Aqaba presents a classic Middle Eastern image |
but history is everywhere: the ruins of a Roman church from ca. 300CE |
nearby, relics of the 7th~11th c. Islamic city of Ayla |
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Marla considers another nearby relic |
the oceanfront park is much brighter today |
the historic Aqaba fortress is an open-air museum |
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much of the original fort still survives... |
...plus there are spare parts galore |
apparently foreign tourists are rare here |
at the city museum next door, we see information about the archeology of Ayla... |
...and of the ancient settlement of Humayma we had passed yesterday |
out at the Red Sea waterfront, it's still a pleasant weekend |
the water across the Gulf of Aqaba is especially blue today |
walking back thru town, we pass sites both religious... |
...and secular |
the people here have been very friendly |
we return to our hotel to prepare for our afternoon in Wadi Rum |
at the edge of the valley, there is a visitor center and several research buildings |
we climb into a 4x4 to visit several of the side valleys |
first stop is the unmistakable Seven Pillars rock formation |
but everywhere we go we are surrounded by unusual hills rising from the desert |
we round the Seven Pillars to head east |
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this rock looks like a good vantage point to survey the landscape |
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climbing the slope |
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the view from the top is spectacular |
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what to do in an ocean of sand? |
how about discovering water just a few centimeters below the surface! |
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elsewhere, our guide Naif shows us how the plant called 'ataram'... |
...can be crushed and ground... |
...to create a very pleasant soap |
there is evidence all through this area of the recent heavy rains |
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as the afternoon turns to evening, shadows take over the canyons |
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we meet some residents heading home |
a semi-permanent bedouin camp |
nearby, there are Nabataean petroglyphs |
the camels have been taking advantage of the collected rainwater |
now we are off again... |
...heading to a canyon named for T. E. Lawrence |
this notch carries water into the far valley during heavy rain |
a vein in the local red stone... |
...is used to make rouge |
Naif and Marla in Lawrence's Canyon |
off we go again |
here is a camp where Lawrence stayed during WWI |
his portrait from 1917 |
inside a bedouin merchant's tent, an Italian tour group bargains... |
...while Marla enjoys tea and the company of a friendly cat |
we're off again, looking for a view of the sunset |
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on a rocky ridge (that's our silhouette at the shadow line) |
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near sundown, shadows stretch |
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and finally the sun drops over the ridge |
with direct light gone, colors become more subtle... |
...and the moon will guide us... |
...back to Aqaba |