Cameraless in the Roase Red City

We woke up early in the morning to pack our stuff get some breakfast before we caught the tour of Jordan on the way to Petra.  It was a one way trip that dropped us off there so we could spend the night.  Since the last time we stayed at the Palace Hotel it had taken almost 45 minutes to bring out our breakfast so we were focused on getting everything done so we did not have to feel rushed as we got ready in the morning for our 8:00 departure.  Of course our breakfast was delivered quickly and we had a half hour to kill before our tour left.  The lobby started to get pretty crowded as the hotel was full and apparently everyone booked a different trip that left at 8 in the morning.  Around 8:15 I started to ask questions of when we were leaving to the desk and they said we were just waiting for a couple people to finish breakfast and a couple of the other tours were just about to leave and then things would start to get moving.  About 15 minutes later I overheard a girl who had paid for a trip to Demascus, Syria get told that her tour was full and going to leave without her.  They would try to find her another trip but it may be an hour or two before that could be arranged.  At this I started to get worried and I went up and tried to push the issue that everyone was done and what was the hold up.  Apparently they had also oversold our tour and they needed an extra car and it to until a half hour after we were supposed to leave to figure this out.  They had just called for a car and we would have to wait no more than 5 minutes.  I was pretty upset, but I turned to walk away and tripped over the garbage can.  The people behind the desk thought I had kicked it and then said they would load one car and send us on our way.

I thought this was good, though Michelle was throughly upset at me for my inability to sit and wait patiently like everyone else.  I told her that we only had one day and if they were deciding who was not going to Petra today I wanted to make sure that was not me, but still was upset.  My thinking was that this was already a 10 hour day of traveling and seeing things and if we started leaving late, the castles that we wanted to see might be closed before we got there defeating the point of the trip.  Since we could just hop on a regular bus and be there in 3 hours.

Anyways we load the minibus and then drive to pick up one more couple on the far side of town then head out towards the Dead Sea to the desert.  Shortly after leaving Amman our driver starts getting phone calls and driving slow, which then turns into pulling over and waiting.  When we ask what is going on he says waiting for a friend.  Well it turns out we had to wait for the taxi containing the 4 other people who did not fit into the minibus.  We did the drive slow and stop and wait thing for quite a while before a taxi appeared behind us.  At our first stop I asked one of the girls in the taxi when they left and they had said it was after 9:15 when they called them then they waited for another 15 to 20 minutes for the driver to come.  I guess, just because we thought we got to leave early did not mean much.

Enough about mismanaged tours, because the real show was the desert.  We got a good glimpse of it from our drive, but an amazing view from the top of the valley overlooking Wadi-al-Mujib.  It looked like the Grand Canyon with a rainbow of colors in the rocks and jagged cliffs plunging down to the valley below.  This is where people come who get enthralled by the dessert and are constantly seeking to come back.  I thought it was very nice, but the interesting part was a weak sandstorm that you could see in the distance.  It was just a little one being carried by the moisture of a fog bank, but it looked thick almost like a wall coming on the horizon.

Our next stop was at Karak Castle, where we could explore the ruins of an old Templar Castle then get some lunch.  When I got out of the minibus, I had forgotten the tripod so I reached back in to grab it.  The camera was clipped to my waist band, but caught on the door and took a nasty spill.  I could tell by the noise it made when it fell that it had gone into a coma and would need some serious attention to work.  Hitting the power button only confirmed that.  The lens opened the screen fired up, but then everything stopped.  No display, no pictures, no turning off, no anything; just broken.  You can not believe how upset I was, I had busted our trustly little camera after nearly 10 months and just over 10,000 pictures of our trip.  Needless to say Karak is not a place to get a digital camera, in fact we struggled to find a film camera as we walked around town for 30 minutes searching before we found one and went to the castle.

Karak Castle will always be where our camera broke, ruining some of the fun we could have had exploring the ruins of the castle.  Today from the outside it looks like an impressive castle perched atop a rock, that is nearly inapproachable from every side, but once you start walking around you realize just how ruined the castle really is.  The outer walls are mostly intact or reconstructed so it has a very impressive look from the street as you drive up to it, but inside the walls it is mostly a pile of rocks.  In places they have been excavated and there are tunnels running like a maze throughout the entire complex.  However after the Templars were forces out it was rebuilt in the Islamic style and much of the original has been lost, but it is still very interesting to explore.  Once we got done, we headed to the restaurant where the rest of our group was eating.  We ordered some food and took apart the camera hoping to find a loose wire.  Unfortunately it was on the dinner table that it was pronounced beyond repair as there was nothing obviously wrong with it.

Our next two stops were at places to admire the dessert, however, the sand storm made that nearly impossible as it was little more than just a hazy view looking out into nothing.  It was kind of like sitting in a cloud trying to look out.  Because of the storm the stop at Wadi-al-hasa was very brief.  Most of the people from the tour found a restaurant to sit inside, while I went out and tried to see the little I could with the sand storm.  The next stop was similar, it was in the small town of Dana which is on the edge of a natural preserve in the desert.  While the view would be stunning on a clear day, we could hardly see the bottom.  Oh, well I guess you can not have perfect weather all the time.

Our last stop was at Shobak Castle, which we were supposed to be able to go up and see another castle similar to Karak Castle, built atop a large rocky hill nearly unaproachable from all sides.  This was another of the Templar forts used to control this area during the crusades.  However, when we got there they were closing the gate and the ticket booth was closed.  After being so late leaving this morning, I was a little upset that we were not going to get to explore the castle.  Our driver went and talked with the guard and the gate and he told us we could all go up for free.  So most Michelle and I headed up the steep hill that lead to the gate.  Again the outer wall is about the best preserved part of the castle.  Inside there are a series of half buried tunnels, but most of the building collapsed and today is little more than a pile of rocks with little bits of wall sticking up here and there.  But I really enjoy climbing around and exploring the ruins of castles and ones like this are the things of ferry tales.

When we arrived in Petra our hostel owner tried to talk us into the going to the Petra by night, which is where they place candles for the 2 km to the Treasury (main building when you think of Petra) and let you walk there for a brief display of traditional music.  With the rough day we had there was not much interest, but as the sky started to clear and with a little pizza in our stomachs we decided we might never get this chance again and went.  If you get the chance this is how I would recommend first seeing Petra.  The first part of the walk is pretty boring, but once you enter the narrow canyon the candles and moonlight create an unique atmosphere.  We stayed towards the back away from the big crowd so we could walk at our own pace and enjoy the peace.  When you first get a glimpse of the Treasury you are taken back by just how big it is.  Unfortunately during our concert we got a short burst of rain which made everyone move onto the porch of the Treasury and the interruption really ruined the mood they had tried to create.  But it was still a good night and a very full day.

The next day, we did not wake up in time to get to the gate for its opening.  We were probably about an hour late, but this turned out to be good since we missed the crowd that lines up and rushes to get in before it gets too hot.  Since we had only one day and the place is huge, we hired a tour guide to show us around.  While we were doing this we rain into Bridget and Sue, who had been on our trip the previous day from Amman.  We asked if they wanted to share a tour with us, but since they had three days they were not that interested.  About the 4th stop we made with our tour guide, Bridget was standing just behind him trying to listen so we again invited them, but this time they accepted.  So we spent the rest of the day exploring the ruins of Petra with them.

The first thing you go to see is the Treasury, which is the the building carved into the rock wall from the Indiana Jones movie.  It was also selected as one of the 7 New Wonders of the World, a fact I found a little surprising.  We had seen similar carved buildings in India which had more elaborate decoration, but I think the whole walk to see it through the narrow canyon is what really makes it special.  The canyon winds for almost a kilometer and has a number of ingenious features.  There are pipes to carry water carved into the wall and then covered to hid them from any invading armies.  There are also a series of dams that block and divert the water around since the entire city was essentially built in a dry river bed.  And then there are a number of carvings and enlargements of the canyon to ensure that a horse and wagon could fit through.  In fact the road was used so much, that it was even paved with large stones, which still bear the marks from the wagons that were once pulled into Petra.

We could not go into the Treasury only look from the porch.  However the inside is very plain, basically a large cube since its original purpose was as a tomb.  However, there are 16 different colored rocks in the Petra area and inside the Treasury they are layered so it takes on a very stunning color scheme.  The only reason the outside is a solid color is because the sandstone was protected with a cement made from a tan sand.  I found this very interesting, since if they had not protected the sandstone it would look like a rainbow of different colors but be virtually destroyed by the weather.

Next we walked down the main canyon which is much wider than the narrow entry to the Treasury.  There are places where you can see how much sediment has built up in the canyon since the buildings were carved.  You can just see the tops of some tombs that have not been excavated yet.  Further down there is a place called avenue of the facades because of all the tombs that are right next to each other.  While none of them are overly elaborate, together they make a very impressive sight.

Beyond this the canyon opens up.  Along on of the sides you can see the Royal Tombs which are a series of large tombs carved into the cliff.  Under this there is a large complex of caves which was a combination of houses and shops. In the more wide open space below this there was the remains of a theater.  A little further you get to the place where they started building temples and palaces instead of carving them in the cliff.  Here the Romans have had a large hand in the ruins that remain today.  There is a large street which had colonnaded markets on both sides of it.  With temples built above the markets on platforms that were constructed to give them more height.  On one side under the market you can see the remains of the drainage tunnel built to divert any floods around the city.  There are a series of arches over a canal, and then part of the market was built a top the arches.  There were only three of the temples that still remained so they could be recognized.  The first was a massive structure built by the Romans, that consisted of three rows of columns on each side of a huge patio, then up a series of stairs to the heart of the temple.  The other two ruins were much older, being built by the Nubians and restored by the Romans.  These were still badly damaged and difficult to get a good feel for them.

This was the point where our tour stopped, since we still had all afternoon we decided to climb up 900 stairs to the Monastery.  This was a structure similar to the Treasury, but rather than being built in the canyons, it was built at the top of one of the cliffs in a wide open space.  It is bigger than the Treasury, but because of its location it is not nearly as famous or visited nearly as often.  However, since it is in a wide open spot is it perfect for taking pictures, if only we had a camera.  Though our little disposable camera did a good job, and we got some good exercise using the zoom feature (walking around).

Since we climbed all this way and unlike the previous day it was absolutely gorgeous, we climbed out to the edge to see the view points.  There was a number of different spots, but they were all pretty much the same like balconies sticking out from the cliff.  There was a magnificent view into the desert and mountains beyond.  It really felt like standing on the edge as you stood out there looking down into nothing.  After recouping while enjoying the breeze and view we started to head back down.  Bridget was excited to try and explore every cave, and for the most part I followed her to them while Michelle and Sue stayed close to the trail and talked.  In general the caves were pretty plane, however there was one that seemed to have an ancient toilet built into it.  There was a seat with a hole sticking out over the edge of a 50 foot cliff.

By this time the park was already closed, but we had a good hour till sunset and only about 45 minute walk to the gate so I decided to get a closer look at the Royal Tombs.  By this time Bridget was pretty spent and with two more days to explore she stayed with Michelle and Sue this time and I ran off for a brief exploration.  All of these tombs have been badly damaged because they are more exposed to the vicious winds that can sweep through the area.  This did not mean that they were not interesting.  There was a the Palace tomb, because it contained the largest room, but it was still a just a square.  Then there was the one that the Romans had extended the porch because it was used as the governors house, so it the actual building was somewhat overshadowed by the huge complex of arches needed to build this patio.  My favorite was one called the silk tombs, because the cement used to protect the carving had been blasted away by the sand.  So instead of being a plain brown, it was a wide range of different colors all sweeping across it.

I caught back up the group near the bathroom and we headed to the gate where we flagged a cab to a restaurant where we got a "traditional" Bedouin meal.  Now we have traveled to a lot of countries already and any place that does not have a lot of money calls Chicken and Rice a traditional meal, when in reality there is very little difference between them.  But one thing they all have in common is it is based on a mountain of rice and a piece of chicken that has more bones than meat.  Oh well it still tasted good after a day that we walked over 15 km in the desert.

The next morning we had a long (3 hour) cab ride to the airport.  We took the dessert highway which is a lot like driving to Vegas.  Just a lot of nothing along the way, with one exception the checkpoints.  We were stopped seven times and the driver was asked to show his license and permit for driving the road and on occasion we were asked to show our passport.  This extended the drive a little, but we still made it to the airport with plenty of time to catch our plane to Greece.

Bill