Jordan – Drive from Petra to Wadi Rum – Travels and Adventures of Joyful Stephanie

Couple of points of interest that I want to share!

First, is that in all my years living in Qatar, ONLY ONCE did I see a camel out on the desert, off the side of the road while driving! And that camel was being ridden by a farm hand behind a wire fence!

I’m going to exaggerate here, just a bit to give you an idea of HOW LITTLE animal life of ANY kind – besides birds – did I see roaming the desert while driving around that country! Exaggeration starts here – maybe TWICE did I see someone tending to a herd of goats. Maybe, MAYBE once I saw a few fenced camels at a small bedouin home located outside of Doha or a camel farm – probably farmed for meat.

Besides that, it was as if all Qataris kept any wildlife indigenous to the area locked away on their gated farms or gated palace estates – hidden from everyone around them! It was as if ALL wildlife had been captured and now resided in private homes!! I’m serious!!!!! If anyone every told you they saw an oryx out in the desert, or a camel or horse – I’d question that!!! That would have been a RARE sighting for sure!!!

I’m sure there is a reasonable explanation for it – but it wasn’t obvious to me.

Here is the reasonable explanation told to me by Falih, from Qatar! Falih explained that many car accidents happened from hitting animals along the road – some deaths. Now it is punishable by law. Imagine a multi million dollar camel lose its life or the owner having to pay all the damages. Thank you Falih! 🙂

That makes sense, and explains why there aren’t ANY animals roaming the desert on either sides of the highways in Qatar! It’s too bad though, because the desert just looks so barren because of it. 🙁

Therefore, what made out drive through Jordan SO incredible was the animal LIFE along the way!!!! Camels, horses, and goats!!

This was funny, but sad at the same time. Walid, our driver pulled over so I could take pictures of camels on the side of the road – because I was so excited to see animal life! The MOMENT these young boys tending the camels saw me, they hurried towards me – to hold their hand out and ask for money. Walid said that was to be expected and I knew why… white = rich. The older boys started yelling at the younger boy because he didn’t ask me for money – he just stared at me.

This is closer to Wadi Rum – and YES!!!! That is a camel walking along the road!! He isn’t wild – the ties on his front ankles indicate that – but there he or she is – cruising along…

Next – Back to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!

Now, during the movie – the Holy Grail is found in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon. The bad guy – Walter Donovan – finds the location – but that is not the actual location of the Treasury!