Derek Seto & The Last Crusade

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It was only after looking at a map of the Sinai Peninsula that I realised just how far we had travelled to get from Dahab to the port of Taba, right on the border with Israel. I was asleep for most of the coach journey so didn't even realise how long I had been on the coach.
From Taba, we then caught a ferry that took us to the port city of Aqaba, Jordan.
It was here that we experienced the first rain of the entire trip as we pulled into a super-flash, newly-built marina. As the sky started to spit, we waited - there was no-one at the marina to pick us all up.

About 20 minutes after we arrived, our tour leader finally showed up and lead us past the the modern marina apartments to our coach.
Our tour leader was the delightfully cheerful Talat, who explained that he was late because the ferries generally never arrive on time, but did today. Haha. One of the first things that he told us about Jordan was how hassle-free it was, much to our relief. He also outlined our itinerary - after spending about an hour in Aqaba, we would then continue our journey to the desert valley of Wadi Rum, where we would do a desert safari and stay in a traditional Bedouin camp. Tomorrow we would hit the tour's highlight - Petra.

Once in Aqaba we were left to our own devices for an hour.
I immediately preferred Jordan to Egypt. It is much cleaner and more developed than Egypt, and you didn't have locals trying to flog you trinkets at every corner. All the buildings here were actually finished. It felt civilised.
Davies, Sags, Claire and I decided to sit down at a cafe brimming with locals for some Jordanian falafel and some hot tea. We just asked the waiter for some falafel and hummus but we weren't banking on him bringing out two bowls of falafel and six more bowls of different hummus and salads, plus a shitload of pita bread. And man, it was the best falafel and hummus ever. So good. And so much of it too.
After our meal we had bets as to how much this would cost. Judging by how developed Jordan appeared to be and the prices in Egypt, as well as how much food we had got, I was thinking it wouldn't be that cheap. Sags guessed it would be about 20 dinars (£1 = 1.15 Jordanian dinars) in total, Claire said about 18 dinars and I guessed about 15 dinars. Davies thought it would be quite cheap and guessed 10 dinars. I wasn't so sure and was honestly a little worried about what the bill might be.
When the bill came out, it was 9 dinars. £2 each for a feast, and a delicious one at that. I was really liking Jordan now.

Back on the coach, we were leaving Aqaba when Talat pointed out a town in the distance - it was Israel. We were pretty much on the border of three different countries - Egypt, Israel and Jordan.
About an hour later, we had arrived in the middle of the desert at Wadi Rum, with our camp site set against a spectacular red cliff.
Inside the camp, there were about 25 tents on the red desert sand, all arranged around a large square in middle. Near the camp entrance was the main tent where we would eat, drink and hang out tonight.
After enjoying another delicious hot, sweet tea in the main tent it was time for our desert jeep safari - where we all decided to dress the part, donning our jellabiyas and headscarves. Rene seemed to be the only one who knew how to wrap headscarves so he wrapped pretty much everyone's, including mine. It was very tight.
Jumping on the back of an open-top jeep, we hit the sand.
Dressed in our outfits on the back of a jeep, all we needed were some AK-47s and...oh sorry, I guess that's a bit politically incorrect....
It was an awesome ride but it was cold and windy. And it started to rain. Quite heavily. Umm...aren't we in the middle of the desert?! We had another crazy driver too - there were some hairy moments as we once again almost fell out the back of the jeep. It was the same crew in the jeep too - myself, Davies, Sags, Hannah, Claire and Irene. Irene in particular, always seemed to be one who ended up at the back and thus the most likely to fall off.

We stopped in the middle of some steep red cliffs that came complete with a huge sand dune that had built up against one of the cliffs. Most of the group walked all the way to the top of the sand dune but about a quarter of the way up I was exhausted, so decided to flag it. There were some cool jumping photos taken up there and Grant, a fellow Kiwi, along with Sags and Rene, did the most awesome dune run, that I almost wished I had gone up there.
Instead, Claire, Irene, Davies and myself took some boy-band album-cover photos among the rock formations at the bottom of the cliff. And there were some pretty spectacular, bad-ass rock formations too.
We then moved on to a spot outside a camel ranch, where we got hassled by the ranchers to buy camel rides. Trying our best to ignore them, we tried to listen as Talat showed us some ancient petroglyphs on the rocks that dated back more than 5000 years. It was starting to bucket down.
Again, we're in the desert.
The camels were growling and the growls were so deep that they drowned out poor Talat who also had to contend with the rain, and the hawkers trying to sell us camel rides.
We then moved on again to a Bedouin tent sheltered by some more cliffs where we played with our cameras to get some sepia-tinged shots of us in our local gear. We took the effort also, to hide all forms of technology - to make it look like we were in 1901. Also at this camp was a museum shop of sorts selling trinkets and guide books, and a rock carving dedicated to T. E. Lawrence - aka Lawrence of Arabia - a British officer who help took part in the Arab Revolt between 1916 and 1918 against the Ottoman rulers of the time. He had based his military operations here, forever connecting him to the area.

Back at the camp, there isn't a terrible amount to do out in the desert so we passed our time drinking the cheap vodka we had picked up in Aqaba, playing cards, and enjoying each other's company. There were about 25 of us in total and our group had been together a while now, building up a strong bond. Some of us were already feeling sad that our group would be split in two for New Year's Eve - those on the 15-day tour which included myself and my immediate crew, would be spending it in Dahab while the 16-day tour group (who got to go to the Dead Sea! Jealous!) would be spending it in Amman.
We drunkenly played Scum, which was taken to a whole new level with the AK-47 - if you had an ace, a king, a four, and a seven, you could play these cards together and win any hand. And when you played it, you would have to strafe the group while making the sound of a machine gun. Awesome rule.
We then had dinner which was cooked in the ground like a hangi, which was very nice.

We then spent the rest of the night drinking even more, while smoking shisha. No-one seemed to want to smoke it, so it was pretty much left to me and Steph to smoke the whole thing.
On top of that, we also had a fire going inside the tent where the smoke from it got trapped inside, causing many a watery eye. For some reason the smoke kept billowing directly into my face. Not very comfortable. Too much shisha, too much smoke.
And it was pissing down too - Jordan only gets about 250ml of rain a year and I reckon we got the whole lot in that one night in Wadi Rum. And guess who was laughed at for having a hole in the roof of his tent, right above his pillow?
Thankfully the effect of the hole was negligible and my pillow was bone dry.
Sags in the other hand, had his bed right up against the tent wall, and it was saturated from the rain that had crept in through the side. I guess I had the last laugh.

The next day it was off to Petra, which I had been looking forward to the most.
I noticed that Jordan's landscape is pretty up and down as we made our way up into the mountains which were almost completely shrouded in mist. Visibility at the front of the coach could not have been more than about 10 metres.
Petra is in fact it's own town, but modern Petra isn't much to write home about. It's pretty plain.
Rather conveniently, our hotel was about 200 metres from the entrance to the ancient rose-red city, so we dumped our bags there before making our way down.
Once we got in, we had the option of riding a horse from the entrance down to the old dam of Petra's old city. Why not. We didn't have full control of the horse however - there is a guide on a horse in front of you, to which your horse is tied. There are no reins on the horse, just a small handle at the front of the saddle.
With my camera tied around my wrist (a bad idea in hindsight) it became quite difficult just to hold on, as the horse broke into a mini-gallop. Before the ride I was hoping I'd get a proper gallop but now I was thankful we didn't go any faster.
It was a short ride, no more than about 3-4 minutes, and then it was all over.
Talat had warned us that the only people who would hassle you for money would be these horse guides, who put it this way, didn't have to do much. Nevertheless, in an attempt to to get the negotiation and transaction over as quickly as possible, I gave the guy 4 dinars, which is over the odds considering I could could get a meal of hummus and falafel for 2 dinars. The horse guide then had the audacity to say "more". I flatly refused, before he begged again. I told him that was all he was getting and he then walked away in a strop. Considering that most other people gave their guides around 2 dinars, this guy had some nerve.

Nevertheless we had gathered at the old dam where Talat explained how the Nabateans - the founders of the city in around the 6th-century BC - were able to control the water supply through the use of dams and aqueducts which can be seen carved into the bottom of the rose-red cliffs.
From the dam, we walk down the "Siq", a path that follows a naturally-formed narrow canyon towards the main part of the city.
Along this path runs the carved-in aqueducts in the walls, and in places there are limestone tiles. The path gets really narrow in parts, no more than three metres wide. Along the way we pass several sculptures, caves and niches that Talat tells us were used by the Nabateans for worship. All these objects were like entrees before the main course, and as we walk through these amazing rock formations, there was a sense of excitement and giddy anticipation among us that at any moment, we would be rounding the corner that would reveal that most famous and awe-inspiring of sights, The Treasury.
And then, as we passed through another narrow section of the Siq, there it was, the light at the end of this tunnel-like path.

There are few sights that make you gasp in awe, and being one of the wonders of the world, this is definitely one of them. Standing right in front of us in all it's glory was The Treasury, a magnificent and elaborate structure, a marvel of Greek-style architecture carved into the rose-red sandstone two-thousand years ago. This is what everyone comes to see. I almost couldn't believe I was right there, the place where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail.
We hung around for quite a while taking photos - Paul had his Indiana Jones hat (and it is an officially-licensed Indiana Jones hat) on, so we all took turns having pictures with it in front of The Treasury. It was a sight that brought a smile to everyone's faces and you almost didn't want to leave it - I just wanted to look at it for as long as I could while I was there.
We moved on and we discovered the The Treasury was far from the only spectacular building carved into the rocks. This was a true ancient city and elaborate buildings were carved into the stone all around us.
Talat then took us "off-roading" a bit - a semi-illegal climb through a section of the tombs. Climbing up rocks, entering caves and crouching through tunnels, I love this kind of stuff. We got up, close and personal with the Uneishu Tomb, before ending up at the top of large cliff that looked out over the whole city - a magnificent sight. From up here you could see everything - the Royal Tombs, the Street of Facades and the amphitheatre. This is some city. Almost all of the facades and caves are old tombs - some of which now house donkeys! A lot of the tombs reeked of donkey shit and urine.
On our semi-illegal viewing platform, there is a hanging rock no wider than 1.5 square metres, that Talat stands on, in karate-swan pose. Just about everyone has their picture taken with him in this stance, balancing precariously on the precipice. Some look more comfortable up there than others. The rock is really high - I'd say it's about 50 metres above the ground.
We enter a few different caves - taking boy-band and jumping photos in the tombs - before gradually making our way back down to a cafe for break. Talat then left us on our own, and a few of us decide to take the 30-minute hike up to The Monastery.

The hike was quite tough - as if we hadn't had enough of climbing mountains - along the path that led up to The Monastery, which was situated at the top of small mountain. The rock formations that we passed through and the views back towards Petra were amazing.
When we arrived at the top, it was another Treasury moment - another huge Greek-style temple built into the rock. It was almost as spectacular as The Treasury itself.
There isn't much to The Monastery inside it however. You needed a local man to lift you up into the entrance, as it is quite high off the ground, but all there really is inside is a huge chamber with a niche carved into the back of it, and the acrid smell of urine.
Back outside, there were a number of signs pointing tourists towards "the best view", so we followed one of them up to a hut that overlooked The Monastery, back towards Petra, and the mountain range that surrounds the ancient city. It was a pretty awesome view, alright.

Passing the old Roman temple ruins on the way back down, Sags and I decide to do some more exploring and "free-climbing" among the Royal Tombs, up near the hill that Talat had led us up before.
The "Urn Tomb" was probably the most spectacular building after The Treasury and The Monastery, and among the arches and ramps below it were several chambers that were all accompanied with that now familiar stench of donkey excrement.
Like The Treasury and The Monastery, the Urn Tomb is also more of a facade than a complex building in the rock, as there is only a large, dark chamber within. It really echoed inside.
Outside the Urn Tomb, Sags and I decide to keep going around the mountain back towards the main entrance without going back to ground level and it becomes a bit of an Indiana Jones adventure.
We first have to cross a dodgy-looking wooden bridge across a small ravine, before we encounter a rickety metal ladder leading up to something. I decide to climb it and I discover a large pool of water. It is a rich shade of aquamarine but it is stagnant and it smells - you would most definitely pick up up a nasty infection if you fell into it. I am presuming it is to feed the donkeys.
After almost grabbing a rung on the ladder that wasn't securely fastened (which would have had painful consequences), we both very carefully descend the ladder and continue our mission around the mountain. We come to a dead end and a steep drop that was semi-possible to climb down, but we decide it is probably not worth the risk. We turn back, but from where we are, getting back down to the ground is a little difficult, where our ability to climb down flat walls and land on small rocks is tested. No problem. Just like Indy would.
Back at The Treasury, we take some final pics of it now that it is largely evacuated of tourists. Night is starting to fall very fast as we make our way back through the Siq to the main entrance, and then the hotel.
We spent about five hours in total in old Petra and I took 169 photos. Those stats will tell you that Petra is an absolute must-see. Absolutely amazing, and the highlight of the trip.
After all that, I was understandably exhausted.

After a shower back at the hotel, we all met up at Talat's favourite restaurant, up a (yet another) hill near the hotel.
Based inside an old stone building, the restaurant certainly had character. The food was OK - we had a set menu that involved pitta and hummus, chicken and rice, and cheese and potatoes - although it didn't really live up to the restaurant's authentic interior.
At dinner, I got talking to Zoe, a girl who had joined us for the Jordan part of the tour. She was a white English girl from Bristol who had just started working in tourism here in Petra. Talat had brought her along to experience working for a tour first-hand. Donning a headscarf and not drinking any alcohol, she seemed nice enough, a normal, young post-university girl. She had a real interest in the Islamic countries and their cultures - when talking about where she had been, her highlights were places such as Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria. When I told her of my interest in visiting Syria, her face lit up as she told me about all the beauty that exists in Damascus and Aleppo. It became clear that she wanted to live in an Islamic country rather than Great Britain, and although I respect her choice, I couldn't quite understand why someone who has experienced the freedoms of the Western world would want to live somewhere less liberal - especially as a woman. Freedom is perhaps my most important value, which is why I could never live somewhere where expression is somewhat more naturally suppressed.
I drew the conclusion that Zoe was a recent convert to Islam.

As this would be the last time we would all be together before the tour split in two, we all decided to have some final beers at the Irish bar (there truly is one in every town in the world) in the hotel.
The local beer is called funnily enough, Petra, but the surprising thing about it was that it had 8% alcohol. It tasted almost like a trappist beer to me, although Hannah thought it tasted weak. There is even a 10% version. Talat even joined us.
The 16-day crew had another early start the next day, where we on the other hand had a relatively late start of 9am, so it wasn't a big night.
We bid Talat farewell - he was an awesome guide - and left him with a big tip from the 15-day crew.
The night wasn't quite over yet - Sags, Davies and I had some vanilla sex with Hannah and Irene in their hotel room. Vanilla Sex being like tequila, but with cinnamon, vanilla vodka and a slice of orange instead of salt, tequila and lemon.
I don't really know what Davies was thinking - but he decided to snort the cinnamon. The rest of us did it the conventional way before we said our final goodbyes to Hannah and Irene.

In my opinion, the Jordan leg of the tour has been the most enjoyable - a cool crew of people, an unique location, fun activities that were a little different, an awesome guide, and a wonder of the world. All without the hassle and corruption that you get in Egypt.
If only it was a bit warmer and it didn't rain so much...

Ma'a salaama,
Derek

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Photos

The Money Shot
The famous Treasury, Petra, where the holy grail lies.

Horse & Cart
In the Siq. Looks like something straight out of an Indiana Jones film or something.

The Monastery
Almost as spectacular as the The Treasury - well worth the hike.

Looking Into Eternity
View across the desert from a dune in Wadi Rum, with our jeeps in the foreground.

Sand Dune
Couldn't be arsed walking up there. Walking up sand is tough.

Petroglyphs, Wadi Rum
Talat shows us some ancient pictures carved into the rock.

Wadi Rum
Driving away from some cliffs in our jeep.

Our Campsite
Sheltered by an awesome rock.

The Siq
Main road that lead into the city, that goes along the bottom of a canyon.

Niche
In the Siq, that was used by the Nabateans for worship.

First Glimpse
We can see through the gap in the cliffs, the wonder that is The Treasury.

Indiana Seto & The Last Crusade
That is an official Indiana Jones hat. So appropriate.

Street Of Facades
Awesome view of the city from a semi-illegal spot on the hill opposite.

Rock Tower
With The Monastery in the background.

Roman Temple
Ruins of a temple built by the Romans when they ruled this part of the world.

Royal Tombs
More amazing tombs carved into the rock, one of which (the one on the right hand side) Sags and I explore a little.

Dinner
Zoe, Jo, Paul, Rebecca, Talat, Irene, Hannah, Rene and Sags.

Hanging Rock
Irene poses on a hanging rock as we look out towards the monastery in Petra.

View Back Towards Petra
Looking back towards Petra while on the path towards The Monastery.

Falafel Feast
All that for about £8.

Locals
Hanging out in a cafe in Aqaba.

Irene, Claire and Sags
In traditional attire.

Jumping Photos
Our crew prepare some carefully choreographed jumping photos inside an tomb in Petra.

Amphitheatre
The rose-red city's ancient amphitheatre.

Path Towards The Monastery
With spectacular rock formations to look at along the way.