saudi Arabia to the right, Syria and Iraq to the right and all we want to do is get to the tire shop and the gas station.
Refueling and equipping in the town of the truck drivers Don’t throw, repairing two punctures – probably an integral part of the journey east… and again the caravan sets off further east towards the dry sea of al-Azrak – the blue one, a reference to the large lake that was here and was dry (because they pumped all the water from it). Roads that become narrow, dirt paths and finally fast desert paths and we are in the heart of the eastern desert! Only our caravan, in the heart of the great wilderness, and this time also with almost no Bedouin encampments. Further east and then it is revealed – the huge sea, which is mostly dry, is now completely flooded with water! And thanks to the light wind, it also produces cute ripples, surrounded by shallow mud-filled channels of smooth and swampy loess soil.
Continuing further east, we see some real Bedouins who live and herd in the desert, a tent, makeshift corrals and of course Mercedes trucks from the 1960s that bring water and transport the encampment and the flock between pastures that are still a little green this season.
The road progresses eastward, we move between threatening basalt surfaces and sandy creeks, some of which are wet and some of which have deep sand. For a moment, we stop at the foot of a huge yellow-red dune, on the other side of which is a mountain entirely of black basalt, and below the gorge blooms in green and purple – amazing! Nature at its peak!
The road, which must be taken care of, climbs to the north between huge salinities (caves), some moist, some with deep puddles, and little by little it closes between the threatening basalt areas. About an hour before last light we climb a section of basaltic road that goes up towards the Saudi oil axis. Here in the Golan Heights, the continuation of the path is called the “oil axis” or by its official name TAP – Trans Erbein Pipe Line Or also by his unofficial name: The Arab oil axiscoming from the west of Saudi Arabia, crossing the Golan Heights (then under Syrian control) and continuing to the port near Sidon in Lebanon.
Take advantage of the last hour of daylight and return by driving west along the oil axis. Part of the axis is stuttering and part is fast and the road accelerated without a hitch. Stopping at an old pumping station on the oil axis, you can read the distance in kilometers from its starting point in the depths of Saudi Arabia. The story of the oil pipeline, the story of the interests of the powers in the Middle East, the story of the beginning of PLO terrorism and continuing further west.
stop by “The tree of the Prophet Muhammad“, once there was only a tree here, today it is already a regulated site for pilgrims inviting Muslims to witness the place where Muhammad laid his head on his journey with al-Burak – his faithful horse.
From here on the road in connection with the oil axis reaching Meirak – The H axis, that first pipeline in the Middle East that connected Kirkuk in Iraq to the port of Haifa in Israel (hence the letter H). south of the hotel bDon’t thrownext to the military airport H4 Active both day and night. Dinner around 11:00 p.m. – a reasonable time for such a day of driving almost 400 km, sharing rooms, a good shower and sleep.
An article about the Middle East between World War I and World War II
A windless morning and with a great atmosphere of adventure. We “jump for a moment” to the renewed reserve of El Azrak – a renewed water source surrounded by paths and bridges. Walking in nature is good for us and fun for us together.
Return to town, gas station, some shopping and head south along Route 5, also known asSaddam Hussein Roada concrete road that knew beautiful and glorious days of Iraqi-Jordanian cooperation for the export of Iraqi oil to a port trace.
“The International Coffee Competition” by the side of the road and at the foot of a tree with a huge puddle of water around it. A little further south on the road and once again you return to the desert and wilderness. In a rugged climb up to the southern end of the cliff whose edges you cannot see. After driving through the ravines, you find the road going down towards the Hamada plains, stopping for a long lunch break. and then continue the good paths at increasing speed south to the outskirts Ke Jafar – The Dead Sea, the largest salinity in the Middle East. The ground is a little damp, shining in the sun and driving fast, some report that they saw on the speedometer 180 km/h and a little… (luckily there are no police) and all during about an hour and a half of driving in a long convoy and sometimes in a long line of jeeps rushing west and in all directions when the sunset was on the horizon .
We drive and drive and the wonder never ends and we stop again under a tree for coffee again (what a hard day!).
A little more desert (a little, it’s about two hours only at 60 km/h) and the desert paths converge west towards Jordan’s huge phosphate quarries. We find our way inside the quarry, between huge abandoned tools and a few trucks that still drive between the huge pits and get on the internal quarry road which takes us towards the main road.
turning south towards Saudi Arabia andMudwara Pass And a little (20 km) before the border turn west towards an ancient and impressive citadel from the days of the Ottoman Empire – Calat Pachoa. There is no wind here, the weather is good and despite the altitude (1,300 meters) it is not very cold. The group settles down, shuts down and sets up its tents (some of the tents are of a size that requires building permits…). A good and hot Jihad dinner, a bonfire, some more stories from the desert and before bed. The formation is already really good and as written – we really have fun together!
Good morning and the sun is shining on the citadel which unfortunately is about to fall due to the uncontrolled excavations under its huge walls. Breakfast of the generous Bedouin who brings us the food to the field. A visit to the Turkish citadel, some explanations about the excavations around it, and we travel again – this time only a little east to the past Hijaiz train station. An ambitious Turkish project that wanted to connect the capital cities – Istanbul, Damascus and Rabat Ammon with Mecca and Madinah in the heart of the desert (now Saudi Arabia) in order to enable the fulfillment of the Hajj – a pilgrimage to Mecca, more conveniently and quickly than walking in a foot convoy. The First World War and the fall of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire stopped the project and left some railway lines, only a few of which are renovated and still active in the Middle East. We know the Valley train out from Ammon to Haifa (and the section between Beit Shean – Haifa recently renewed by Israel Railways) and also the section from the loading station we are at in eastern Jordan towards the port of Aqaba.
An article about the Hijaz train
We go down the long railroad tracks and stop at an old guard station that is still active. We wake up the guard on the spot – after all, it’s Ramadan and he sleeps during the day, we ask for his permission, we start the train carriage, which has a Land Rover Defender engine and transmission, and set off on a slow drive in both directions – it’s not every day that we ride the Hijaz train as if we were pilgrims doing the mitzvot of Hajj on our way to Mecca and Medina.
We return to the road that descends to the west and also descends in height, the hard ground is replaced by sandy channels and slowly the dunes are built on the sides of the fast paths. The road quickens, the pace increases and we hurry to refuel our vehicles and food reserves in the area of Wadi Rum.
Lunch break for shopping in the Bedouin town porridge. Refuel and return to the sandy areas north of the land of rainbows.
This is the stage where the journey becomes a trip, but the pace does not slow down. Go up and down the dunes, sink a little, exert yourself a little and mostly have fun. After more fast paths to the north you reach the “small arch” of Harja, immediately followed by the “Great Arch” and return south. Just before sunset and at the time of iftar – the end of Ramadan meal, we arrive at the luxurious camp, here they are waiting for us with a dinner that comes from the bowels of the earth (Matapuna), a hot shower and beds inside “tents” which are actually upgraded rooms.
Good Morning Wadi Rum. Breakfast at the camp and some more dunes for the soul. Some sinking, some getting stuck “on the knife” and even some learning the ropes of driving in the sharp dunes. A visit to the tourist station of The Hijaz train – An antique real steam locomotive next to an old diesel locomotive. Inflate air and get on the road with the aim of going down the “King’s Road” to the south and west.
Zero breakdowns, 1200 km of harsh desert. We all soon cross the border crossing “Yitzhak Rabin” between trace ToEilat – This is where the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan was signed in 1994.
The first day – East Jordan, April 2023
