This spring, on the edge of the open sands, is a regular stop on the 4WD circuit. Alternatively, it can be reached on a soft sand hike from the Rest House; the walk takes about 1½ hours return. Look for a white water tank at the opening of Wadi Shallalah. After the tank, a path climbs the hill to the spring.
The spring was named in honour of Lawrence’s evocative description in the Seven Pillars of Wisdom : 'In front of us a path, pale with use, zigzagged up the cliff-plinth… From between [the] trees, in hidden crannies of the rock, issued strange cries; the echoes, turned into music, of the voices of the Arabs watering camels at the springs which there flowed out three hundred feet above ground.'
Together with other springs in the area, this natural water spout that tumbles into a leafy ‘paradise just five feet square’ allowed Rum to become an important waterhole for caravans travelling between Syria and Arabia. Look out for a small shrine dedicated to Lat, an aqueduct used to channel the water from the spring and inscriptions on the rock face. Notice too the aroma of mint in the air: it grows wild among the ferns and trees of this shady place.
