“Jordan’s forward-thinking conservation projects”
admin July 2nd, 2007
To return to the idea of a taking a different route to Petra, there was an excellent article in the Observer yesterday where the author explored the growing trend of ecotourism in Jordan, on a trip organised by www.petramoon.com into some of the lesser known wadis.
Over-nighting in desert lodges run by Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, the group followed old caravan routes, encountering Jordanian wildlife and some stunning scenery along the way.
Our accommodation was at another RSCN reserve, Ajloun, and we slept in safari-style tented lodges surrounded by pistachio, carob and ilex trees. That night all I could hear was the occasional shriek of an owl then, at dawn, the call to prayer from a village mosque. As the morning mist lifted, we walked through terraced olive groves and pasture thick with wildflowers to the Byzantine church of Mar Elyas, supposed birthplace of the prophet Elijah, on a lonely limestone hilltop.
They had originally planned to avoid Petra but couldn’t resist.
…the lure of the rose-red city was too great. Joining a night-time excursion, we walked along the famous Siq, our way lit by hundreds of candles. Sitting on kilims in the moonlight, we listened in awe as a Bedouin played a mournful tune on his reed pipe, the strains echoing round the wall and wafting up to the stars.
