Two Days Exploring Beautiful Petra

Petra

June 20-22, 2008 

(Amber)

We woke up at 6am in the luxury of our Red Sea hotel, ate one last great breakfast (egg, cereal, fruit and yogurt for me.....sausages, olives, potatoes, fruit, sour cream, and cereal for Matt), took one last look at the sapphire blue sea and headed back into the real world of travel. In a covert operation, the concierge at the hotel worked out a discounted rate with his friend to drive us two hours north to Nuweiba, where we would catch a ferry over to Aqaba in Jordan. Easy enough. We were in the cab by 8am and in Nuweiba by about 10am. Easy. Just had to buy tickets and hop on a ferry....catch a cab to Wadi Musa...and we'll be there in time for a shower and a kebab, right? Wrong.

Nuweiba is a dusty little down with not much other than an amazing blue sea, dessert mountain backdrop, and a port where boats run to Jordan. We found the ticket office, bought our outrageously expensive ferry tickets ($70 US/ticket for one hour!), and headed back to the port. We got through security fine and were waved and pointed in the right direction by helpful locals until eventually we ended up in the room before the departures hall, where we waited to be stamped out of Egypt.

It was a large room and was fairly basic. There were some benches, lots of people (all in full-on Islamic attire - all of the women were completely covered - lots of white robes on the men and some on the women - and many men wore the head gear that you see on the Saudis when watching the evening news), a couple of basic bathrooms, and a place to buy water. After wandering around for a bit, we figured out that we had to wait until the immigration officials showed up to stamp us out of the country. During this time, I saw a couple of other travelers (the only others there...so I was drawn to them like a moth to the flame - I've been only talking to Matt for 6 months.....so it's good to branch out sometimes - he he he) and struck up a conversation. Their names were Laura and Ben, and we ended up, after a day of really exhausting travel, making fast friends, sharing a middle-of-the-night taxi from Aqaba to Wadi Musa (village outside of Petra), exploring Petra together, and sharing a nice Jordanian meal with them before going our separate ways. We usually get on very well with the British, and this was no exception.

To make a long, long.....very long story short, we all sat around on the floor waiting for someone to stamp our passports. I went to the bathroom (one of filthiest I've seen on Earth, and that's quite a distinction), drank a Sprite, and just hung out on the floor talking to Laura and Ben. When the officers arrived, a mob scene ensued. We followed the crowd (men and women were separated, as they always are here) and proceeded to push, shove, yell, be pushed, be shoved, be yelled at....for an hour until we finally clawed our way to an officer and somehow absconded with an exit stamp. The scene was ludicrous. I really can't imagine that this is the daily process. It was madness. I would have loved photos.....but that would have never flown.

(Matt)

Amber's line, the one for the women, seemed way more hostile than the men's line, but they made it through a cool hour before Ben and me. I still had to kind of push and shove and raise my voice a little, but I was mainly worked up because there was a general panic running through the crowd like we were in a legitimate hurry to do something, probably to catch the ferry...maybe it would leave us. We didn't know. I was thinking the whole time that this whole scene was really strange considering that this madness happens every day, and no one says, "You know, maybe we could make this less hellish if we did ___________." I think the immigration guys in Nuweiba kind of get off on their power to not stamp passports, to make the process confusing and frantic, and to watch the fools grovel and beg for stamps in their lines. Yes, we were back to real travel again.

(Amber)

Laura and I managed to get through the ladies' line, but Matt and Ben were....judging by their position in the mob....days from making it through. People were yelling various and contradictory directions, and they indicated that we would likely miss the boat. Laura and I ran around trying to find a way from the other side immigration officials to help Matt and Ben so that we wouldn't miss the boat. At this point, we had been at the port for about 2 hours. Laura and Ben had been there for 6 hours after arriving on an overnight bus.

After all sorts of antics, Matt and Ben muscled their way through to us.....but....a rumor was circulating that there was no boat. Another rumor that the "boat came at 5...no 4....I heard 3....I thought the guy in the orange shirt said 4"??? One guy from Jordan who spoke English said that boats in Egypt just "leave when they get here." With the language barrier, it was tough to figure it all out. Plus, I don't think anyone that was talking really knew anything. Why in the world would locals who know the system have created such a crush if the boat didn't leave for hours? And the guy who sold us the tickets hours before told us to run to the boat? Hmmmmm....we'll get there somehow. Someday.

Ultimately, after pushing and shoving frantically through Egyptian immigration, we sat in the dingy, smelly, fly-infested departures hall for about 8.5 more hours. As Ben put it after 8 hours in the departures hall, "We fought our way into hell." Food included a Snickers, some chips, stale bread sticks and water. We talked to our new friends, which now also included two guys living in Belgium, slept, listened to music, talked about how we would revamp the port and its systems to make it run more smoothly...or even remotely smoothly....and held our pee. See the bathrooms were insanely repulsive. Matt started to get worried about how long I had held it (over 6 hours at that point), and he cut the top off of a water bottle for me to use. Luckily, I was able to find a squat toilet and didn't have to use Matt's bottle trick. What a day.

At about 9pm, approximately 9 hours after entering the departures hall, we were ushered onto the boat, our passports were collected (which I was very  uncomfortable with), and we were led (through hoards of staring people.....all were staring or smiling at us, except those who were praying.....prayers occurred several times during the one hour ride) to the first class section....where we sat, laughed about our day and how dirty and hungry we all were. We then ate a strange burgers (order one, and they bring two). During this time, we bonded with Laura and Ben in the way that like-minded travelers in tough situations do. They were fantastic.

By the time we arrived to Aqaba, which is the port town and a good two hours from where we were headed, it was after midnight. We finally got off the boat, found our bags, eventually tracked down our passports which had already been stamped into Jordan.....walked out and found a cab to take Laura, Ben, Matt, and me all the way to Wadi Mousa. We were so tired that we almost stayed in Aqaba, but we continued on. That was a good call. We arrived at a hotel at 3am and collapsed....filthy and hungry....and excited to see Petra the next morning....a World Heritage Site and considered by many to be the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World. Although much has been written about Petra, nothing really prepares you for this amazing place. It has to be seen to be believed.  I'll spoil the ending by saying it was much more than worth the Nuweiba ferry....of course, it always is.

Here is a quick description from Wikipedia.....It is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.

Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1 kilometre in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80 metres high cliffs. Just walking through the Siq is an experience in itself. It was one of my very favorite parts. I couldn't believe how huge, long and beautiful it was. I could almost feel what it was like to be an ancient trader coming with spices through the Siq. The colours and formations of the rocks are unreal. As you reach the end of the Siq you get your first glimpse of the famous Al-Khazneh (Treasury). The Treasury has massive facade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.

(Matt)

Petra is a big city, much bigger than I anticipated. So you can justifiably buy a 2 or 3-day ticket. We bought 2-day tickets, and Laura and Ben bought 1-day tickets because they were on a tighter schedule. But we hung with them the whole first day, didn't eat or stop much, and pretty much saw everything in Petra. We did go back the next day to explore some of it again. It was good exercise to be sure. If you refuse to hire a donkey, camel, horse, or horse-drawn cart, as we did, touring Petra is a serious hike, especially if you go to the High Place of Sacrifice and to Ad-Deir, the Monastery, in one day....which we did with Laura and Ben on day one.

(Amber) 

We spent the an entire day and part of the next exploring the ancient city of Petra. We climbed mountains, walked through an incredible rock alleyway or canyon called the Outter Siq (As-Siq), and marveled at the endless wonders carved into the one of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.

(Matt)

My favorite thing about Petra is the gorgeous sandstone canyons with swirling colors--mainly reds, browns, and golds---that existed long before the Nabataeans began carving into them. The other thing that I love is how the stone architecture, even in its worn and weathered state, often in the process of cracking and chipping away, complements the natural shape of the geologic formations and the colors of the sandstone. After about 20 centuries in the elements, the facades often appear to be melting, and this gives the city a kind of disconcerting, almost haunted appearance. I like that too. Even with hundreds of tourists passing in and out of Petra every day, it does not diminish the experience. Towards the end of the day, between 6pm and 8pm, the tours are gone, and you do almost have Petra to yourself. With the sun setting over the desert, it is a spiritual time of day in the ancient city. We were there at the end of the day both days, and it was incredible.

(Amber)

After leaving the Treasury, we climbed a mountain and had a great view of the Basin from the High Place of Sacrifice, where animal sacrifices were performed. It was a long, hot hike, so we had the amazing place completely to ourselves.

We walked back down, explored more amazing sites and headed off and up toward the Monastery. It's about a 2-hour walk from the Treasury, up 800 stair steps, and is even larger than the Treasury (about 50 meters wide and 45 meters tall) but is less intricately carved. The sheer size of the Monastery, set in an incredible mountain backdrop, literally takes your breath when you come up the last hill already  puffing from the hike. Check out our photos of the Monastery and notice the tiny dots on either side of the door....that's Matt and me. Our heads are at the bottom of the doorway.

The climb to the Monastery is worth it (though I was so hungry - again we had no lunch other than chips - ketchup flavored if you can believe it) not only because of the massive structure, but it also offers sweeping views of the entire Petra Basin and the Wadi Araba.

The locals at the site of Petra sell water and drinks, jewelry, and camel and donkey rides for those not up to the hiking Petra exploration requires. They are generally Bedouin people, who claim to be descended from the original inhabitants of the area. While their livelihoods depend on tourist dollars, they don't harass too much, which was excellent. The children are amazingly sweet. One wanted her photo with me.....even after I told her that I didn't want to buy her rocks, she was so excited for the photo and squeezed me like I was a long lost friend. The people in Jordan have been very open and hospitable to us so, and the hawkers at the ruins were no different. Many people told us that they loved us, that our eyes were beautiful, that we were welcome in Jordan...or wanted to grasp our hands or give us high fives....always nice things to hear or see, especially when they're genuine, and these were.

The Jordan scene is nice, though expensive (our dollar is weaker than the Jordanian Dinar). The streets are orderly, and although you still have sheep, goats, and chickens around town, it's incredibly clean. The landscape is dramatic desert as can be seen in the photos. Kids and men greet us with smiles and welcomes......but one thing bothered me about Wadi Musa. After the ferry, which was packed with women (all covered - many completely covered including their eyes and hands with black cloth), we've seen almost none in town (other than the Bedouins at the ruins). Women, at least in this small village, stay covered and mainly hidden in their homes. In most of where we've been in the last many months, men worked outside the home, and women didn't. Men sat and had tea with friends, and women did much less frequently. We've noted and talked about the differences endlessly. Here in Wadi Musa, however, it's much more pronounced. Men and children, mainly boys, sit it cafes, run shops, work at hotels, etc....and you see very few women in public compared to men. We went to dinner last night around 9pm. In the walk through the village, we saw not one woman. We're proud in this regard of our country and thrilled that our friends are bringing baby girls into the world as we speak...who will be equal, educated, and independent.

The food of Jordan is wonderful. Hummus, tabbouleh, falafel, and kebabs to die for. Lots of meat - beef, chicken and lamb primarily. The food is smothered in fresh veggies - including cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, onions, parsley, chick peas, carrots, lettuce, and several we don't know. It's amazing.

(Matt)

The food at Al Arabi in Wadi Musa was fantastic! I asked the owner of our hotel where the best Jordanian food in town was, and he sent us to Al Arabi without hesitation. I must say, the first meal was the best that I've had in a long while. So we ate there two more times. Apparently a shish kabob is lamb on pita and a kabob halabi is ground and seasoned beef grilled and served with a spicy salsa on a pita. Both were delectable and covered in raw vegetables.

(Amber)

Petra is amazing. All of the hype is more than deserved. It takes your breath away, brings tears to your eyes, and makes you sit in awed silence at the power of people and of nature. It is one of the best places I've ever been in my life.

(Matt)

Petra was stunning. Petra is similar to Italy's Pompeii, which I also loved, in that you can stroll through the city and imagine it filled with its ancient inhabitants living and working. Petra is also similar to India's Ajanta and Ellora in that it is monolithic architecture carved into mountain walls. But Petra has the desert and the canyons and the Bedouin and a really mystical, otherworldly atmosphere created by its unique location. The pictures don't capture it sufficiently because the canyon walls tower above while you move through Petra, and the rocks change their appearance with each step, as light reflects differently all the time. It was a marvelous couple of days to say the very least, and we really enjoyed sharing the experience with Laura and Ben. They were fun and super nice.

(Amber)

Here's a little bit about Jordan to give you an idea of where we are -

The Middle East kingdom of Jordan is bordered on the west by Israel and the Dead Sea, on the north by Syria, on the east by Iraq, and on the south by Saudi Arabia. It is comparable in size to Indiana. Arid hills and mountains make up most of the country. The southern section of the Jordan River flows through the country.

Literacy rate is 90%, and life expectancy is 78.6, so Jordan is doing quite well. The language is Arabic, and the religion (more than 96%) is Islam. The population is about 6 million.

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