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Published: October 28th 2008
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My first glimpse at Petra
The lost red city of Petra Always opt for the Donkey to the top & back!!
I was going to get my first glimpse of Petra today. I couldn't believe it.
It was going to be a very long and very hot day in Petra so I wanted to be prepared to make the most of my day. I wore the lightest clothing I owned, the sturdiest shoes and packed a very light backpack. We arrived at the entrance gate at 10am to meet our guide with a plan to have him give us an hour’s tour of the area then leaving the rest of the day free for us to wander around on our own.
There are two things that I know about Petra. The first thing is the image of the Treasury from the Indiana Jones movie. The second is that as he reads this blog my brother in law will be working in his office in utter jealousy (Luv you Anthony xxx).
What I didn't realise was that this lost 'red city' comprised far more than that, covering a significantly vast area hidden in the mountains of Wadi Musa. Our guide told us that most people only covered a very
small portion of Petra, with only 10% being able to make it all the way to the Monastery - another temple of similar proportions to the Treasury located high up in the mountains approximately 1 hours walk from the Treasury. I had no intentions of being one of those 10% - so in tribute to you Anthony I prepared myself for my mission.
It is very hard to describe how my day went. I don't think it is enough for me to say that I felt like I was dropped off in the middle of the desert and left to wander around for days with little or no water during the middle of a heat wave. I walked and walked walked from the treasury, with my scarf over my head and my 2 litre bottle of water in my backpack. It was the middle of the day, the sun was everywhere - there was no getting away from the 40 degree heat. I reached the museum shop at the base of the monastery and prepared myself for the 750 steps to reach the top. While I was there I found one of the guys from the tour negotiating a
Petra
On the way into the lost city donkey ride to the top with one of the locals. I didn't want him to go on his own (Ahem!!) so I forced myself to ride one of the donkeys with him.
It truly is an experience to climb to the top of a mountain on steps that in some areas didn't exist, were broken or so steep & narrow that I could see the edges of the ravine next to me. I gripped the reins of my donkey so hard that my knuckles turned white and begged the donkey man to not leave my side.
The monastery when I eventually got there was just as impressive as the Treasury. I was so exhausted I only had enough energy left to sit and stare at it mumbling incoherent words to myself. I was so thankful for that damn donkey - and was even more thankful that I opted for the donkey ride back down the mountain - I didn't care that I was half petrified on the way up.
I made my way down, conscious of the fact that I had to make it back to the hotel to get ready for my Turkish bath later that
night. I walked back drained, tired and so totally devoid of energy - I was almost light headed. I felt like I was reliving my City to Surf experience (a 14km half marathon from The City of Sydney to Bondi Beach) - only this time it was like I was doing it in a furnace with no access to water (I had already consumed my water & was too stupid to get anymore). I was just so thankful when I eventually saw the exit - All I had the energy to do was to get to the nearest shop, open the door of the drinks fridge and consume a 2 litre bottle in one sitting (All this before paying for a drink & sitting on the dirt floor in front of the fridge).
Turkish Bath I was utterly exhausted. I had spent the better part of the last 6 hours walking around in the heat up and down steep & narrow valleys in the dirt & sand - I was almost incoherent. As I walked through the car park all I could think about was getting myself to a taxi to take me back to our guest house. I
was operating on auto pilot by this stage and was thank full that I had at least walked down the correct road to take me to where I wanted to go.
I eventually found a taxi but still had enough strength to argue with the driver as he attempted to rip me off. I must have been delirious but I wasn’t prepared to pay the extra 2 dinars that he wanted (approx $5) so I told him not to bother and continued to stumble up the hill not really knowing what I would do - but hoping that I would find another taxi driver who would charge me the correct fare.
I eventually made it to the place where we would be having our Turkish bath later that day. I gambled on the fact that I would possibly be able to hitch a ride with the taxi that Kumuka had booked earlier to ferry all of us from the guest house to the bath house - and as luck would have it, my gamble paid off and as I got there some of the group arrived and the taxi was making it’s next return journey. I made the
My donkey
Behind him is an example of some of the rocks that we had to climb to get to the top of the mountain quickest dash back to the hotel to get ready for my pending scrub & massage.
Not wanting to opt for the fully naked session in the bath house - all of the girls decided to wear their swimming costumes (me included). In pairs, I went with another girl from the group (Emily) and the first thing that hit me as I walked into the room was the steam. It surrounded us instantly. We were directed towards the sauna section - A small alcove that had jets of steaming hot water within it. It was so hot that I couldn’t differentiate between my sweat and the water from the steam jets - but it was fantastic. I usually get too hot to sit inside a sauna for too long - but here I just sat and breathed it all in. After a few minutes we laid on the cold stone slab to get away from the heat, scooping ladles of cold water over ourselves to cool down - before diving back into the sauna once more for another heat session.
As soon as we were ready, we were directed towards one of the two women who were going to
be responsible for scrubbing us down and giving us a massage. I almost fell asleep as she scrubbed me down but woke up every time she showed my how much dirt she was actually removing from my body - positive that no one else could possibly be as dirty as me. I didn’t really understand what she was saying - but I’m sure she was agreeing with me.
Washed, scrubbed & massaged - I walked out of there like I was on cloud 9 - All I wanted to do was to go to bed after the exhaustion of the day. I sat in the waiting room to relax and have my tea - a concoction that is prepared by the bath house and was a mixture of different spices, which I’m sure only made me more sleepy.
I made my way back to the hotel for a catnap before heading out with the rest of the group for a meal at the local pizza restaurant. Sacrilege - I know, but such a wonderful change to our usual Arabic staple and a chance for some familiarity.
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