HORSEBACK TREKKING IN JORDAN
GENERAL INFORMATION

GUIDES & ASSISTANCE

Atallah Sabbah Sweilhin : "The" guide

You will always be accompanied by one or two specialised guides who are qualified according to laws in force in the country. A guide speaking French, English and German will be there according to need or when requested specially.

The principal guide holds all the necessary permits. He is the person responsible for the caravan and is qualified in first aid in case of need.

Assistants: the cook and any helpers are all men knowing horses well. These are people who have been working together as a team for many years. They are almost always local Bedouin.

Watering the horses is the most important task Photo M. VERIN	Sometimes one has to climb down into the well to bring the water!

Logistics and the transport of luggage are done in a 4WD vehicle.

Our team and their vehicles		Lunchtime!		Transporting the horses

With the exception of the hotels used during time spent in towns, all nights are spent camping, either bivouacking in the open air, or in a tent with mattress provided (but please note: a sleeping bag is NOT PROVIDED by the company, this should be brought with you)

The danger of meeting with insects and reptiles such as scorpions, camel spiders and snakes is very rare and unlikely. Listen to any explanations and advice given by the guiding team, and obey any instructions they might possibly give you. Immediate first aid and a well supplied medicine chest are available if necessary

FOOD & DRINK

Food, always abundant and usually varied, is prepared by our cooks, in the best local tradition of taste and of hygiene.

You should wash the hands before each meal; a pitcher of water is always left available. You will eat in the eastern fashion, generally with your hands, or at best with a spoon, sitting on mattresses and carpets on the ground. Always use the right hand for eating, the left hand being used for any dirty tasks. Tap water is perfectly drinkable everywhere in Jordan. You will find bottled water only in hotels and restaurants. Tea is the traditional drink. It is usually drunk strong and sweetened - all the better to guard against dehydration.

HYGIENE AND SANITATION

There are dozens of quiet corners to be found, which will allow the traveller some private life. Usually the group, together with the guides, will decide on an area for washing and toilets. Please remember that while all wastes should be buried, in the dry conditions in Jordan TOILET PAPER SHOULD BE BURNED first - a cheap lighter will be provided if you don't smoke. There is little rain to destroy the paper, and the wind can uncover it in a few hours/days/months or even years! NOT very nice! Rudimentary showers are possible almost daily, according to the water supply.

Hussein Ali is the son of the Sheikh of the Sweilhin tribe. He  likes to be well turned out!

No vaccinations are obligatory in Jordan, but we urge you to make sure that you are vaccinated against tetanus and hepatitie B

ACCOMMODATION

For our usual trips: hotels one, two or three star hotels are used. On request, we will also use the four and five star services of the Mövenpick resorts, or of the Marriot hotels.

For other programmes, where less comfort is demanded, we use the services of simple "guest-houses" or "camping grounds".

In the desert most of the nights are spent in the open air, in a bivouac, with or without tent. Tents are supplied only when specially requested. We avoid using them during normal climate conditions. Good mattresses are provided but NO SLEEPING BAGS.

The long traditional Bedouin tents woven from black goat hair ("Beït Sha'ar" in Arabic) and the smaller and rounder "Saudi tents" are used for our fixed camps; these are what we use for our programmes "the New Year in Wadi Rum".

THE YEARLY CLIMATE

The clouds show how the wind is getting up at sunset

This is a mountain desert climate, dry, pleasant and hot, with sometimes great variations in temperature between the day and the night, or between being in the shade and in the sun. You will need protection against the heat, but also against the cool of the evening, which can sometimes be cutting. The weather is of course colder in winter - the rate/rhythm of the seasons is same as in Europe.

See the list of clothes, equipment and accessories, provided at the time of inscription.

For the trips at the end of November, and in December, January, February and the beginning of March, be sure to bring warm clothes - especially for the evening. The days are short - it grows dark at about 5pm (17h). It can freeze during the night in December, January and February.

Summer trips. You should only undertake them, if you are comfortable with high temperatures. It is best to cover up as much as possible, as the Bedouin do. Scanty dressing is definitely not recommended. The guides normally take full precautions against anyone getting dehydrated or suffering from heat exhaustion. The daily rides are shortened, and will usually take place in the early morning and at the end of the afternoon.