Photo. Some glimpses from Stein
Morten`s journey in Jordan in July 2005. © Travel
Explorations.
Stein Morten says that my aim was to get a touch of how the
Bedouin life was. He travelled in Jordan in July, which was the hottest time to
join them in the desert. It made me even more impressed how they could manage to
survive under such harsh conditions. Touring around staying with several groups
in the desert showed another way of live in an area that no one should believe
people could live. It's one of the most inhospitable terrains in the world, I
think.
Another great experience for him was admiring the ancient city Petra's temples, tombs,
theatres and other buildings, which are scattered over 400 square miles. For
most people this city is accessible only through a narrow gorge, but Stein
Morten`s Bedouin guide Ibrahim took him through a secret trail that leaded to
one of the city biggest wonders, the Monastery.
Lawrence of Arabia - the video clip from the
movie
The end of Stein Morten`s movie is about
T.E. Lawrence. It shows how Lawrence, played by Stein Morten, manages to unify the Arabian tribes and led them in the
fight for independence from the Ottoman Turks in the 1920s. Here you can see
that Lawrence has gradually adopted the lifestyle of the Arabs, and manage to convince
them to go whole the way to Aqaba, across the desert, for attacking the Turks
- Ottoman Empire.
The Lawrence of Arabia sequence of scenes it's not a
re-release of newly restored version, but just a small part of a long movie
based on my journey in Jordan, says Stein Morten. The scenes about Lawrence of
Arabia was filmed based on true happenings, but made in my own way just for entertaining
and fun. Especially I would like to thank Audeh Hasanat for assisting me
with the filming of the Lawrence of Arabia scenes. He did a fantastic job!
Click on the link for viewing the video clip: Lawrence of Arabia dramatic.
T.E. Lawrence was a British officer who led the Arab armies against the Turks in the
Middle East during World War I from 1915 to 1918. He got his nick name Lawrence of
Arabia based on this. From deep in desert Wadi Rum in Jordan, tbeautiful red shaped rocks
rise up against the blue sky. Here in the heart of this vast expanse of desert
where the Bedouin live, the Arabian Revolt started. Lawrence, who worked with
the local Bedouins, used the area for military training and preparation for the
attacks. It covers also some of the ground where the classic movie "Lawrence
of Arabia" was filmed.
| Photo. The movie maker Stein Morten stands
outside the cave where Lawrence of Arabia hided in Wadi Rum. © Travel
Explorations. |
 |
In the astonishing area Seven Pillars in the Wadi Rum desert, with strange
red rocks rises up in the blue sky with all kind of formations, the scenes is
recorded. And it was in the same area Lawrence made his preparations for the
attacks together with the Arabs. Before the real action starts, Lawrence meets
the big hero of the Arab revolt, Auda abu Tayi, and tries to persuade him to
attack the Turks. Together with another tribe chief, Feisal and his men, they
manage to survive in the desert hiding for the Turks.
I didn't take my time learning to ride camels. I have little bit experience with camel riding for
many years ago. Probably I had to stay in Jordan for several months, perhaps for
years, if I wanted to ride a camel in wild gallop as the Bedouins do. It`s
not easy, I think, for me mostly experienced with sitting on a office chair
(when I am not travelling).
Lot`s cave
In the movie Stein Morten also explores the cave where Lot lived as told
about in the Bible. Lot's wife became turned to stone after the two sin cities
Sodomma and Gomorra were destroyed. This area which is believed to cover the
remains of these to cities is filmed in the movie. Stein Morten also takes his
time to enjoy bathing in the Dead Sea. Instead of using any efforts to swim, he
just floats happily around.
Long time experience in movie making
From movie
making over 10 years with films based on tour Kilimanjaro, dramatic encounter
with Bears in Alaska, exploring the one of the world's biggest mysteries on Oak
Island, near Halifax in Canada, exploring of ancient mysteries in Bolivia and
Peru, bushwhacking in the dense Amazon jungle, visiting nomads in the high
mountains in Iran.
So far the most dramatic movie was based on my visit of wild tribes in Papua
New Guinea, especially the ferocious Mud Men for learning the art of war and the
Insect tribe for crocodile hunting. Some of the scenes are: dramatic encounter
with the Mud Men, who emerged as evils ghosts from the jungle, crocodile
hunting, Woody witch doctor, cured by tribe doctor, whole the tribe hunting a
chicken for making a meal for me and my travelling mate, surprised by flying
fish in a sump area, observing a human scull in a spirit house. Haus Tambaran,
enjoying the Skeleton dance by a tribe in the highland and more adventures in a
country where everything can happen.
My way of making movies
Stein Morten says: "For me making movie is an expression of my adventures and
feelings. It's just made simple based on a single main story,
not by parallel stories which sometimes can be very confusing for the viewers. Therefore
there are no flashbacks either into the filmed people`s lives. My film equipment is also simple.
I just carry a video camera, and since it's so easy to carry, I can easily
film everything which I find interesting on my way. So based on this I can say
that each scene has its own little story".
By travel alone it gives you an opportunity to follow your own heart and
intuition. Usually there are three main lines (elements) in the films I
make:
- fun
- dramatic and
- exploration.
My film is
not technically a big visual stunning film. It's just shot by a digitally video
camera, Canon MV500i, but it has its advantage by using it in a proper way. The
filming is based on no scripts. It's more like on impulses. I let everything
happen in a natural way and catch the moments where interesting things really happen.
It's so easy and flexible with a small video camera.
The big challenge is to hold it steady when I move around the object filming
it from different views. When I play the main role myself, I have not rehearsed
in advance and am not using lipstick to look better as the professional actors
do. There is no glamour in my movies. Just simple action.
Of course I have done thoroughly research in advance to find out where to
go, area and people, and what to do", but the stories is developed based on my
own adventures, and you'll never know what happen when you venture out to some of the
world's last frontiers.
Stein Morten Lund, 8 November 2005
Additional information
See more video clips
from Jordan our website Travel Explorations. Explore the Nabataen Empire
here. Read our articles about amazing wonders as Petra and
Bedouin people in Jordan.
|
Photo. The Treasure in the ancient city Petra
in Jordan. It`s one of the biggest wonders in the world.
© Travel
Explorations.
By asking the Bedouins, you can find the secret way into Petra where
you can admire temples, tombs, theatres and other buildings, scattered
over 400 square miles. |
 |
I wish to thank staff in the the
tour operator Jordan Beauty Tours, who made my tour become a great adventure for
life. I own a great thank to these persons: Joseph, Ibrahim, Abdullah and Ali. Especially I would like
to thank Audeh Hasanat so much for assisting me with the filming of
the Lawrence of Arabia scenes.
Jordan for the real adventure:
My choice for going to Jordan fulfilled all my
expectations. I always like to travel beyond
boundaries. In Jordan there are plenty of opportunities for unique adventures and
finding unexplored sites. Especially I find the places as told about in the Bible
interesting. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, commonly called Jordan is a
country in the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the
north-east, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and West Bank to the
west. It shares with Israel the coastlines of the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead
Sea. Jordan's main religion is Islam and its main language is Arabic.
Some comments and facts about the movie Lawrence of Arabia:
It's one of the classic movies. It won 7
Oscars in 1962. On of the awards was for the best movie. It has won
Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound, Film Editing,
Score, Director and Best Picture. It was nominated in 3 other categories.
After I went to Jordan 2005, I wanted desperately to see the movie again even
though I have seen it so many times before. So I bought the film on DVD. It has
such great sound, beautiful music, wonderful nature and dramatic scenes. To do
the film full justice it should be displayed on a big television or in cinema
with a large screen. In the DVD pack it`s also extra features showing how the
movie was made, which I found very interesting.
See the link to Sony Picture`s website for information about the
DVD edition of the movie: www.sonypictures.com.
Movie about Lawrence of Arabia:
Genre: Action/Adventure
Duration: 3 hrs. 17 min.
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Jack
Hawkins, Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole,
Director: David Lean
Producer:
Robert A. Harris, Sam Spiegel
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Release
Date: 10 December, 1962
Writer: Michael Wilson, Robert Bolt
Cast overview:
Peter O'Toole: T.E. Lawrence
Alec Guinness:
Prince Feisal
Anthony Quinn: Auda abu Tayi
Jack Hawkins: General Allenby
Omar Sharif: Sherif Ali
Lawrence of Arabia's war:
When Lawrence was a 27 year old officer,
he was sent into Arabia, where it was a mass of tribes unorganised and spread
around and. Many of them where involved in civil wars. The British, too, were at
war with the Turks, but Lawrence's ideas differed with those of his superiors.
They wanted Arabia to become a British territory, and were willing to supply the
rebels with guns, ammunition and guidance in exchange. Lawrence, however,
convinces Prince Feisal that by joining the tribes, Arabia could declare its
independence. Read more about the true story about Lawrence of Arabia on our
website Travel Explorations: www.TravelExplorations.com.
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