Abu Suleiman quickly brought the mattresses and cushions and made sure we were all welcome and comfortable. He was genuinely hospitable and pleased to see us. Putting the bikes next to his sheep fence, we all went in the tent to hide from the blazing sun, temporarily at least.

Taking a comfortable Bedouin position means: Sitting on one of the floor mattresses and leaning partially sideways to rest on the side cushions. Abu Suleiman and family hurriedly brought the mattresses and rested them on the floor facing each other and forming a square.

Once inside the tent and under some shade, we realized how cool the shelter was. Because of the general dry climate in Jordan, even in the hottest days of the summer, once under any shade, like a tree or a tent in this case, the cooling effect is always immediate and refreshing. Abu Suleiman talked briskly and with a very orderly manner to his family, like all elderly Bedouins when addressing their wives and children: Make tea, bring water, do this, do that etc… As a gesture of joy and welcome. He also led a goat outside of the tent that, like us, was in search of a cool breeze.

“Are they all your family or have you someone living with you?” I asked him, thinking that there might be a brother or cousin as the case usually is.

“All mine, Al Hamdu-Lilla” he answered, and then immediately added “I doubled the wives!” meaning he married twice. “I have 12 from the first and only 7 from the second!”

I had to reply positively and re-assure him that the gift of God is always a blessing!

“They help me with the sheep and the work” he said, after brief moments of thought.

His son, Mansoor, a fine young man in his late twenties was also married and living with his father and his own children. Abu Suleiman’s big family all live, work and support each other in this harsh climate to insure survival. They had three tents and what looked like hundreds of sheep and goats. Later, Mansoor brought some water in a large metal container which he put on the naked earth for all of us to drink; we sipped and passed the bowl, it was cool and refreshing.

“Even this one, I married him as well so he would calm down and stay” Abu-Suleiman explained about his son, as he put the water container. The young man only smiled and said nothing.

Their tents were conveniently located half way in our tour. It would make a perfect resting spot for all future rides, I thought. In these harsh mountains and terrain, it is always wise to get know the local Bedouins where one can rest, get a drink of water and most importantly, to make friends, get to know their life-styles and try to support, as much as possible, this extinct culture and people.

“Where you born here?” I asked him who looked in his late sixties. Age is a very deceiving when you meet Bedouins; they always look much older than they actually are; obviously, because of their harsh lifestyles and lack of any form of comfort.

“I came here when I was 10-years-old, with my father, in 1947 from Palestine” he answered. I was right, he was 66!

After the sugar-loaded teas, one of his wives, came to greet us carrying a new-born. She was cheerful and found it an opportunity to complain about her husband! For her, a gang of cyclists in the middle of the desert and in this heat probably meant some sort of a relief organization!

“He does not allow the girls to go to school” She complained loudly.

I looked him fiercely straight in the eye, protesting his action. “After the Tawjihi, girls should not go to school, what for?” His excuse came.

“Nowadays, they should go to college as well Ya Abu Suleiman.” In a convincing tone, I tried to tell him, but how could I in this brief few-minute encounter change his mind about something he seemed so sure of. He only nodded and moved his head away as if telling me “I heard that before!”

After the brief rest, we thanked them, shook hands with his two wives and his children and continued on the bicycles for the remainder of the tour - ten kilometers or so to the car. A couple of hills and the growing heat challenged the last drop of the remaining energy we had.

Notes:

The general area and group of villages of Dab’a is about 25 kilometers south of the airport. Dab’a literally means Hyena, which this area was and still famous for. The area’s gentle undulating hills make for a great mountain bike adventure. Our path was along and next to a dry river bed. The rock formations and hidden caves around it are quite ancient, spectacular and look like perfect hiding spots for the hyenas. Desert routes should always be traveled in the very cool hours of the morning; the heat picks up quickly and will cause serious discomfort and severe dehydration. The same area makes for a wonderful cycling experience in the winter season as well.

Never attempt any bike ride without a companion especially if heading for the desert. Orientation, or the lack of it, can be serious and getting lost an easy matter. Always take additional water bottles during the summer months, some money should you need to pay for a ride back home. Always, and I mean always, wear a helmet.

Two very important sites in the Dab’a area: Firstly, the brilliant and beautiful Umayyad desert castle, the Dab’a castle which is conveniently located a few kilometers south of the airport. The structure is in very good condition, very well preserved and sits elegantly in a lower spot surrounded with gentle and soft hills. The area where the castle sits, and because it is rather lower, gathers a lot of rain water thus the greenery and the rain-collecting water reservoir.

Secondly, and looking a few kilometers east of the castle, one can see the Dab’a Ottoman railway station; unfortunately, deserted and neglected today. These fine and elegant structures stand witness to great times in this area – The Ottomans. With only interest, these two fine buildings, on both sides of the railway tracks, would perfectly make an Ottoman museum of some sort, I thought to myself. But where is that interest, I also thought!