THE BEDOUIN & CLIMBING -
OLD & NEW GENERATION

Bedouin climbing with his gun! Photo BRASS

If most of the Bedouin climb since their earliest childhood, and always have done, only a few do so for the love of climbing itself, rather than for the love of hunting….

Getting close to an ibex demands a great deal to begin with, their feeling for the rock and their clear-headedness prevents them from going too far. Let's not forget that we are talking about individual climbing - both going up and coming down again - with a rifle tied to their back, and often with unsuitable shoes. When things become too difficult, the shoes are abandoned, and bit of rope is used to lower the rifle to their partner.  

The routes climbed like this come close to the fifth grade. Paul Preuss would have followed these climbers, and Alain Robert (the famous solo climber) could be their hero. Some devotees, on the pretext of hunting, tend to attempt greater difficulties. Showing both audacity and skill, they pass very close to the 5c, mainly on the east face of Jebel Rum dominating the village.

 No way there is really easy; perhaps fifteen or so of the Bedouin, at most, try their hand there from time to time. They willingly admit that they are often scared – one can understand it!

A good example of the routes I am talking about : the Amad Hamdan route, certainly one of the most used by visitors, and which is also regularly used as way down to the village. Or the "Eyes  of Allah" which leads from the top of the beautiful east  face, through an enormous cave.

The Bedouin who have been trained to use ropes – they are not many – appreciate highly the increased safety and the new possibilities offered. But they consider this an advantage for the people they guide rather than for themselves.

Note : cutting a handhold in the soft sandstone has never been an ethical problem for them. Looking at certain of the very old routes, where only a carved handhold has made it possible to climb, this would seem to be in the oldest tradition of the "conquest of  ... the summits"!

SOME BEDOUIN WHO CLIMB

Some names of current Bedouin climbers from the Zalabieh tribe :

Amad Hamdan, of course - of the older generation.

He left hunting behind very quickly, and was certainly one of the first to claim the pleasure of overcoming a passage, a crux, to go further, always further! His passages are today graded 5c, and are sometimes very, very exposed…

At one time he was an instructor for the Jordanian commandos (their "Special Forces"). Today he is a mechanic, and his young son Mohammed is following in his footsteps – already a devotee of the sport.

I remind you that Amad's father was the no less famous Sheikh Hamdan, who guided Lady Longstaff and a friend on the western slope of Jebel Rum, in the Fifties. This route is still known as "Hamdan's Route". It is a monument of subtility which sums up a "Bedouin road" so well.

Amad Hamdan is now a mechanic in the village of  Rum.
 

Amad Hamdan - photo B. DOMENECH

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 How shall I not mention Sabbah Ataeq, less inclined to the more severe climbs nowadays, but still active as a guide. A vivacious character, he is recognized by everyone as the best expert in the area, with so many famous "traditional" Bedouin roads to his credit, and many rediscoveries of no less interesting old routes. His approach to the mountains, and to nature in general, is particularly respectful. There is something in him of the delicate humility towards the elements, which remind one of the Indians of North America. For many years now, he has refused to hunt the ibex.

 His status of the first official guide in Wadi Rum – he has attended two courses in Great Britain – aroused the hostility of his fellows for several years – jealousy raising its head! 

A little bit of a poseur, utterly photogenic, always good humoured, this charismatic and refined character is best discovered during a stay of several days, if possible far out in the desert. He dislikes staying too long in the village…

He is the father of 17 children (2003), from 3 wives. He certainly holds the record of participation in films about the mountains and climbing in Wadi Rum (B.B.C., TFI - "Ushuaïa", Austrian TV - "Land der Berge", Germany). At present, the very name of "Abu Mussalam" is inseparable from the mountains of Rum. He is particularly appreciated by the young people.

He was our initiator. It was he who taught us how to come to terms with this incredible massif. He and I together invented the  "Desert Guides".

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Defalha Ataeq and his mother  - photo C. PREIS

How not to mention his brother, Defalha Ataeq, now inactive on the mountains, but so very dynamic in his youth. He was the only guide (speaking English) whose name was given in "le Guide du Routard" in the Eighties, when the village of Rum did not even exist. He always supported and helped any foreigners wanting to climb, insisting on the ordinariness of their endeavours to his fellows, sometimes suspicious of this dangerous activity. There is no doubt that the Bedouin community owes him a great deal. Very openminded, modernistic and traditionalist at the same time, he made tourism his first gainful employment. This was an example for his brothers.

He also took part in many tricky rescue operations, where his rapidity and his natural authority helped to bring about a happy ending.

Both Sabbah and Defalha are the sons of Hadji Ataeq, emblematic figure of the great local Bedouin families

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Sabbah Eed was the second official guide to have attended a training course in Great Britain. Who among the climbing Westerners doesn't know this joking character, full of humour and laughter? He took part with Emmanuel Ratouis and his friends, in the first ascension of "Tea on the moon" on northern Nassranyia, when he was still a beginner.

Representing the ideas of the community and the demands of society in Jordan, he possesses an unashamedly logical ability – independent, audacious and clear thinking. This helps in climbing too!

With him life is for enjoying, the only limits being the huge respect to be given to others. Finally he is truly modest as well!

He is a perfect example of the thousand-year-old culture of the nomads of Arabia! He has so often helped those around him, making no distinction of origin or rank. Conscious of the privilege which his outlook on life brings, he never ceases to share, always and always. He is a great spirit in the locality, behind a front that never stops joking.

He has managed to rally schools, universities, people in high positions to come and  try the climbing and the restorative powers of a desert stay. For him this is a necessity. The Jordanians in the cities are cut off from their roots. No problems - Sabbah Eed will bring them together!

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Sabbagh Eid, Ataeq Odah and Wilfried Colonna - the gang!

Photo P BRASS

He is a will o'the wisp, running everywhere, and never stops waving his arms about – overflowing with life and spreading it out around him! The only hyped Bedouin that I know!

Ataeq Odeh is undoubtedly the best climber in Jordan at the moment. He was the third trainee sent to Great Britain when very young, he returned with the mention "a future guide". And this is normal, his immediate understanding of the manoeuvres, the techniques and other demands of climbing, combined with the slow process of Alpine training only fired his feverish impatience to discover the Great World around him. Those judging him from an academic point of view, did not understand that that the young and talkative "DIN-DIN" (his nickname, springing from his incredible ability to produce a torrent of words in record time!) felt he had no choice other than putting the serious side of his stay (the climbing) on one side in order to profit entirely from his visit to this new country with such different social limitations.

To speak about him, is like picking up a book and not knowing what page to turn to. He is something of a rebel. Of a Casanova as well. I cannot pass over – I hope he will forgive me - his almost uncontrolled love for women! Besides, he won't resent it, and will say, perhaps "You are right, why hide it? I love women and I love love, I am hooked on it, whether I am awake or asleep. I spend as much effort on this as on hunting … an ibex". And he will laugh.

When one knows how much Ataeq loves to hunt, one understands how important women are to him. He is, of course, unmarried.

He is truly gifted, very sensible inside and knows himself very well. He says this himself. This produces a wonderful guide, reliable, conscientious, and always ready for everything. A bit pigheaded as well…

His was the motivating spirit for the current guide training. He is an untiring locomotive when it comes to pushing things along. Many things….

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Ataeq Ali, son of Ali Lafi, does not claim to be a leading climber. When climbing with his comrades, he can easily climb grade 6a on nuts. But when guiding, he sensibly doesn't attempt the more difficult routes. He prefers to keep complete control of the climb, avoiding any stress and uncertainty, in order to guide under the best possible conditions. A real pro.

He learned on the job, trained largely by his close friend Ataeq Odah, and he is certainly the most likely to adapt to modern methods of work. He works with a computer at home, and doesn't hesitate to use all the family competence in his business. Very calm and collected, he is a great contrast with his friend DINDIN! To sum him up, he is a gentleman in the best tradition of the shrewdest Bedouin, and is 100% reliable

The "two Ataeqs" are very different in character. Sometimes this leads to fireworks!

In 2001, they decided to create "Wadi Rum Mountain Guides". This is a semi formal organization, grouping all the local climbing guides in order to centralise the market, the work and information. A guides' office, in short. Ataeq Ali is its mainstay.

His brother-in-law is none other than Salim Mohammed Mousa, who trained with the Rémy brothers (Swiss) in 1986. His climbing career was short, but his talent surprised more that one person at the time. This was right at the beginning of Wadi Rum as a climbing centre.

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Talal Awad  - photo G. RAPPENEAU

Talal Awad does not always live in the village. He prefers his camp, at the foot of the mountains, at Abou Aïneh. A voluntary refusal of comfort, and extremely simple living conditions….

Like many he declares himself to be a guide - in the broad sense of the term. He is a former hunter, his preferred ground is the massif of Jebel Rum, where he knows every inch of the ground. He doesn't  seem to want a structured and conventional career.

Just the opposite of Ataeq Ali or of Defalha Ataeq, he seems to have no special social ambitions. A genuine loner who manages to live in the way he wants.

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And there are also others, experts in climbing. Especially some of the "Amran" who still remain, deeper in the desert. They do not live in a village, are very few, and mix very little with the tourist affairs. They are certainly one of the oldest local tribes, established here, well before the Zalabieh. But they are gradually disappearing. And with them all their invaluable knowledge of the massifs.

With increasing leisure, sport has made its appearance in Jordanian society, and even with the Bedouin. Beside football and athletics, climbing is attracting some of the young people who have been hearing since their childhood stories of the epic days of climbing, told in the evening near the fire by their brother or by their father.

Wilfried Colonna – Abu Halagh

Photo M. VERIN

Extract from "The road to Rum"
By Claude Gardien - editor of the French magazine Vertical

"Today, one can climb many difficult routes in Wadi Rum. Some (not many), are equipped with fixed points, others, more numerous, are climbed in the traditional style, but on nuts.