Karl WP Beyer Cruise ships that head for Aqaba on the Gulf of the same name do not visit the city because of its few sights. The destinations preferred by cruise passengers are the rock city of Petra, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum.
Our cruise with the Azamara Quest leads from Dubai / UAE to Athens. The route planning shows three overnight stays in the ports visited. Something special about such stops are those of Azamara Club Cruises organized AzAmazing Evenings. These are evening events included in the travel price.
Drive to Wadi Rum
AzAmazing Evenings are generally arranged in cities like St. Petersburg or Belfast. There the Mikhailovsky Theater or the Titanic Belfast Museum are appropriate places for such an action.
With the Zalabia Berber families in Wadi Rum
On our trip, however, the AzAmazing Evening takes place with the Zalabia Berber families in Wadi Rum.
Rocks of Wadi Rum
The tribe of the Zalabia Berber families make up the majority of the people living in the wadi. Zalabia Berbers specialize in tourist services. They organize a lot of the jeep and dromedary tours. They also operate a tourist village with palm trees and green bushes below a protective rock.
Wadi Rum - access to the Zalabia Berber tourist village
Wadi Rum - opposites
The Zalabia are friendly and experienced hosts. Delicious snacks and various drinks, including alcohol, are served in advance. We do not know to what extent the kitchen and cellar of the Azamara Quest helped organize the fun. The fact is, however, that in addition to most of the passengers, the captain, senior officers, members of the on-board artists' troupe and other crew members also take part in the excellently organized festival.
The actors of the Azamara Quest are only asked as companions this evening. The Bedouins provide entertainment with music and Berber dances. The stage of an amphitheater next to the village is used for this. All of this looks professional and at the same time very authentic. At the end of the show, the actors mix with the guests in front of the stage. The captain and passengers dance happily with the Bedouins. The misty desert and the harsh rock formations of Wadi Rum serve as the backdrop for an evening event that gives everyone involved a lot of joy.
More information about Wadi Rum
Deeply incised, mostly dry river beds of a desert river are called wadis. Wadis occur throughout North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Wadi Rum is one of the world's most famous wadis. The "Valley of the Moon" is located in the southwest of Jordan, about 60 kilometers north of Aqaba. In 1998 the Jordanian government declared the region a protected area; In 2011, Wadi Rum was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. With a length of around 100 kilometers, a width of 60 kilometers and an area of 720 square kilometers, it is Jordan's largest wadi.
The valley is about 800 meters above sea level on a basalt and granite base. From this level bizarrely weathered sandstone cliffs rise to 1.700 meters and more. Large areas of desert extend between the rocks.
The wadi was vividly described by the British officer Thomas Edward Lawrence, who went down in Arab history as "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1917/18. The title of his book is "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom".
Finds show that people from many cultures have lived in the extensive valley since prehistoric times. Evidence of these settlement periods are rock carvings and temples. - In the present, several hundred people from seven Bedouin tribes are permanently settling in the wadi. They live from animal husbandry, agriculture and tourism.
Wadi Rum is considered to be one of the most important tourist centers in the Kingdom of Jordan. Visitors are offered a variety of activities such as horse and dromedary rides, jeep tours, hiking and mountaineering or overnight stays in the open air.
Update March 2021