Aba picked Nick up at his hotel. He checked out and got into the car with Aba. They went across town until he stopped at a military base. There Nick saw a couple of military trucks full of supplies and soldiers.
Aba introduced Nick to a couple of his friends, Ali Asad and Omar Hassan. They will be making the trip with them. They would meet the Bedouin man in Aqaba.
Nick sat in the car and watched the flurry of activity. He began to wonder who Aba was. He certainly had plenty of pull, unless it was Amal's father who had the pull. Either way, Nick was glad he had helped her. Now he at least had the CHANCE to try and find Mary.
They got everything loaded up and headed out. It is 340 KM to Aqaba and would take these trucks four or more hours to make the journey.
It was a long and boring journey. Nick felt better having a truckload of soldiers with them. They stopped at a rest area halfway and rested for an hour. They arrived in Aqaba just before dusk. Aba, Nick, and Aba's two friends checked into a small hotel. The troops set up camp beside the hotel. Nick took what he figured would be his last shower for months and went down to get his last meal from a restaurant. He found the other three men there, and they had an enjoyable meal discussing the plans.
Everyone went to their rooms and tried to get a good night's sleep. Nick was too excited to sleep much, but he did finally manage to fall asleep.
Nick awoke with a loud knocking on his door. It was Aba. "Let's go, Nick. We need to go."
Nick got dressed in record time, grabbed his bag and headed out into the darkness. It had to be around four or five in the morning.
Nick saw a man dressed for the desert. Aba brought him over to Nick and introduced him. "This is my friend, Ismeal Saleh. You can call him Ish. He is of one of the biggest tribes in the desert." Ish bowed and Nick returned it to him. He then turned and left.
Nick watched as the men loaded three camels with their supplies. They then brought five camels for the five men to ride. Aba took Nick to one of the camels. "You can ride on Alla. He is a calm camel. Aba patted Alla and he got down on his knees. Aba showed Nick how to mount the camel. There was no saddle, just a woven carpet-type of blanket. It took Nick a couple of tries before he was able to stay on the camel when he stood up. He finally was ready to go. Everyone else was ready and had been waiting for him. There were smiles all around when they headed out, but no one actually said anything to him. He was sure that it was because of Aba, but he didn't care why.
By ten in the morning, it was getting very warm. He had the proper attire, but he was not accustomed to the heat and the rocking motion of the camel. They finally stopped under a few trees in a rest area.
They ate some hard tack sort of bread with some dates. It was then time to remount the camel and continue.
Nick fell into the rhythm of the camel and went into some type of stupor. The rocking of the camel, the heat of the sun, and his learning how to balance with the motion of the camel. By mid-afternoon, he was comfortable enough to let his mind wander. He thought back to his time with Mary. However, Tai kept interrupting his thoughts of Mary. He knew it was his conscience reminding him of what he would have to explain if he found Mary. He lost track of time. They walked and walked. He had no idea how many miles they had walked. Finally, as the sun began to set, they stopped in an area of a rock formation.
It provided a backstop for protection. Aba's friends set up a camp with a fire and tents. They cooked a nice simple meal, and everyone talked about the first day. Nick discovered they had walked approximately fifteen miles. It was easy for him to sleep that night. After eating, he lay down on his bed roll and was fast asleep.
Nick didn't know it at the time, but Aba's friends had stood guard on the rock formation during the night. As they ate the morning meal, Aba and Ish had a talk with Nick.
Ish started. "Nick, we are going to start at Petra. It has many spaces carved into the mountains where my people could hide your people. It is a tourist destination, but the Bedouins would not interact with the tourists. They would not be able to sneak your people out of there. It would be putting the tourists in jeopardy, and Jordan would be very displeased. We are allowed to traverse the desert freely between Jordan, Saudia Arabia, and Oman only because we are nomads that do not get involved in present day politics. We have wandered these deserts for a thousand years. We descend from the Edomites and Nabateans of the past. Saudia Arabia sympathizes with Hezbollah, but we don't believe they pay for or protect them on their soil. Their allegiance with America makes it tricky for them. However, we believe Hezbollah has training areas and bases in the desert of Saudia Arabia. We have encountered their troops from time to time. We trade with them, give them food, and they leave us alone."
Aba took up the story. "We don't believe they would hide your people at Petra, but we will talk to the Bedouin tribe that lives in that area. You will have to stay hidden. If they see a white man, they will not risk talking to us. We will stop at a small oasis near where we will leave you. Ali Asad will stay with you while we go in and talk to them."
Nick understood and agreed. They headed out and arrived at the oasis just before dark. They made camp, ate a quick meal, and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, before sunrise, Aba, Ish, and Omar left for Petra. Nick hoped the tribe would be there. They wander through this entire area. It is possible they might arrive here while the others are gone. All they could do was wait.
They didn't arrive back until the next morning. They had stayed with that tribe and enjoyed their hospitality. It would have been an insult to do otherwise. When they were settled, Ish filled Nick in. "They claim they have not seen the tribe that was working at the dig. They knew about the attack but had no personal knowledge." Nick nodded. "However, during the evening, while we were drinking the Arabic coffee that is popular amongst the Bedouins, one man let slip to me that they had heard rumors about infidels amongst our people. A band of Hezbollah had quietly come into Petra to talk to them. They had assured them they knew of nothing and had not seen that tribe in the area. I believe it is possible they have been carried away when they left the dig area."
Nick was encouraged and Aba reinforced it. "One of the Jordanian officials that oversee Petra quietly confirmed to me that they MAY be with the retreating tribe."
Everyone was so excited; it took a while for them to get to sleep that night.
The next morning, Aba told Nick they were moving south, into Saudia Arabia. They were going to follow what was known in the olden days as the "incense Trade trail". It went from Aden on the Indian Ocean in what is present day Yemen, along the Red Sea through Aqaba, Jordan, through Palestine and into Europe through present day Turkey. It was an outpost of this route that the archaeologist had been working on when the attack occurred. They would travel the Bedouin routes and bypass all modern cities.
The next several days were uneventful. They traveled south along an old Bedouin route. Nick didn't see any trail or trace of one, but Ish seemed to know where he was going. As they neared the present-day town of Hegra, they suddenly turned east and headed across the desert. They were in the An-Nafud Desert. It covers the northern parts of Saudia Arabia. During one of the evening meals, Ish told Nick they were heading toward the old city of Gerrha on the Persian Gulf. The present-day city of Damman is there now. There is nothing but Bedouins in the open desert between them and Damman. It would take several days to walk there. Ish was hoping to come across another tribe on the trail there.
Their first real problem came three days later. Omar had been going ahead of them to make sure there were no problems ahead. On the third day, he came back midday. He talked with Aba and Ish, and then Aba came to talk to Nick. "Omar spotted a band of soldiers coming along the trail in jeeps. There are at least eight armed men on two jeeps. We have decided to move into the dunes on the left and wait for them to go by. We will need to keep our camels quiet."
Nick nodded and they moved into the dunes. They went nearly one hundred yards into the dunes. Omar and Ali swept their tracks away up to where they entered the dune valley. Aba watched from the top of a dune to make sure every trace of them was gone. When he was satisfied, he came down and joined the rest. "Omar, carefully watch them to tell us when they are gone." Omar nodded and he was gone.
