Friday 24th October. Up
before sunrise, left Amman with a film crew and headed east to Azraq.
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| David Kennedy on the Umayyad reservoir wall - Azraq Wetland Reserve. |
The
day began with some shooting at Azraq Wetland Reserve. While there we took the
opportunity to photograph the Umayyad reservoir wall. Sadly the oasis has
greatly diminished in size in the last twenty years. Despite the Water
authority pumping 1.5 to 2.5 million cubic metres of water into the wetlands
each year, it is not enough to replenish the excessive pumping of water out of
the oasis and, sadly, it is still shrinking in size.
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| Filming at Azraq Wheel 82 |
From
there we headed out into the basalt desert to visit a Wheel and a Kite. We
drove as far as the 4WD could take us across the mudflats, from there a
somewhat arduous trek across the volcanic rocks to the site of interest. Even in
this rather remote location we saw signs of recent looting – a bucket and
pick axe inside the Wheel!
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| Looter's tools - Azraq Wheel 82 |
As
one can see from the ground photo above, these stone structures don’t look very
impressive, if they are noticed at all, when on foot. However, when seen from
above, through aerial photography or satellite imagery, a very different picture
emerges.
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| Azraq Wheel Group B. © APAAME_19970527_DLK-0157 |
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| Azraq Kite 81, Wheels 191, 192, 193. ©APAAME_20120522_DLK-0589 |
Returning
to the Azraq Lodge (converted former British military hospital) in the evening
for some final recording before heading back to Amman for a well earned dinner.
