It was no problem at all finding great wines in Turkey or Israel, so I decided to pack my bag and relocate. For the next month or so I would be digging deeper into the Middle East on my quest for wine and adventure. A friend gave me a lift from Tel Aviv to the Negev Desert, then I hopped on a bus. I soon found myself floating in the Gulf of Aqaba at the Israeli resort of Eilat. From there I planned the next leg of my journey. My next stop would be the desert Kingdom of Jordan. Having no guide book or other point of reference, I failed to realize two factors would be working against me in my search for wine. First, Jordan is mostly harsh desert and doesn't produce many grapes. Second, most of the population are members of Islam which prohibits its followers to drink alcohol. Not finding much to do in Aqaba, I took off for the biggest tourist site in Jordan, the rose-red city of Petra. [caption id="attachment_1257" align="aligncenter" width="574" caption="Beach-front bar in Eilat."][/caption] I somehow managed to hitch a ride with an American and a Mexican guy in a rental car. We headed north surrounded by a sea of sand. There was no vegetation to be seen and hardly any people. Occaisonally we would spot camels and their owners resting in any shade they could find and I quickly realized just how extreme my new location was. We arrived in Wadi Mussa, the tourist town next to Petra and ate lunch. I saw no wine on the menu, only cold beer. [caption id="attachment_1245" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Typical Jordanian desert landscape."][/caption] For the rest of the day I toured the ancient city which was carved from the sandstone mountains. It wasn't long  before the oppresive heat and blistering sun had taken its toll on me. Fortunately I found a Bedouin guide named Adi who had a donkey to help make my tour a little easier. To end the day Adi and I climbed 150+ feet to the top of The Monastery, which is kind of dangerous and off limits for tourists, to watch the sunset. Afterwards we bought food in his village and had a barbecue. When I asked if wine was available Adi said it is hard to find, but my best bet was in and around the biggest tourist sites. [caption id="attachment_1248" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Petras second most fmous site, the Monastery"][/caption] Before parting ways that night I agreed to go on a trek through the desert with Adi in one week. I figured by then I would be adjusted to the climate, and hopefully would have found some wine to enjoy while on the trip. I explored Jordans capitol Amman, the Dead Sea (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zbvsdh5VNs&feature=channel) and the Roman ruins of Jerash. It was there that I found a small bottle of St. Georges that I would bring with me on my trek through the desert. [caption id="attachment_1258" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="Jerashs Northern Theater."][/caption] After exploring Jordans attractions for a week and getting acclimated, I met up with Adi again and took off fom Petra to Wadi Rum. After several days we headed back, stopping along the way to meet modern day nomads, enjoy various wadis, hot spings and many other hiden treasures of the Jordanian wilderness. I saved my precious bottle of wine for the last day of my trek and sampled it while sitting on a seat carved out of sandstone by the ancient Nabateans. While Jordan is not really a wine destination, it is an amazing place to visit if you love adventure. I left a week later still thirsty for wine, but with my thirst for adventure quenched, at least for a little while. Next stop Egypt.