Transcription
[Eva zu Beck] This desert is some of the most unforgiving terrain on Earth. The Bedouin have spent centuries adapting to life in this harsh land where most of us wouldn't last a day. So I'm traveling to the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan to learn some of the Bedouin ancestral ways. What to eat... This is not going well. ...how to handle the animals that help them thrive... He doesn't bite?
[Bedouin] No, no, no biting!
[Eva] ...and survive the dangers they face each day. My challenge will be to spend two days alone in the desert in search of its most precious, scarce resource: water. Oh, it's so hot. This is my longest challenge yet on this show. Can I make it? I'm Eva zu Beck, and this is Superskilled.
I'm in Amman, Jordan, one of the Middle East's major cultural capitals. And like in so many other cities, life here is pretty convenient. That's a big piece. If you need something, you just head over to the local market and buy it. But this is only a quick pit stop. I'm about to enter a world where city comforts vanish. Hey, how's it going? And even the most basic resources can be hard to find.
We're headed to Wadi Rum in the southwest corner of Jordan. It's a vast, cinematic desert of red rock and golden sand. I'm on my way to meet my hosts, a Bedouin family that lives in the desert year round. Their superskill? Thriving in what looks like barren and hostile land. It doesn't even look real. It's like a whole different planet. You know, I can't believe that people actually live out here. And they've been living here for thousands of years.
The Bedu or Bedouin are people of the desert scattered all across the Middle East. Before cars became common, the Bedouin used to lead traditional nomadic lives, living in tents in the desert, trekking for miles to fetch water and other necessities. It's a way of life that requires a deep connection to the land, and I want to learn some of their secrets.
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It was just before sunset when we arrived at the home of Abu Ragheb and his wife, Bakheta.
[Eva] My god, can you believe this? This is where we're gonna be living for the next five days.
[Abu Ragheb] Okay?
[Eva] Oh, wow! Oh, my gosh.
With the night falling quickly, we hung out around the fire and chatted in a mix of English and Arabic before going to bed. I needed the rest, because starting tomorrow, I would be learning how to survive in one of the most hostile environments on Earth.
The next morning was the start of a busy day of training. First, Abu Ragheb took me for a walk to the rocks to give me a lay of the land. In a few days I'll be making my own version of a Bedouin expedition, trekking 20 miles round trip from the camp to the nearest spring to bring water back for the family. And part of my challenge is to navigate using only natural landmarks. I won't have a map of any kind to help guide me.
[Eva] All the way straight along the big mountain.
[Eva] Clearly desert navigation is more of an art than an exact science, which is a little worrying as it's probably the most important lesson on this trip. I'll be making this journey alone. Not even the camera crew will join me. Getting lost out here could mean hours if not days of wandering in the sun with no access to water. How will I know that I've reached the right spot?
[Eva] I really hope so, too, because according to Abu Ragheb, if I miss the water on my first pass, I could end up wandering around the desert, leaving me susceptible to heat stroke and dehydration. And as if I needed another reason to be nervous, venomous snakes and scorpions are a pretty serious threat out here. When I'm walking, is there a chance that I might accidentally step on a snake?
[Eva] Abu Ragheb thought he'd best show me what snake and scorpion tracks look like, so I could avoid them.
[Eva] Scorpions may not be the biggest creatures in the desert, but they are definitely the ones I am most worried about encountering. So as I look up to the mountains to find my way, I'll also be looking down to avoid them.
After Abu Ragheb's, um, bracing introduction to the desert, Bakheta gave me a somewhat gentler welcome to Bedouin life with a tour of the family's home, a tent called the Bayt Al-Sha'ar, which translates to "the house of hair."
[Eva] And like polyester camping tents, traditional Bedouin dwellings like these provide shade and allow for ventilation. And while the tent could serve as a year-round home, most modern Bedouin live in more permanent communities at least part of the year.
[Eva] Hi!
Abu Ragheb and Bakheta choose where to set up camp based on where their animals can graze and where the large rocks can provide some shelter from the sun and wind, which is why sometimes water isn't nearby. Bakheta says she wouldn't have it any other way.
[Eva] Next, Bakheta taught me how to make a traditional flatbread, a staple at any Bedouin meal.
[Eva] This is what I'll be making for dinner when I'm out on my trek.
[Eva] Oh, like this.
[Eva] Done? Yeah?
[Eva] Okay, we're done.
Before we cook it on the dome-shaped grill called a saj, Bakheta says we have to separate the dough into portions. There's a technique. There's a whole technique, oh, which clearly I am not getting. Oop, I think that's a little too small. Just take a little bit more. [chuckles] Ahh. Come on.
After a couple of tries... I was almost getting the hang of it. Almost. This is not going well. Can you tell which one I made? And with their almost perfect portions prepared, they were ready for the saj. Wow! No way. It's kind of like a pancake, like a crepe.
[Eva] Wow! That is the fastest way to make bread I've ever seen in my life.
Now it was my turn.
[Eva] I don't know if it's so bravo, but we're trying.
[Eva] It's not ready yet.
[Eva] You know it's probably a good thing that I'll be the only one eating the bread I'll make in a couple of days.
Now Abu Ragheb wanted me to meet my travel companion.
[Eva] Aliyan.
[Abu Ragheb] Aliyan.
[Eva] Hi, Aliyan. He doesn't bite?
[Eva] No?
[camel grumbling]
[Eva] I'll admit, I may have come in with some preconceived notions about camels being grumpy and stubborn. He's a friendly camel.
[Abu Ragheb] Mm-hmm.
[Eva] That's good to know. And this is the camel that I'll be bringing with me on my trek. So we need to become friends... quickly. What I needed was a crash course in camel communication.
[Eva] He really does understand Arabic. [clicks tongue]
[Eva] The commands aren't actually Arabic words, just sounds. But what mattered is that Aliyan understood them.
[camel grunts]
[Abu Ragheb] Okay, see? [clicks tongue] Hadd.
[Eva] Can I try?
[Eva] You are so tall. I am a little bit scared of you, but we'll become friends, right? We can become friends. Ekh. Ekh, ekh.
[Eva] Ekh. He's not listening to me. Ekh. Maybe he just doesn't understand my accent. Ekh. Come on, buddy. Ekh. Okay?
[Eva] You make it look very easy. Hadd.
And finally a breakthrough. Yes, good boy! Eva "Camel Whisperer" zu Beck.
[Eva] He's not as scary as I thought he would be. Ekh. Yeah.
Once I got the basics of camel communication, Abu Ragheb taught me how to hobble and secure Aliyan.
[Eva] Okay. [camel groans]
[Abu Ragheb] Good, good, good.
[Eva] And how to saddle him properly. I wouldn't be riding on his back, but he would be carrying all of my supplies for the trip. Handling a camel is a pretty fundamental Bedouin skill. After all, the Bedouin have been traveling across the deserts for centuries, all thanks to camels. In... and up. These animals can carry up to 500 pounds on their backs and go for weeks without water.
[Eva] They're the true endurance athletes of the desert. Good boy, Aliyan! Aliyan, are we ready?
Aliyan and I were really getting in a groove. Hadd! Good boy. Come on, let's go, buddy. Wow! I could go to the ends of the Earth with you, boy. Well, maybe not all the way to the ends of the Earth. We started with a few laps around the camp, which definitely made me feel like there was friendship potential for Aliyan and me. Good boy! Okay, I think this might just work.
While Aliyan is a great partner... Good boy. ...I was ready to wrap up my first day of lessons. Tomorrow would be another very busy day.
Bright and early the next morning, Bakheta took me to the nearby hills to learn another important desert survival skill. Bakheta's just been showing me some of the incredible plants that grow out here. She actually happens to be something of a medicine woman. She seems to know all the plants and all of their uses having grown up here in the desert. There are no hospitals out here, so you have to be able to rely on your ancestral knowledge to cure things like headaches and stomachaches and various kinds of infections. And all of these plants have some kind of use. Yes, mm-hmm.
I asked Bakheta what plants I should keep an eye out for on my challenge. And right away she walked us to the shih, or wormwood plant. The Bedouin use shih for relieving various aches and pains, lowering blood sugar, and as an antiseptic.
[Eva] She pointed out other plants, like the family tree for boosting immunity, and henna to cure stomach issues. It smells beautiful, too. There was even a plant that foams, and that's used to make soap. So we kind of crush down these green endings of the ajaam plant, add a little bit of water, and now you rub... like this?
[Bakheta] Yeah.
[Eva] Okay. Oh, my god, it's happening! Ah!
[Eva] I hope I won't need any of these plants on my challenge, but it's amazing to learn about their traditional uses.
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I think for a lot of people when they think about the desert, they kind of think about this place that's barren. But being out here, it actually seems very, very different. It seems like the opposite of that. It seems like you can find anything you need out here.
[Eva] Bakheta spoke so beautifully about her home, and in just these couple of days here, I completely understand why. But that doesn't really make my upcoming challenge any easier. You take one look around here, and you're like, yep, this is a pretty extreme environment. There's no trees, no rivers, no towns, no villages, no people, you know, out here. It's very easy to be back there with the family at camp and feel quite safe and well taken care of, because they know this place like the back of their hands, and I don't. I'm under no illusions about how different this desert will seem to me when I'm trekking through it on my own, but I just have to hope that the lessons I've learned will be enough to carry me through. Tomorrow I'll graduate to the next stage, which involves practicing all the skills I've picked up so far ahead of my big challenge. But before we get there, Bakheta wanted to treat me to a full Bedouin makeover.
I feel like Bakheta's the only person in the world that I would allow to do this to my eyes. The black eyeliner she's applying is kohl, and it's not just for beauty. This is why I don't wear makeup. Kohl has been used by both men and women in the Arab world for centuries to dampen the glare of the harsh desert sun on their eyes. Is it on? Is it done? Alright, let's take a look at the camera. Oh, my gosh.
[Eva] That's kind of cool. I've got to admit. Look at those eyes. They're popping.
[Eva] Yeah, I look like a Bedouin?
[Bakheta] Yeah.
[Eva] Yeah, you think so? I think so, too.
[Eva] There's one more step. Not just the makeup. Not just the kohl. We're going to put on the keffiyeh. Keffiyeh, right? Well, the keffiyeh headdress is now seen by many as a symbol of the Palestinian people... The transformation is almost done. We're not quite ready yet. ...before the early 20th century, it was traditionally worn by Bedouin men to identify themselves as nomads and to protect from the sun and sand. Just two Bedouin ladies out here in the desert. [click]
[Eva] I had one more day to prepare for my solo trek through the desert. And I spent it immersing myself in Bedouin culture and practicing the skills that Bakheta and Abu Ragheb had so generously shared with me. I also asked them for some final advice.
[Eva] Do you think I'm crazy for doing this?
[Eva] Maybe I can absorb some of your bravery and some of your courage out there tomorrow.
[Eva] Well, it's the night before the big challenge. I have about eight hours until I set off into the desert with Aliyan, my camel. Honestly, I am feeling really, really, really excited. I feel like this is such a, an amazing adventure. I'm super psyched, but of course, also aware of the fact that there are certain risks involved. I am concerned about the heat. I am concerned about the distance. It is quite a long way, about 10 miles each way. And of course, I am concerned about, you know, the camel and just all the things that could go wrong, but I'm just gonna try not to think about them and hope that some of the skills that I've learned this week, um, I'll be able to use them and apply them tomorrow and the day after. So, yeah, I'm gonna try and get some sleep now, and I'll see you guys in the morning.
[Eva] Today is the big day. Aliyan and I will be walking 10 miles in the desert heat. Our mission? To find a freshwater spring without a map. We'll camp overnight before trekking another 10 miles back home the next day. The crew would stick around for the very start of my journey, but then will head back to the camp so I can do this solo. Well, solo plus one. If all goes well, they'll hop in the car and meet me at my camp by the spring at around sunset. These jerrycans, this is how Abu Ragheb will know that I have achieved my mission and managed to reach the spring, because I'll be bringing them back filled with water. Okay. [sighs] This is it. I can't believe I'm doing this. Now I was feeling really good about all this, and now all of a sudden, I'm feeling a little bit nervous, I've got to be honest, but I think I'm in good hands. [bellows] Hadd! Hadd! Good boy. Is there like a camel trekking activity on this thing?
With my watch set, the challenge was on. I packed pretty light-- a tent, a sleeping bag, tools to make a fire, some emergency water supplies, and ingredients to make bread. Since the saj had to stay at camp, I would be baking bread differently, creating a natural oven in hot coals. Thankfully, Bakheta made me a few snacks for the road. My first steps out on the trail, so far, so good. I, uh, I am aware that it's a pretty long way. I still have about 10 miles to go today, and it's only gonna keep getting hotter, and I'll only keep getting more and more tired. So, um, I know it's gonna be a long day.
After about 30 minutes, it was time for the crew to leave. So now it's just the two of us. The crew has left, and for the next few hours, it's just me and Aliyan trying to make our way to the water spring. You hungry? Are these shrubs delicious? I think he's loving this. It's like he was made to roam the desert. Alright, let's go. Come on, Aliyan, let's go, let's go. Good boy!
♪ ♪
Since setting out at 6:30 this morning, I managed to keep the mountain Abu Ragheb pointed out to my right just like he said to, but I had also made it to what felt like the hottest part of the day. Ooh, it is getting hot out here. I think it's time to take a little break. So Aliyan's gonna be munching on these delicious shrubs out here. Um, I'm going to just tie him up and then I am going to grab a little bite to eat as well. Temperatures were at a sweltering 93 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a little bit of shade. That's nice. And in the direct sun, carrying my backpack and leading Aliyan, I was really feeling the heat.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Alright, let's keep going. Good boy, Aliyan.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
I'm about nine miles in and, uh, I still don't see any signs of the water source. It's still just as dry as it was eight miles ago. So, hopefully, they didn't, um, underestimate the distance where they told me that it's 10 miles from the camp.
This was not a good sign. Abu Ragheb had said that if I missed the spring on the first try, I probably wouldn't find it at all. I was supposed to see bright greenery, which meant water was close, but things were looking pretty beige. And there was no one around to ask for directions. As I questioned all of my navigation decisions so far, elsewhere in the desert, another dramatic scene was unfolding.
[bang]
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
[Josh] So, camera team update. Our car's broken.
[Josh] Yeah, just smashed a massive rock, and now there's quite a lot of oil coming out the bottom of the car. So, yeah, we don't have as much oil left in the car, so we are stuck.
[Josh] We have no cell service and very, very patchy radio comms, so... I'm not sure what we're gonna do now.
[Eva] Come on, let's go.
Aliyan and I were blissfully unaware of the trouble the crew had gotten into. Well, maybe not so blissful. We had our own share of problems. After seven hours of walking, we were now two miles past where we thought the spring would be. But soon things started looking up. I see something green up on the mountain. It's still quite far away. I can't really see clearly, but there's definitely greenery there, which means that there's most likely water. I don't know if you'll be able to see, but it's just there in that area. As we got closer, I could see a denser patch of plants there. Could that be the spring? If it isn't, I'm in serious trouble. I want to go check out that patch of green high up on the rocks, but I don't think Aliyan can make it, especially not with all that luggage. So I'm just gonna, um, secure him right here. Alright, Aliyan, you wait here. I'll be right back.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Okay, here is the tree that I saw from down below. Wow. Can't believe it. It feels like a mirage. Now let's find that water.
♪ ♪
Oh. I guess that's it. This is the water source. Huh. Honestly, this water doesn't really inspire confidence, but I guess this is it. [sighs] Oof. So how does a spring form in the middle of the desert? It's all about the geology of this region. The tops of these rock formations are limestone. And when the rare desert rain falls here, the water trickles down to the granite below where it pools and creates a spring. There's some more little pools here. So this spring actually happens to be a really important historic spring that lies along a traditional Bedouin trading route. It's the only spring for about 30 miles around. So it actually has a lot of history, a lot of culture behind it. There would have been entire Bedouin families and camel caravans parked up here, um, just to kind of refresh along a really challenging, difficult route. I guess this is our spot for the night.
I set up camp and fetched Aliyan some water. I was just about ready to settle in when...
[Crewmember] Hi.
[Eva] Hey, guys. How's it going? Welcome to my camp. Why are you guys so late?
It turns out a local from the team had to undertake his own desert trek walking more than six miles to the nearest Bedouin camp to get help. There, they were able to get a ride for the rest of the crew to meet me. It was a long day for all of us, so I started a fire, boiled some spring water to purify it, and prepared to make some bread. You know, kind of being out there is really wild, because you're just on your own in this vast, massive landscape that's really harsh and unforgiving. There's no water and no people anywhere. So in a way it felt almost, like, surreal to be out there on my own, but at the same time, it also felt really quite natural, like almost the most natural thing for a human being to do, you know, go on a big, long journey across the land with your animal. That's something that humans have been doing for thousands of years, but, of course, my challenge isn't actually over yet. I need to spend the night here all alone. I still need to grab the water from the spring tomorrow morning. I still need to pack the camel tomorrow morning all on my own, and I still need to make my way back to camp. It's a long way. We're far from mission accomplished.
It was starting to get dark, and the camera crew had a long way back to basecamp. I also had to get my bread baking on the coals. It would take longer to cook this way than on a saj. Once they left, it would be just me, Aliyan and the desert.
[Crewmember] We'll leave you to it.
[Eva] Yeah, have a safe journey back. I hope the car doesn't break again.
[Crewmember] Yeah, let's hope so. We'll catch you tomorrow.
[Eva] Alright, bye, good night.
[Crewmember] Alright, bye.
[Eva] The bread is ready. Now for the moment of truth. Is it edible? Looks... looks pretty good to me. I made bread. In a sand pit. [laughs]
♪ I made bread, I made bread ♪
♪ I made bread, and it's amazing ♪
Woo-hoo!
♪ ♪
[Eva] The next morning I woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises I'd ever seen. I could have spent hours thinking about how lucky I was to be there, but there was no time to waste. The desert heat waits for no one. I collected the water for Abu Ragheb and Bakheta and packed everything up. Hadd, hadd! And we were off again.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
After seven more hours of bonding with Aliyan... [singing in foreign language] [singing in foreign language] ...and dreaming of cold, fizzy drinks...
[Eva] We finally made it back.
[Eva] It was so good to see Bakheta and Abu Ragheb.
[Eva] And I was grateful to Aliyan for being my partner through it all. Good boy. I couldn't have done it without him.
[Eva] And in case he wasn't sure I completed my full challenge... Oh! How do you say, how do you say "surprise?"
[Eva] It's good?
[both laugh]
[Eva] Mission accomplished. There you go, good boy. So do you think I could live like a Bedouin now?
[Eva] Thank you! Thank you.
♪ ♪
In just a few short days with Abu Ragheb and Bakheta, I've gained a much deeper appreciation for what travel has looked like throughout the majority of human history. While today we travel across the Earth in machines that distance us from the land, the Bedouin have a rich tradition of using their connection with the desert to help them navigate it. Abu Ragheb and Bakheta have inspired me to continue to seek out experiences that deepen my own connection to the land, and to maybe get a camel or horse of my own. And with that, it's on to my next destination.
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