JORDAN – PETRA

February 11, 2023

I had booked a tour to Petra but after talking with some fellow Canadians, I was assured I could do it myself for much cheaper than the tour was charging. I cancelled the tour. However, after doing some online research, it was rather confusing as to visa requirements and ferry tickets.  While I was booking my diving excursion, the hotel tour guide said they offered trips to Petra (and Moses Mountain and Israel) as well.  If I booked the three trips he would give me a deal. It turned out to be much cheaper than my original tour and also very competitive with doing it myself.  I also had the assurance of my Jordanian visa, ferry crossing and bus taken care of. Let’s do it! 

The shuttle picked me up at midnight for the 3-hour drive to Taba, where I had to pass through Egyptian security to leave the country.  At Taba I caught the 6:00 a.m., 45-minute ferry to Aqaba, Jordan, where I had to pass through Jordan security to enter the country.  Although not a difficult ordeal, it does take time for a busload of people to be processed at both borders.  Add in the loading and unloading of the ferry and buses, and you have a couple of hours added to the trip. 

Aqaba!  Just the name conjures up visions of Lawrence of Arabia, Bedouin men in flowing thawb, shemagh headdress and brandishing a shibriya dagger.  Alas, Aqaba is a modern city with no signs of nomadic bandits riding horseback through the street. 

Once in Aqaba, we had some time for a bathroom break and a coffee. It was surprisingly cold.  I was more intrigued by the making of the coffee than the desire to have one, but it was cold so what the hell! The coffee men had a huge pan of, what looked like, red sand sitting over a flame.  They would put some coffee grounds in a small brass cup with water, place the cup into the sand and heat it from the hot sand.  When heated sufficiently, they would pour the liquid into a paper cup for the client.  It tasted like someone put cinnamon into bad-tasting coffee. Milk and sugar did not help. 

There was a fellow on the bus who was either a barber school dropout or Sloth from the movie “Goonies”. 

Eventually, everyone got processed at customs and we were taken to an awaiting Jordanian bus. We headed out for another 3-hour ride through the desert.  The guide was not very loud and I could not hear much of what he was saying. I did manage to find out that the one area we drove through was where Lawrence of Arabia actually camped.  I still did not see any soldiers, nomads nor horses.  

I did see wild camels grazing along the road

and lots of goat and sheep herders. 

It didn’t look like there is enough grass to feed a gopher let alone a large animal, but there they were!  The landscape is so barren and desolate cannot imagine why anyone would fight over it.  I can only imagine that there are resources like water and vegetation hidden from view that would be priceless to the nomads. 

Further along we went through an area that was farmable. I could clearly see the rows of furrowed earth. The guide said that in a few days, as soon as it rained, the fields would be lush green as far as the eye could see.  We stopped for a quick bathroom break at a high lookout area that also had a lot of wind turbines. 

The towns and villages we passed were stepped up the never-ending hills. 

Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses in Arabic) is purportedly where Moses passed through and struck the rock at Ain Musa (Moses Spring) with his staff and water miraculously flowed forth. (Numbers 20:11). It is also the town associated with the archaeological site of Petra (made famous by the 1989 movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) 

When we got to Wadi Musa we were taken to a restaurant where a buffet lunch was set out for us.  Naturally, we were all hungry after riding travelling for the last 12 hours; BUT we were also anxious to see Petra. 

A bus took us the short distance to the entrance to Petra, where we met our guide. He was a wealth of information during our 1.2 kilometres (¾ mile) walk through the Siq – literally meaning ‘the shaft’.  It is a dim, narrow, winding gorge that is only 3 meters (10 ft) wide in places. The walls are between 91-182 meters (299-597 ft) high. This slot canyon was not formed by water, such as Antelope Canyon in Arizona, USA. This one was formed by a geological fault that split apart by tectonic forces.  Only later did water wear the sandstone walls smooth. 

Side Note: the sandstone has varying shades of colours. From yellow to bright red, to blue. There were chunks for these colorful rocks for sale. I am so sorry I never bought one.

The area has been inhabited since 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans have called this ‘home’ from somewhere between the 4th century and 2nd century BC, with Petra as their capital. (Archaeological evidence varies, but only 15% has been excavated, so who knows?). These nomadic Arabs capitalized on Petra’s proximity to the passing caravans that carried incense, spice, and silk going west to Gaza, north to Damascus, south to the Red Sea and east, across the desert, to the Persian Gulf. They maintained control of all the main commercial trade routes which passed through. A larger-than-life carving of a man with a camel is still visible to attest to this era.

The Nabataeans created an artificial oasis by controlling the water supply. The area has many flash floods which they controlled with the use of dams.

Cisterns and water conduits got them through the periods of drought and allowed the city to prosper in the middle of the desert. Our guide demonstrated this by pouring water onto the side of the wall. The water ran down the wall and into a trench, where it would have been directed to a cistern.

There were two types of conduits. One was open, and used for watering crops and animals. The other was enclosed, like a pipe.

This was used for human consumption.

They were accustomed to barren deserts and were highly skilled in the capture, storage, transport and irrigation of water.  They were also skilled in agriculture and stone carving. The population peaked in the 1st century AD at  20,000.  In 106 AD Petra fell to the Romans.  The Romans, however, had not counted on the emergence of sea trade routes.  Petra began to decline in importance.  In 363 an earthquake destroyed many structures, such as Hadrian’s Arch,

and buried much of the rest. The huge cracks in the cliffs and the recent 5.0 earthquake in Turkey did nothing to assure my confidence in the stability of the walls. It declined to an almost abandoned state, with only a handful of Nomads remaining, until a Swiss traveller rediscovered it in 1812.  It was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.  It was also voted as one of the New Wonders of the World in 2007.

There were some weird natural rock formations. One looked like a skull.

One looked like a fish from one angle

and an elephant from a different angle.

The guide pointed out niches containing baeyyli, sacred carvings that could be the start of alters and iconic statuary as we know today. It is believed that contact with them could give you a personal encounter, revelation, or inspiration from a deity.  This deity was an avatar, a spiritual being with no religious affiliation. This was pre-religion. There was no Jesus, Mohammad, Jehovah, etc.

The guide was explaining the water situation and had us all turn to see a specific crevice where lots of water supposedly came down the cliff wall. He said we had to step back a few more feet to see it better. We all did as he asked. Then he laughed and told us to turn around. There it was! Just like in the Indiana Jones movie. The Treasury peeking around the corner. OMG! I think my heart stopped for a moment. To say it is more spectacular in real life is an understatement.

It is 24 meters (79 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) tall. The grandness is just a facade for a relatively small hall that was once used as a royal tomb. The giant urn carved above the entrance is full of bullet holes caused by locals who believed they could crack it open to reveal the ‘treasure’ inside of it.  Alas, it is only carved sandstone and quite solid. 

There was a steep little ledge opposite the Treasury and for a fee, I could climb up to get a different view of the iconic sculpture. How could I say no?

It also gave me a bird’s eye view of the path that led to the rest of the city.

When I came down from the ledge, I took that path which brought me to a more open area. There were numerous caves notched into the cliffs. It looked like a bee hive.

There were more huge buildings, and although not as well preserved, I could still see the grandness they once held.

There was also an Amphitheatre, that seated 8500 people, cut into the stone.

Sandstone is relatively easy to sculpt, but the degree to which these artisans took their craft is breathtaking. The buildings were carved from the top down, right into the face of the cliffs.

A bit further along were two massive buildings standing side by side. We were told we could not enter the Treasury, but I spotted some people going into the building on the right (the Corinthian Tomb).

I made my way up to the entrance and found a family living inside! An old lady had a twine affixed to her big toe and it looked like she was braiding a bracelet.

A younger woman was tending to a sleeping toddler, while an older child played nearby. There were blankets spread all over the floors. I was invited for tea. Alas, the bus driver emphasized he was leaving at 4:00 pm sharp, and it was already 3:15. It was a good 30-45 minute walk back. I would have to hurry, as it was. How I would have loved to visit with these ladies.

Side note: The entire bus ended up waiting nearly an hour for a mother and daughter who were fixated with selfies. I would have time for that tea…..sigh….

As we departed Wadi Musa, the driver pulled over to show us the canyon from above. The black scar is the canyon.

The drive back was surreal. The sun was setting over the desert. I had visited yet another destination on my bucket list. Although I did not get to see all of Petra, I saw enough that I feel I can cross it off.