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Looking at the arid desert scenery, you can be forgiven for not realising how many of these hidden valleys contain streams fed all the year round from the underground springs, nor how many pockets of lush vegetation can be found concealed among the mazes of rocks.

 

The Bedouin here are far from the largely sedentarized nomads who can be found in Petra and in Wadi Rum. Many may own a small, roughly built house in one of the sparse villages, but they would invariably also spend much of their time in a traditional black tent, often far from any other dwelling, from where they move seeking pasture for their herds of goats.

Perhaps it is not so surprising that this territory remains unexplored by the tourist. The enthusiastic off the beaten track hiker is deterred by the complete lack of any maps or any information about this area. Transverse routes from east to west are few, steep and dangerous. Obviously, walking through flowing canyons, which were impassable to pack animals, was out of the question for the Bedouin. No tourist guide works out of these lands. It is only since the "mad" Western enthusiasts have arrived that any particular interest has been shown in them.