An Eco Hotel on the Edge of the Western Desert in Jordan
by Lori Henry
I’m pressed between two people in the backseat of a rickety truck, them with their iPhones out, arguing about wireless coverage, me trying to ignore them as I scan the isolated desert outside the truck windows. We are completely off the grid.
After driving 22 kilometres off the highway, we change vehicles into another beat up truck owned by the native Bedouin people of the area and drive another 10 kilometres on wildly uneven sand and rock road through the western part of the Dana Biosphere Reserve – the only reserve in Jordan with the four bio-geographical zones that make up the country – almost at the Israel border.
I’m with a group of nine and we are arriving at the Feynan Ecolodge, an environmentally-friendly accommodation built where archaeologists once set up camp to study the ruins of Palaeolithic, Egyptian, Nabataean and Roman times. Without electricity in the public spaces, the lodge is lit with flickering candles that illuminate the smiling faces of the staff, who are made up of about 40 local families.
The reception area is welcoming and this is where we’re given the lowdown on the lodge. Solar power is generated for the kitchen, washrooms and office using photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof, where there are also solar panels to heat the water. Aerators limit water loss from faucets and showers, and a local spring from nearby Wadi Dana keeps the lodge hydrated. In the winter, the fireplaces eat up jift, a natural by-product from the olive harvest so that trees can be conserved.
Great first impression complete, I skip up to my room to find a simple space with interesting touches: The bedside “table” is an extension of the stone wall, making a low ledge to put bedside belongings; small pieces of glass are haphazardly stuck on the walls to create mirrors; a clay pot made in a small community near Petra is filled with mineral water to drink; and the lanterns are made by local women who also run workshops on leather and candle making. My room faces the outdoor dining area and has a patio with views of the rock cliffs a 30-second walk away.
After unpacking a few things from my luggage, I make my way downstairs to the smell of dinner. The food here is all vegetarian, using as many local ingredients as possible. Dinner is buffet-style with salads, pastas and yoghurt sauce, and the hummus, tahini and bread (in this case shraak flat bread made by a local Bedouin woman) that I have become inseparable from at mealtimes.
Everyone staying at the lodge takes a seat outside and shares the meal with the silent Shara Mountains surrounding us and the sparkling stars above. After dinner many of us make our way up to the rooftop terrace to lounge on the cushions while looking up at those stars, no lights polluting their shine. I smile to myself in the dark: It’s refreshing to be off the grid.
Feynan Ecolodge
ecohotels.me/Feynan
Feynan Reception Centre, outside the village of Qurayqura/Greigra, where you can park your car are:
36R 734038.07E, 3389500.37N (30°36'54.65"N, 35°26'29.10"E)
This article was first published on LoriHenry.ca (2011)