Wadi Rums Best Kept Secret: Bedouin Directions
by Carmel Hubbard
(Bath, U.K)
Mehedi Speed hiking!
When I visited Wadi Rum recently (Oct 2009) with four friends we used Bedouin Directions, this is run by a personable young man named Mehedi.
We actually wanted to do something different, but not miss out on the sites as well, so Mehedi tailored a program for us that did exactly what we wanted.
On the first day we did his Classic Wadi Rum Jeep Tour, which stopped at all the sites, but somehow he managed to avoid all the crowds and we didn't feel at all like we were on a touristic conveyor belt.
We visited all the main sites and then visited some less frequented sites at the end of the day.
Then we camped out in the desert in the wilderness area. Nothing beats the simple pleasure of sitting around the fire, under the stars, eating good food, miles from any other people.
We had decided not to stay in a camp as we wanted to avoid other tourists and to really get out into the quiet of the desert. So camping in the wilderness area was the best option for us. We stayed in a very beautiful place ideal for the sunset.
Our first dinner was Muglooba, rice, chicken and vegetables cooked together in the one pot. Delicious. Mehedi employs the women in the village to cook some of his dinners, so they have an opportunity for work and so we had the opportunity to taste home cooked food!
Then in the morning, after breakfast we walked through the desert to Um Ad Dami (the highest mountain in Jordan) where we camped out again under the stars.
The walking was great away from the sound of the Jeep engine. Just the crunching of the sand and we didn't see a soul all day.
Then on our third morning we climbed Um Ad Dami, and the view from this mountain is too beautiful, you can see the border to Saudi Arabia and it gives you a whole new perspective of the desert.
We then had lunch and afterwards drove back towards Rum village where we were met by camels to ride them for the last 13km to the village.
We really enjoyed our time in Wadi Rum and would recommend Mehedi's services to anyone. He really took care of us in a very considerate way, and he was excellent company. He is quiet yet he also has a wicked sense of humour and fun.
He answered all our e-mails (and one hundred and one questions) quickly and professionally and he was the only guide we contacted to offer us sleeping in the wilderness area away from the camps.
He really took care and the time to make a program for us that catered to our need and that we would be happy with. He did not just try to push us into the same thing everyone else was doing and did not push us into sharing with other tourists we didn't know.
All in all a wonderful experience and we would recommend Mehedi to anyone who wants to visit Wadi Rum and leave feeling they have had a personal and un-commercial experience.
Contact Mehedi:
mehedi.wadirum@yahoo.com
mobile: (from outside Jordan) + 962 776 886481
mobile: (from inside Jordan) 0776 886481
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