++ When Heaven Winked at Me ++

I just had such an unforgettable two-day trip. My cousin and I spent 7 hours exploring the wonder that is Petra. After reaching Al-Khazneh (The Treasury), the most famous attraction of Petra, we decided to take the challenge of walking some extra distance and climbed 800 stairs to see Ad-Deir (The Monastery). We did everything on foot, despite being tempted so many times to catch a desert ‘taxi’ (here a taxi means either a camel or a donkey). It was really emotionally and physically exhausting but we were glad we made it to the top. The view was absolutely breathtaking and we felt we were on top of the world.

After exploring Petra, we made our way to Wadi Rum desert camp by taxi. On our way, we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets and immediately felt at peace. We reached Wadi Rum when it was already dark. By that time we felt so exhausted that I thought we had no energy left to feel excited for anything. How wrong I was! The tour guide welcome us by the gate and drove to the camp where we would be spending the night. At the camp, we shared delicious dinner with other guests and the Bedouins. We started with a delicious hot soup and bread, and were pleasantly surprised with the mail meal: stewed chicken with... rice! It was funny because in both Jordan and Turkey, we were struggling to find rice dish and finally we found it in the most unexpected place, the desert. After eating to our heart's content, we were served a nice cup of ginger-scented tea, just what we needed to warm ourselves up.

After we finished dinner, everyone retreated to their tent. I decided to stroll along the desert and gazed upon the night sky. The moon was full and the stars were bright. A Bedouin approached me, and started to tell me the names of each star, in both Arabic and English. He also explained how Bedouins in old times were able to tell the times of the year just by looking at the position of the stars. He then asked me if I knew the Arabic words for the sun, the moon and the stars, to which I replied, “As-shamsu, al-qamaru, wan-najmu.” He looked pleasantly surprised, and asked how I knew and if I could speak Arabic. I said, ‘la’, and answered I only knew through the Qur’aanic verses which read:

“ٱلشَّمۡسُ وَٱلۡقَمَرُ بِحُسۡبَانٍ۬

وَٱلنَّجۡمُ وَٱلشَّجَرُ يَسۡجُدَانِ

He smiled and told me to learn Arabic, and in shaa' Allah I’d appreciate more of the Qur’aan. I too could only smile, as I realised that those verses pretty much summed up the wonder that I was witnessing.

It was getting late so I excused myself to rest, as I wanted to wake up early to see the morning sky. I did. I woke up at 4.30am and boy, it was freezing cold. I forced myself to wake up and walked out of my tent. I was greeted by an absolute silence. It felt like there was no living soul, just the desert and me. The mountains stood tall and quiet. It was such a surreal feeling. I decided to lie on the ground, with the desert sand beneath me and the night sky above me. The feeling was indescribable, seeing the stars glow above me. It made me feel so so small and humbled. Then a little miracle happened; as I gazed upon the stars above me I mumbled, “Oh God, I want to see a shooting star!”. Literally two seconds later I saw a shooting star. I was so happy I cried. It felt as if Heaven winked at me.

Then an hour or two passed by, and I watched sunrise. It was glorious. I could see the sun slowly arise on one side and the moon slowly descend on the other side. The sky was blue, and painted with pink clouds. The mountains and the sand were rosy red. It was truly one of the most beautiful views that I have witnessed in my life. I was in Peace. Sadly I had to go as I had a bus to catch from Wadi Rum back to Petra, and Petra back to Amman. I wish I could stay longer but maybe next time. At least for now, I have beautiful memory to bring with me. Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe!