Jordanian Jaw-Dropper
Abandon Aqaba. Ditch the Dead Sea. To get way off the beaten wadi in eco-friendly style, head for the simple pleasures of Feynan Ecolodge.
Perched on the edge of the Great Rift Valley in Jordan’s Dana Biosphere Reserve, Feynan is something of an architectural oddity. Its look is part crusader castle, part Bedouin spaceship—and 100% charming. Electricity is used sparingly here, so by night the lodge (including the 26 rooms) is illuminated by candles, creating an unabashedly romantic feel. By day the décor (local fabrics hung in archways, wrought-iron railings dropping into courtyards, a defunct harmonium in the corner) is understated and quirky—as are the staff. The manager, Hussein, removes neither his cowboy hat nor his smile, ever; chef Seif dotes on his tasty all-vegetarian platters like delicate new-born babes. The atmosphere is relaxed, the aesthetic quietly seductive, the desert landscape stark and mesmerizing.
The lodge’s eco-credentials are solid: all organic waste is recycled, electricity is generated on-site, water comes from a local spring and is heated by an array of solar panels (no shortage of rays ’round here). The management works closely with the local people, providing employment while remaining sensitive to the traditional Bedouin ways of life.
Feynan can be reached by road, but it’s infinitely preferable to arrive on foot, which involves a quasi-biblical hike down the spectacular Wadi Dana canyon with nothing but griffon vultures, a Bedouin guide and his donkey for company.
Hussein arranges assorted activities from the lodge: mountain-biking, canyoning, trekking, climbing, or a visit to the ancient copper mines and archaeological sites nearby. Either way, be sure to cap your evening with an extended star-gazing session on Feynan’s roof-terrace. ‘Tis such stuff as desert dreams are made on—far from the tourist treadmill plying the same old Red Sea to Dead Sea circuit.
Rudston Steward has more stamps in his passport than an international jewel-thief. But he prefers truffles to diamond heists, and he’s a fine-tuned nose to the ground for Trufflepig in Jordan, Italy and beyond.
