MÖVENPICKRESORT, PETRALocated about one minute's walk from theentrance to Petra, the Mövenpick is built in theIslamic style, featuring arches, intricate tile-workand delicate wooden mashrabiya screens. Therooms are more modern and European in style,but are quite large and offer great comfort. Awonderful roof garden provides the perfect placeto watch the sun set over the sandstone hills.Little PetraSiq al-Barid, or Little Petra as it has becomeknown, is on the edge of the main site. Althoughthe Nabatean buildings, which have been carvedinto the rock, are a little smaller and lessimpressive than those in Petra proper, the site has a certain charm for its peacefulness, as not somany visitors venture here. The site is also moreconcentrated with very few gaps in between thevarious monuments, dwellings, meeting roomsand tombs. Little Petra also offers an alternativeway into the main site if you want a more active,adventurous route.Petra KitchenPetra Kitchen is a fun and interesting way tospend one of your evenings in Petra, giving youthe opportunity to learn to cook Jordanian dishesand more importantly perhaps, to meet localpeople. Over the course of a couple of hours youwill be taught by local cooks and will prepare atraditional meal, which is of course yours to eatlater in the evening. You'll also be given a bookletof Jordanian recipes so you can recreate yourfavourite dishes at home.www.audleytravel.com/jordan ?01993 838 415 ?Jordan37Beit Zaman, PetraPetra Marriott Hotel, PetraLearning to cook Jordanian style, Petra kitchenTravelling along the Siq near the Treasury, PetraLittle PetraPETRAMARRIOTT, PETRALocated a few kilometres away from Petra, theMarriott occupies an enviable spot overlookingthe vast canyons that carve through the localsandstone. The rooms are modern andcomfortable and the hotel features threerestaurants offering different cuisines. The biggestdraw of the hotel is the amazing view out towards Petra, which is very hard to beat.BEITZAMAN, PETRASituated two kilometres from Petra in theneighbouring village of Wadi Musa, Beit Zamanoffers good value. It is a carefully restored 19th-century village designed to afford guests a highlevel of comfort after a busy day's sightseeing. The very nature of the hotel's history means thatit abounds with character. Each of the 129 roomsand suites possess much of the original stonework,while modern touches give them a comfortablefinish. The open areas are extremely pleasant, thehighlight of which is a covered swimming pool.Mövenpick Resort, Petra

38Wadi RumTraders crossed this remarkable ancient landscapelong before modern visitors such as Lawrence ofArabia. Wadi Rum is one of the region's mostpicturesque desert landscapes, unique for its redsandstone geology. Rocky outcrops tower overthe surrounding desert, and more unusualgeological features are not hard to find, includingseveral rock bridges, weathered into their formover the centuries. In the canyons, which providesome respite from the powerful sun, you will findinscriptions and carvings by the Thamudic people,who came to Wadi Rum from Arabia in the firstmillennium BC. Staying a night in Wadi Rum is aspecial experience. Isolated from the lights andnoise of civilisation, it is the perfect place tounwind and take in the star-filled desert skies.WADIRUMCAMP, WADIRUMThis small camps offers a more intimatealternative to the larger camps in the area. Thetents are pitched and taken down as required,with a maximum of six tents on any one night.There are fixed, shared bathroom facilities, withsolar panels providing the power for hot watershowers. In the evenings a spread of traditionalBedouin dishes are prepared for you.Wadi RumThe Bedouin &Lawrence of ArabiaThe Bedouin are an Arab people, traditionallynomadic or semi-nomadic communities wholive in the deserts of the Middle East. Thoughmost Bedouin have now abandoned theirnomadic lifestyles, there are still some tribeswhich cling to their traditions in the region,and live in black goat-hair tents in places likeWadi Rum. Tribes continue to play animportant role in society, and in Wadi Rumthe major tribe is the Huweitat, who claimdescent from the Prophet Mohammed.There are also a couple of other smallerclans, who came originally from the ArabianPeninsula. The links between Wadi Rum and Lawrence of Arabia are somewhatexaggerated these days for the purposes oftourism, but the tribes of this area did playan important role in the Arab Revolt againstthe Ottoman Empire of 1917, a role whichcontinues to be a source of great pride fortoday's Bedouin. There are sites within WadiRum which Lawrence definitely did visit andfor more information about his experiencesin the area we would recommend reading his autobiographical account, Seven Pillars of Wisdom.Wadi Rum Camp, Wadi Rum