Wadi Rum and Little Petra

Wadi Rum

We left the Serenissima ship for the last time and drove to Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, where the desert landscape is mixed with awe inspiring shapes to create an almost supernatural atmosphere. (The Martian was filmed here.) At the visitor centre there is a view in the distance of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the famous landmark named after the book by T.E. Lawrence ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. We embarked on an adventurous excursion in a Bedouin open top four wheel drive vehicle. During our excursion we saw the Alameleh inscriptions which are ancient rock drawings, Siq Um Al Tawaqi, a short canyon containing a carving of the head of T.E. Lawrence and ruins of Allat (Goddess) Temple of the AAD tribe. We had morning tea at a bedouin camp and stopped at a desert ‘hotel’ for lunch. The rooms were all built within the rock face with only a skylight for light. We watched as our lunch was ‘dug’ out of the ground

Little Petra

After lunch at a Bedouin camp we drove to Little Petra, where a small gorge (Siq el Barid) leads into the area of carved tombs and monuments. We saw the Painted Cave which is believed to have been a shelter for a sect focused on Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, as it contains remains of Greek style plaster artwork, quite unique for Petra, displaying tangled vines and flowers with brightly coloured birds and cupid like figures. Dinner and overnight was at the Movenpick Resort in Petra.