Spent the entire day driving through parts of the Arabian peninsula, some of it on bus, much of it in a jeep.
Sr. Barbara Bowe and Rabbi David Sandmel thought it would be fun to have a day away from lectures and the non-stop visiting of historical, biblical and archeological sites. Instead, now that we are in Jordan for a few days, they wanted us to have a “free day” in the desert.
To have a desert experience. You might be thinking, “Oh, I see. To, what….. pray? To live like hermits? To retrace the steps of certain Old Testament figures?” We weren’t going to be that lucky.
No, instead, we drove around in jeeps to some forsaken location in the Arabian Desert, stopping to climb through rocky crevasses and across sand dunes made of the finest red sand you have ever felt (iron oxide colors it). At the top of a hill a few hundred feet above the desert floor, this was the picture I snapped.
A few minutes later, it was marred by my steps as I made my way across this perfectly sculpted ridge to the ledge on the other side. Not to worry about damaging the ecology, as a few hours and a few warm breezes later, and any traces of my presence would soon be covered over, gone forever.
The group retreated from the sun in the middle of the afternoon to drop in and have some tea with Bedouins in a place that was so far from civilization that I wonder where they got water to make tea, let alone the tea itself. (During the tea, we had a brief class on Arabic, practicing key phrases in the language. So you see, school never lets out! I have to admit it was great fun practicing basic phrases with the tribespeople as they sat with us, dressed in their full robes and headgear. All of us there, gathered for tea on a hot afternoon in the middle of the desert.)
I know, it is still cold and snowy and January back home, so I won’t try to make you feel like I’m gloating, because I really am not. But as much as wind-chill and below zero temperatures are hateful, I guarantee you would not want to live out here with the Bedouins. It is sandy, hot, and unrelenting. The fine sand manages to get in your teeth and you fixate on when you will be able to take the next sip of water.
In fact, I don’t think I have ever been as thirsty as I was last night when I got back to the hotel, bought a bottle of water, and sat out on the balcony of my room at sunset (where I took some pictures -- the photo below, being one of my favorite) and watched the sun go down behind the mountains of western Jordan. The temperature drops unexpectedly quickly when it gets dark, but I was still feeling dusty and sandy from the day. I sat and slowly, gratefully sipped the refreshing wetness from a bottle of water. Nothing has ever tasted so good, especially after a long day in the desert.
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