PETRA ROCKS!

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Petra, the fabled "rose red city, half as old as time", is a well known ancient Nabataean city in the south of Jordan. Due to its breathtaking grandeur and fabulous ruins, Petra was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. Petra was the impressive capital of the Nabataean kingdom from around the 6th century BC. The kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire in AD 106 and the Romans continued to expand the city. An important center for trade and commerce, Petra continued to flourish until a catastrophic earthquake destroyed buildings and crippled vital water management systems around AD 663. After Saladin's conquest of the Middle East in 1189, Petra was abandoned and the memory of it was lost to the West.

The ruins remained hidden to most of the world until the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, disguised as an Arab scholar, infiltrated the Bedouin-occupied city in 1812. Burckhardt's accounts of his travels inspired other Western explorers and historians to discover the ancient city further. The most famous of these was David Roberts, a Scottish artist who created a number of accurate and detailed illustrations of the city in 1839.

The first real excavations of the site were in 1929 after the forming of Trans-Jordan. Since that time, Petra has become by far Jordan's largest tourist attraction, partially due to the exposure by the Steven Spielberg movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in 1989. Due to the fantastic engineering accomplishments and well-preserved dimension of Petra, the archaeological site was chosen in July 2007 as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The only modes of transport allowed within Petra are on two feet or on four feet (camel, donkey, or horse). When entering Petra, there is a brief hike down towards the Siq. Horses will be available for travel to the entrance of the Siq, or you can choose to take a horse-drawn buggy through the Siq (a distance of about 0.9 kilometers) and down to the Treasury. The prices for such rides are not set and are extremely negotiable, depending on one's bargaining abilities.

Once you arrive at the Treasury, there will be many camel and donkey owners jockeying for your business. Be prepared to do some bargaining and don't pay more than 10 JD, a more resonable price is around 3 JD a person. Often times the owner will drop his price in half simply by hearing a few phrases in Arabic.

Camel or donkey transport should be seriously considered. Riding a camel is a unique experience on more level ground, but a donkey is recommended for more ambitious climbs, such as the ones to the High Place or the Monastery. However if you are reasonably fit and the weather is good, the walk is quite nice.

Day 1:

Boring bus ride from amman to Petra, took a taxicab that happened to be waiting just outside the hostel, 2 JODs the guy took us to the bus office and they opened at 6am, they checked and validated our tickets then off we go, the bus is almost full, all gringos,fell asleep right away.

arriving in Petra we got dropped off at the entrance of the ruins, we have to get back up into town which is up the hill, we tried to take a taxi at the Petra entrance but they charge 4 JODs! we should have gotten a lift from the Valentine's Inn van waiting next to the bus, anyway we decided to hike it but then a taxi pulled over and agreed for 2 JODs so we hopped on. Finally arriving at Petra Gate hotel, the reception girl is Filipina, super friendly and accommodating, she told us to wait awhile as the room is still being cleaned and so we went to get some food and came back and sat in the restaurant in the hotel while she made tea for us.

We decided to go and see the ruins now, just passed 11am we walked slowly down hill occasionally stopping at minimarkets to buy snacks, wow very expensive here so we should have bought things at the Amman souq yesterday but we were too lazy. Paid 38 JODs for 2 day ticket, from the entrance doors we walked maybe a kilometer to get to the canyon, on the side are horse carriages carrying tired tourists and horse poo smelled so bad, it wreaked the whole area, once in the canyon our tickets were checked and its about 2 km walk towards the Treasury building, the most famous image of the ruins I think they called it the Siq.

Its a long walk but the canyon/gorge is nice and cool and different shades of red, maroon, pink paint the sandstone rock. Quite impressive, there is also a canal on both sides of the canyon to carry water from the springs to the old city, very ingenious. Lots of tourists are walking and you have to mind the carriages, it's really a busy route. Then we caught a glimpse of the Treasury, such a sight to behold, we were both awestruck and spend time taking photos and investigating the building thoroughly, it seems they excavated below the ground level and had discovered more things on the Treasury building facade and so now it's cordoned off to facilitate excavation perhaps.

We then walked out of the canyon and walked around in the heat taking a look as much as we can tolerate all the cool buildings/ structures carved from the sandstone rock face. We climbed towards some museum, we bumped into the Minessotan dude from the hostel in Amman and gave us tips on where to go. Then as I was reading an inscription near the ampitheatre, a guy stopped and talked to me, asking me if I remember him, I gave him a look and realized he was the tour guide I met in Bcharre, Lebanon leading senior citizens on a walk down Qadisha valley, small world!

We were so hot and bothered we decided to buy those head scarves they wear here, outside it's 10 JODs each here it is only 5 so we bought them here and they put it on for us, now we are Pinoys of Arabia!
We walked up a trail behind some ruins, god I cannot be bothered to name them all, we were just winging it, just picking a spot and go for it, there's so many things to see and it is only day 1 we have to take it easy. Then we ended up at this beautiful sight facing the treasury building but we're on top of the rocks, what a sight to be, tomorrow we will be back here for sunrise!

We strugled to to get back out both very tired we rested a lot, and the way out was more tasking as the canyon walkway was on a gradual slope. Walked all the way back to the hostel as taxi drivers were sharks and we dont trust them. Dinner was at the hotel for 5 JODs all you can eat buffet and we stuffed ourselves, Lea the Filipina girl staff was taking care of us, really nice food and great people running the place, the
owner is very kind.

We put alarm on to see the sunrise, but once we got woken up at 5:45am we asked each other if we really want to do this, it's too early, we both agreed to go back to bed. 7am our 2nd wake up call, we had breakfast and slowly made our way to the ruins downhill, we are on the upper part of town so it is easier to get to the ruins. A few buses started arriving but not as much as midday crowds. We took our time getting into the gorge, our original plan was to go up that viewpoint where you can be face to face with the Treasury facade but it is quite tasking to hike there as you have to go behind the canyon. So we settled to stand right at the front of the facade like the thousand tourists who already arrived. Too many tour groups and difficult to have a spot where there is no people in the picture. The sun slowly went down and cast its rays on the Treasury but its not really as nice as I thought it would be so we left right away and headed to explore more of the inner ruins and a trip to the freaking far monastery.

The horse, donkey and camel drivers are very aggressive, they wanted us to take them to get up the mountain where the monastery is, we said no, very far, they would say,3 hours walk, though we know very well at the most its only 1 hour,there is a sign also next to the Crowne Plaza restaurant that it is dangerous to be alone on this hike, such bull it was, totally safe, trails are clear and heaps of people on the trail. The sun is scorching hot so I donned my Lawrence of Arabia look, I bought a head ring to keep the bandana/scarf in place, it was a struggle to get up there and we took many rests, normally I don't stop but Reza is not at his best, feeling ill since arriving in Jordan, I saw his face is red and it's not from the sun, he told me he was about to puke but never happened, I was worried he might just pass out and fall into the ravine! We made it alright.

The Monastery is a carved facade into the sandstone cliff walls, like the Treasury, I think it's taller but does not have the intricate carvings of the Treasury, worth the hike really, we saw a banner far out towards the valley that says the best view in all of Petra, we skipped walking there, we are both mildly sunstroke so we left and get back down as quickly as we can, struggling mightily, the sun is unbearable and the swirling wind carrying dust, we both had had it, we made our way out of the site, seems like took us forever, then took a taxi just outside the Movenpick hotel to get back to our own hotel, inside the compounds of the ruins the bastard taxi drivers asks for 5 dinars, 2 outside!

We chilled at the hotel and showered to cool down, Reza fell asleep and I internet for a bit. I went to get some wrap sandwich from the Al Arabi restaurant just below our hotel going downhill, nice fellas, but Lea the Filipina manager of Petra Gate hotel said they are overcharging us! but it was still cheap really. Dinner was enormous again and we had our fill, we decided to skip Wadi Rum and to head back to Amman the next day.

Lea sorted out everything for us, she is really an asset in this hotel she takes care of everything and has a pleasing personality, loved by the guests, though she told us she had problems getting respect from the all Egyptian men housekeeping staff, they normally dont take orders from women so she has to be aggressive and confident to earn their respect. The owner of the hotel called the bus to pick us up at the hotel, took forever then when they did we have to go back down to the bus station to wait some more, the Jett bus leaves at 5pm, we cant wait that long, public buses run frequently soon as they fill up. Goodbye Petra, off to Amman.

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Photos

Petra
me and Reza(Pinoy/Canadian)

Comments

[anonymous]

Great Blogs, as always
For someone like me who has been dreaming of Petra for quite a while now, this is most helpful. Thank you, Viajerong Pinoy. Love your adventures!