Page 24 - wadirum

Bait Ali Camp guest begin to gather for the
evening dinner. Below: Locally brewed craft beer
from Jordan. Opposite top: Bedouin. Chef grill
lamb and beef. Opposite bottom: Studio photo
promoting Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter
O’Tool and Omar Sharif.

of Wadi Rum sparkled with morning Mary and our friends had a great time as part of the film crews in the recent
lights as the Bedouins were rising to rolling around the giant red dunes and movies. The braver families crossed the
get ready to entertain their guests with sipping tea with the Bedouin guides natural sandstone bridges sculpted by
ATV, jeep and of course camel rides. who told stories about their experiences wind and weather over the past millen-
nium. If I could have walked a bit better
There is a lot to do in Wadi Rum. Day I would have loved to have been a part
trips in 4x4 trucks, SUVs and vans, driv- of the fun.
en by the local Bedouins in full native
garb, took adventurers to an number of Before I share the story of my camel ride,
filming locations including The Trans- I want to recall one of the best actors of
formers, Lawrence of Arabia and, of our time… and surly one of the most in-
course The Martian. teresting off screen. Before our ride I re-
membered a PBS Terry Gross interview
Because of my painful experience with with him about his time in Wadi Rum
a camel (story to come) that morning, where he starred as T.E. Lawrence in
I didn’t make our scheduled desert trek the 1962 film epic Lawrence of Arabia.
that day. But Mary did and that’s why
you see her – not I sitting in the very “I loved the desert, I really did,” ex-
spot Matt Damon sat on in the movie. I plain Peter O’Toole. “I was there three
also missed a visit to the supposed home months before filming started and the
of T.E. Lawrence while he campaigned idea was to learn to ride a camel. [It
with the Bedouins so many years ago. was] impossible. What you see is a Eu-
ropean perched uneasily on the top of

24 Wine Dine & Travel 2016