It’s damp this morning. We’re in the Middle East and it’s almost summer, but it’s cold. I put on my heavy down jacket and leave the room, full of cushions, where we’re all staying. I climb over my companions, who are sleeping everywhere. I look up, and from a break in the latticework protecting the entrance I see a still dark sky; a few stars indicate that it’s finally clear now. Our adventure is almost over, and although on the one hand I want to return, on the other I know I’ll miss these places. The muezzin arrives from far away, seemingly carried by the wind. The shepherds move in silence with their few sheep and a donkey. I sit on the steps of that poor house wrapped in my down jacket and look around a strange world that is still asleep; I’m still half asleep too, but I need to breathe.

The trip to Jordan was organized by the Central CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) in collaboration with the Jordanian government, with the aim of promoting mountaineering in a wild area of the country.