Petra Day 1

---

We were picked up about 7:15 (actually the guide was there at 7:15, but Jack was dealing with camera stuff for a bit) and headed toward Petra picking up our guide, Ali, on the way. Petra is too incredible to try to describe in words, I’ll add when I can add pictures. My memories were that it was unlike anything I had ever seen and the place did not disappoint. Ali gave us background and helped us climb to places that we would not have seen without his knowledge and help. Since he has been a guide for 23 years he knows everyone. He also has special relationships with some of the vendors. Early on, he and the proprietor of a shop told me that if I wanted to support a charitable project set up by Queen Norra to help the families of handicapped Bedouins and their families, I could buy a piece of jewelry on display in one part of the shop. Gullible me, I believed him and hugely overpaid for a bracelet that will only generate extra revenue for the shop-owner and the guide. No poor Bedouin families will see an extra dinar from my purchase. It could be worse; it could have been a more expensive piece of jewelry. At one point he told us he liked working (he is a freelancer) for this particular company because an honest German woman runs it. He said that he doesn’t like the companies run by Arabs, because the Arabs are “foxy” and not aboveboard in their business dealings.

The Bedouins are 65% of the population of Jordan and are the indigenous people. Even after a large number of Palestinians were expelled in 1979, they still make up 35% of the population. According to Ali, they cause lots of problem. One of the primary problems is that they take their earnings out of Jordan and destabilize the Jordanian currency. The relationship between the Bedouins and the Arabs is “sensitive”. No love lost here.

After Ali left us on our own, a young American woman said hello and asked us where we were from. Melanie was from NY and she was on a quick trip to Petra after making alihya a couple of weeks ago. She is going to be living north of Haifa and I took down her email info, so I can connect her with Hilla Perlman. After we chatted, we parted ways and then ran into her again as we were leaving. She had been ripped off by one of the vendors and was upset. Knowing that I had already been ripped for substantially more money, I explained to her that as someone who has a hard time letting go, that was what she needed to do.

Ali had left us at lunch recommending the $15 per person Bedouin buffet. It was so bad, even their humus and pita was weird. I had chopped tomatoes and cucumbers for lunch, but such is life. Food here as in Israel is very expensive, the only difference is that the food here is uck and the food in Israel overall is very good. The only saving grace is that since it is a Muslim country, they aren’t preparing for Passover so there is bread.

Jack and I explored a little more on our own and then headed back. On the way back, I was able to photograph one of the Burka ladies. I admit it…I hate burkas. I think it’s terrible to see these women completely hidden as if there is something about them that is dangerous to expose to the world. On top of that when it’s 80 degrees and they are completely encased in all that black, I imagine that they must be unbelievable hot. The men are in short sleeve shirts and look completely comfortable. The worst is when you see the burka lady carrying her husband’s coat.

Jack suggested that I devote the rest of my life to liberating Muslim women, but I think it’s a lost cause and I’d waste a lot of time and energy that could be better used for achievable goals. I did make an effort to buy postcards and Petra rocks (with the coloring of the walls) from girls rather than boys. There are so many vendors of all ages trying to sell junk throughout Petra that is can be very depressing. You walk by makeshift stalls where the vendors call out, “Happy Hour, buy now, best prices”. They looks so poor and dispirited.

By the time we got back we were exhausted. I did a little TripAdvisor search to see if we could find a good place for dinner. Our hotel was a ways of the city and after we found out it would be a $30 cab ride round trip, we gave up and ate at the hotel’s buffet. The main redeeming feature was that unlike a lot of restaurants, the hotel serves liquor, so we could split a half bottle of wine. With the help of the wine dinner was fine.

---