Day 15: Perfect Day in Petra (June 26)
We'd had breakfast and were ready for our 8:00 am pick up at our Aqaba hotel. Ali, our guide, told us the history of Aqaba on our drive out of town, the history of Jordan through the mountains, and the history of Petra as we neared the ancient city, the capital of the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Ali has an interesting verbal tic of inserting names into the middle of his sentences without pause making it feel like he is talking directly to you, even on a van full of people. At first it was like being called out in class when you aren't paying attention but as he rotated through everyone's names it became clear it was his way to remember names and keep us focused. As a result, by the time of our first stop we all knew everyone else's name on the tour: Lisa & Krista, mother and daughter from Hollywood, Florida; Ben, traveling alone from LA having just finished his Birth Year Now or Never Trip (expanded for 27 - 32 year olds); and Lachlan and Bec, celebrating their 25th anniversary today from Sydney, Australia.
Our drive to Petra took about 2.5 hours. While everything was included as part of our tour, the grounds are full of people (mostly Bedouins) trying to sell you trinkets and postcards or to get you to ride their camels, horses, or donkeys. In fact, a ride from the entrance down to the start of the Siq (the 3/4 mile narrow gorge that serves as the entrance to the city) is included in the cost of admission. We had been warned however that the owners of the animals are super aggressive and demanding of high tips once the "included" ride is over. We even saw a guy fall off a horse (and still be told he hadn't tipped enough!).
Remains of an arch (destroyed in 1896 earthquake) and a more modern dam mark the entry to the Siq. The dam closely represents how the Nabataeans diverted flash floods in 100 BC. Ali described to us their use and pipes to bring water into Petra - they were "masters in hydrological engineering." It's amazing to see the remnants of old water channels.
Rather than totally carved by water, it is clear that the Siq resulted from an earthquake as both sides of the canyon clearly fit together like puzzle pieces. It was used as the grand caravan entrance into Petra, with a paved road and walls lined with niches for holding religious objects suggesting it was a sacred route. Although eroded, it is still possible to see the bottom halves of these bigger-than-life carvings of a merchant and his camel.
Ali placed us in the exact spot to get our dramatic first glimpse of the city of Petra, the "Treasury," a misnomer for this site that was actually a tomb. It wasn't until I that moment that I fully understood that Petra is a city carved out of sandstone - not built. (Should have done more research before?) Arches and columns that add aesthetic appeal in temples etc. usually also have important structural roles. In this case it was all decorative, and just stunning.
We continued our walk through the ancient city, past the carved theater (learned that amphitheater means on both sides, round and that "theater" is the right term for the semicircular open air theaters), through the colonnade of shops, below the royal tombs, until it was time to stop for lunch and the end of the guided part of our tour. It was suggested after lunch that we go up to the Monastery. Lisa and Krista decided to head back to their hotel for a mid-day siesta and Bec opted to stay behind as Rachel, Ben, Lachlan, and I started the arduous climb.
There seems to be lots of debate about whether the climb up is worth the view, but we made the climb in really good time (half of what it is billed to take) and were rewarded with this incredible structure. Much larger than the Treasury but not as decorated, the "Monestary", another misnomer for what was likely a temple, is again totally carved, and gigantic -- the doorway alone it several stories high. I'm definitely glad we did it, and no longer felt guilty that we hadn't done Nike Fit the night before.
From there we continued climbing up (because why not) for the view from above and in the other direction of Israel across the Jordan Valley (I think that is what Lachlan told me - I was too busy focused on the bible stories to remember to take a picture of the view). On the way back down, Ben said our little foursome reminded him of family vacations with mom, dad, and little sister. By this point in the day, I was more than happy to adopt Ben into our family (though I was quick to point out that he is almost equidistant between me and Rachel and I'm not quite old enough to be his mother - just saying).
We made it back to the bottom, we walked quickly through the Great Temple, down the colonnaded street, and to the little shop we had passed earlier selling freshly squeezed juice. They had also set up a huge TV for the World Cup games, which did seem entirely out of place, but we caught a few minutes of the game as we sipped our orange juice. The shop was right across from the Royal Tombs, a set of four tombs carved into the hills in the middle of the city, so we walked up to those as well. (I haven't really mentioned the heat. It was HOT!)
When we first got to the Treasury on our way in, a guide name "Lost" (tagline: "If you're lost, I'll find you!) offered to take us up above the Treasury to a spot to view the Treasury and the theater from above. I decided I really wanted to do that and tried to find Lost to guide us. He wasn't around, but several other boys jumped into negotiating mode and we settled on a price of $20 for the three of us (me, Ben, Rachel). We were thinking we were getting ripped off, that we didn't really need a guide to walk up the steps in the side of the mountain...but we were so wrong. It seemed like one of the regular options, so I was surprised to see the sign at the very bottom telling us it was strictly forbidden to go any further. By that point we were fully financially committed, so went anyway (sorry, Julia!). If there had at one time been steps up this hill, any semblance of them was gone. It was a harrowing journey scrambling up rocks and the sides of cliffs but the view from the top was pretty amazing.
Our guide joked about the $20 being only one-way but the truth is he could have charged us anything to get him to take us back down. If going up was scary, going down would have been deadly on our own. Of course the 16-year-old guide with no traction on his shoes made it down no problem, jumping off rocks the entire way to see my reaction. Thankfully he showed us a slightly safer path.
When Ali told us in the beginning of the day that we had to be out of Petra by 7 pm I thought there was no way we'd be there that late, but when we were safely back on the ground, it was already after 6 and we had to get back through the Siq and to the entrance, walking uphill the whole way. We were some of the last people walking out of the city and got to experience some amazing views without tons of tourists. We were surprised to see as we were leaving that Bedouin women and children were just entering. We called our tour company and they picked us up to take us to our accommodations for the night: Bedouin camps.
Unfortunately Ben was dropped at a different camp from Rachel and me, but when we got to ours we were met by Lachlan and Bec, the only two other guests in the whole camp for the night. Our Bedouin hosts were very hospitable, greeting us with cups of Arabic chai tea - a super sweet (deliciously so) version. From there we were treated to a demonstration of traditional bread making and got to try our hand at it. Mine looked nothing like her's but was still delicious, Rachel fared a little better. Dinner was served to just the four of us as we sat on mats in a large communal tent. We then toured a small museum for some Bedouin history and were treated to a musical performance by the "old man" (as the younger Baha referred to him exclusively). Another cup of tea and time for bed. Our tents were entirely lined on the inside with blankets that looked wonderful but contributed to the overwhelming heat in the tent. I really struggled to sleep and eventually had to leave the door ajar to cool things off overnight. The camp's generator was turned off at 9 pm and there was no wifi at our camp, so we got to enjoy the light of the full moon. This was a very special day we will not soon forget!
Our drive to Petra took about 2.5 hours. While everything was included as part of our tour, the grounds are full of people (mostly Bedouins) trying to sell you trinkets and postcards or to get you to ride their camels, horses, or donkeys. In fact, a ride from the entrance down to the start of the Siq (the 3/4 mile narrow gorge that serves as the entrance to the city) is included in the cost of admission. We had been warned however that the owners of the animals are super aggressive and demanding of high tips once the "included" ride is over. We even saw a guy fall off a horse (and still be told he hadn't tipped enough!).
Remains of an arch (destroyed in 1896 earthquake) and a more modern dam mark the entry to the Siq. The dam closely represents how the Nabataeans diverted flash floods in 100 BC. Ali described to us their use and pipes to bring water into Petra - they were "masters in hydrological engineering." It's amazing to see the remnants of old water channels. Rather than totally carved by water, it is clear that the Siq resulted from an earthquake as both sides of the canyon clearly fit together like puzzle pieces. It was used as the grand caravan entrance into Petra, with a paved road and walls lined with niches for holding religious objects suggesting it was a sacred route. Although eroded, it is still possible to see the bottom halves of these bigger-than-life carvings of a merchant and his camel.
Ali placed us in the exact spot to get our dramatic first glimpse of the city of Petra, the "Treasury," a misnomer for this site that was actually a tomb. It wasn't until I that moment that I fully understood that Petra is a city carved out of sandstone - not built. (Should have done more research before?) Arches and columns that add aesthetic appeal in temples etc. usually also have important structural roles. In this case it was all decorative, and just stunning.  |
| People and camel give idea of scale! |
We continued our walk through the ancient city, past the carved theater (learned that amphitheater means on both sides, round and that "theater" is the right term for the semicircular open air theaters), through the colonnade of shops, below the royal tombs, until it was time to stop for lunch and the end of the guided part of our tour. It was suggested after lunch that we go up to the Monastery. Lisa and Krista decided to head back to their hotel for a mid-day siesta and Bec opted to stay behind as Rachel, Ben, Lachlan, and I started the arduous climb.
Just as we started off, I learned that Lachlan was actually in the Middle East for a conference of Anglican clergy and that he himself is an Anglican priest. I couldn't believe my luck having a religious scholar captive on our long climb! He graciously answered all of my questions, basically spanning the religions of the world and the entire bible from both a historical and faith-based perspective. It was fascinating to hear what he had to say and to try to see the importance of this region through his lens. He is a good teacher -- the perfect combination of knowledgeable and patient, and a really nice guy on top of it.
There seems to be lots of debate about whether the climb up is worth the view, but we made the climb in really good time (half of what it is billed to take) and were rewarded with this incredible structure. Much larger than the Treasury but not as decorated, the "Monestary", another misnomer for what was likely a temple, is again totally carved, and gigantic -- the doorway alone it several stories high. I'm definitely glad we did it, and no longer felt guilty that we hadn't done Nike Fit the night before.
From there we continued climbing up (because why not) for the view from above and in the other direction of Israel across the Jordan Valley (I think that is what Lachlan told me - I was too busy focused on the bible stories to remember to take a picture of the view). On the way back down, Ben said our little foursome reminded him of family vacations with mom, dad, and little sister. By this point in the day, I was more than happy to adopt Ben into our family (though I was quick to point out that he is almost equidistant between me and Rachel and I'm not quite old enough to be his mother - just saying). |
| Ben providing scale |
We made it back to the bottom, we walked quickly through the Great Temple, down the colonnaded street, and to the little shop we had passed earlier selling freshly squeezed juice. They had also set up a huge TV for the World Cup games, which did seem entirely out of place, but we caught a few minutes of the game as we sipped our orange juice. The shop was right across from the Royal Tombs, a set of four tombs carved into the hills in the middle of the city, so we walked up to those as well. (I haven't really mentioned the heat. It was HOT!)
When we first got to the Treasury on our way in, a guide name "Lost" (tagline: "If you're lost, I'll find you!) offered to take us up above the Treasury to a spot to view the Treasury and the theater from above. I decided I really wanted to do that and tried to find Lost to guide us. He wasn't around, but several other boys jumped into negotiating mode and we settled on a price of $20 for the three of us (me, Ben, Rachel). We were thinking we were getting ripped off, that we didn't really need a guide to walk up the steps in the side of the mountain...but we were so wrong. It seemed like one of the regular options, so I was surprised to see the sign at the very bottom telling us it was strictly forbidden to go any further. By that point we were fully financially committed, so went anyway (sorry, Julia!). If there had at one time been steps up this hill, any semblance of them was gone. It was a harrowing journey scrambling up rocks and the sides of cliffs but the view from the top was pretty amazing. 
Our guide joked about the $20 being only one-way but the truth is he could have charged us anything to get him to take us back down. If going up was scary, going down would have been deadly on our own. Of course the 16-year-old guide with no traction on his shoes made it down no problem, jumping off rocks the entire way to see my reaction. Thankfully he showed us a slightly safer path.
When Ali told us in the beginning of the day that we had to be out of Petra by 7 pm I thought there was no way we'd be there that late, but when we were safely back on the ground, it was already after 6 and we had to get back through the Siq and to the entrance, walking uphill the whole way. We were some of the last people walking out of the city and got to experience some amazing views without tons of tourists. We were surprised to see as we were leaving that Bedouin women and children were just entering. We called our tour company and they picked us up to take us to our accommodations for the night: Bedouin camps. 
Unfortunately Ben was dropped at a different camp from Rachel and me, but when we got to ours we were met by Lachlan and Bec, the only two other guests in the whole camp for the night. Our Bedouin hosts were very hospitable, greeting us with cups of Arabic chai tea - a super sweet (deliciously so) version. From there we were treated to a demonstration of traditional bread making and got to try our hand at it. Mine looked nothing like her's but was still delicious, Rachel fared a little better. Dinner was served to just the four of us as we sat on mats in a large communal tent. We then toured a small museum for some Bedouin history and were treated to a musical performance by the "old man" (as the younger Baha referred to him exclusively). Another cup of tea and time for bed. Our tents were entirely lined on the inside with blankets that looked wonderful but contributed to the overwhelming heat in the tent. I really struggled to sleep and eventually had to leave the door ajar to cool things off overnight. The camp's generator was turned off at 9 pm and there was no wifi at our camp, so we got to enjoy the light of the full moon. This was a very special day we will not soon forget!
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