We arrived at Rum Planet Camp around noon in the desert, where we were greeted by the owner Ahmad Mara’yeh.   The Bedouins, which he is, are a very welcoming people.  They greeted us as friends ensuring that we were comfortable and our needs looked after.  Ahmad speaks very good English, having learned it, according to Freeman, by listening.  Stewart and I were assigned to one of the fifteen small cabins with an ensuite bathroom. Electricity and hot water are generated by solar power and are limited at night.  The cabins are steel framed with goat wool blanket walls.  They were not heated but six heavy blankets on the beds and a hot water bottle for everyone, ensured we’d stay warm throughout the night.  

Each day we were driven to specific areas in the Wadi Rum.  Lunch was in the field prepared by the other Bedouin drivers who we got to know.  Transportation was sitting in the back of a 4×4 Toyota Hylux truck. Benches were rigged up in the back of the truck that held six people.  There were no roads only tracks from previous drivers.  Speed of travel was limited because of the sandy terrain. The weather was sunny but cool.

Our Bedouin Drivers with the host of our first lunch, with his daughter seated beside him. A delicious chicken lunch was prepared by his wife and other daughters who we were not permitted to meet. The meal was prepared in one half of the tent and we were hosted in the other half of the tent.

This family live exclusively outdoors in a large tent all year round. They move to a variety of locations two or three times per year depending on the season. This family had a herd of goats, one camel and two hilux Toyota trucks. A small solar panel was attached to their tent. Children traditionally have not attended school, however, this tradition is beginning to change. Sharing a meal with this family was surreal. The food was beautifully prepared and we were treated kindly and most respectfully. What was uncomfortable was that I was witness to a way of life which is everything I do not accept yet here I was partaking of a meal prepared by women who are hidden and invisible. I cannot pass judgement on their traditions as I was a guest in their country. Nevertheless my reaction to this event is something that I cannot discount either.

The four days we spent in Wadi Rum went quickly. Each day, we were driven to the farthest point and then we would gradually work our way back to our camp. Lunch was prepared in the field and we would stop five or six times to photograph. Big vistas with sunny skies, fascinating rock formations, several camel caravans, desert plant life and sand dunes were the highlights.

We watched as this Bedouin camel herder slowly approached our group. He came up to our drivers and conversed in Arabic and then gently walked away. As he moved away, I held up my camera and followed him hoping he would look back and the second he did, I made this image. He is walking back into his world and away from us Westerners from another world. I wonder what his thoughts were as he looked back at us.