After our vacation, we all agreed that the two days in the Wadi Rum desert were the highlight of our trip to Jordan! But at the beginning it was a different story. Because after we arrived in the desert and had just completed an exciting jeep ride to our camp, it started to rain. The first rain of the whole year in the desert! Great, was our run of bad luck going to continue?

It wasn't quite that bad. It was just getting dark anyway and in the desert that means it's getting cold. Because the sand can't store the heat of the day. So we snuggled into the communal tent in front of the warm stove and waited for dinner. Our hosts promised us a typical Bedouin dish. The Bedouin tribes are the desert dwellers of Wadi Rum who still live in the area today. They told us that they have always used the heat of the ground to prepare their food. To do this, they dug holes in the ground to cook their food in a kind of oven. When they pulled it out of the hole in the ground, they called us over so that we could watch the process. It was fascinating to see how they prepared their dinner in the most minimalist way. The meat and vegetables cooked in the ground were then served with rice, bread and hummus. A perfect dinner and a great start to our adventure!

The next day we got up early because we wanted to see the sunrise. The alarm clock rang punctually at 5:30 am. Still wrapped up in our sleeping clothes, we went up to a small rocky outcrop from where we waited for the most beautiful sunrise. Getting up early paid off once again! And the best thing about it: after the exciting morning, we were wide awake. So we were able to start the day straight away.

A day in the desert by jeep! Salem, who looked after us throughout our stay, drove us to the most spectacular attractions in Wadi Rum. And the desert has quite a few of them. It's not without reason that so many films have been shot here: Star Wars, The Martian, Transformers, Lawrence of Arabia and so many more... Wadi Rum is characterized by its mixture of dry red rock and typical red sand. This scenery attracts filmmakers.

Thanks to Salem, we didn't have to plan anything ourselves for our journey of discovery through the desert. Instead, he took us straight to the top attractions! We went from the Lawrence Spring, to the Khazali Canyon, past the Red Dunes, to the Burdah Arch, then to the Um Frouth Arch. And that was just a small part of what we saw. Salem kept telling us a bit about the attractions and adapted the whole day to our interests. He kept asking us what we really wanted to see and gave us good tips. He also let us ride on the roof of the jeep, which was an unforgettable experience! At lunchtime, we stopped at one of the spectacular rock formations, where Salem prepared a delicious lunch for us as a snack. In the evening, we drove to a tourist-free spot to watch the sunset. We were completely alone and were able to experience an incredibly beautiful sunset all to ourselves.

But the exciting day didn't end there. After another delicious dinner, we went out again to watch the stars. Because unlike the lecture, we didn't have a single cloud in the sky that night. And what can I say... Wow! Simply wow! I have never seen such a starry sky in my life. We could see about every star sign that is visible at this point on earth. It was breathtaking.

As you can imagine, we fell into bed dead after the adventure. Nevertheless, we got up early again the next morning to experience the sunrise together once more and bring our fascinating journey into the desert to a close... But the adventure wasn't quite over yet. Bene, Meike, Ercan and I decided to go for a short ride on our host's dromedaries. After making sure that the animals were treated well, we could do it with a clear conscience. The ride felt different to being on a horse. Funnier, somehow.

I was all the sadder when we had to dismount. Because that was the end of our time in Wadi Rum. With all these new impressions, time just flew by... That can only mean one thing: the experience was simply amazing! If there's one thing you should do in Jordan, it's spend a few days in the desert of Wadi Rum!