Petra is truly a sight to see. You have to see it yourself to really appreciate its beauty. There's some poem that describes Petra as the "rose-red city" but that's not true. In fact, the author didn't see the city until after he'd written the poem.
On our first visit to Petra, we walked through the Siq, a 3km path through a narrow canyon from the gate to the city. Even there we were impressed with the colors, not knowing how wonderful it would be later on. My first view of the Treasury made me gasp. I knew Petra's most famous and elaborate site would greet us after the Siq, but it was still a delightful surprise.
We were both unaware of Petra's size. It was plenty big enough for us to happily explore its tombs and canyons over 3 days. Day 1 was spent seeing the Treasury, the Street of Facades, and the High Place of Sacrifice. The High Place afforded some nice views of the city. Then we took the back way down, not as popular as the way we went up which meant not seeing hundreds of tourists, which we liked. This trail passed some tombs and a home and some more wonderful color. We also climbed up another hill that in the end gave us a view of the Treasury from above. Again and again I was in awe of the lush colors or impressed with the skill of the ancient stone masons. Walking along the Street of Facades, we had a little fun with some of the holes eroded in them!
Day 2 we entered Petra from a side route through the Tunnel. This trail led us through a canyon and for the most part we were alone, except for the occasional tourist. We met a Bedouin man who asked us to have tea with him and his friend. We chatted a little and in the end he asked us if we wanted to buy some old coins, which were nice but we declined. I did give them my orange in return for their hospitality. The canyon got more and more narrow and opened up in this small "room" of niches and a facade. We walked by another tomb, one of a Roman governor who wanted to be buried in Petra. We also found the Petra Church. Neither of us had read much about it so the mosaics caught us off guard. They were pretty neat. Finally, we hiked up to the Monastery, Petra's second-most famous site, which would explain why there were so many people walking up and down it all day. The monastery is huuuuuugggee, way bigger than the Treasury though not as elaborate. I still find it difficult to believe that someone just carved away at a cliff-side, leaving these incredible facades behind. The area boasted the View of The End of the World, too. Like Sinai, it did give me the impression of being on top of the world.
By Day 3 we were both tired but looking forward to taking a little-known trail recommended by Nassr, our hotel manager. It was more wild and we only saw a couple of other tourists on horseback in the distance. The trail went past a set of tombs and purple canyons which led to maroon canyons. We found our way to the Treasury again (after losing and finding the trail once or twice) and I would have really enjoyed being the only ones on that bluff looking down on the Treasury and all the other tourists if it hadn't been so cold. :-( We ate our boxed lunch and Froody tried to get a fire going. Before lunch was over I was cold, sore, and not having fun anymore, so we decided to head back the way we came. Warmed up from the walk, I didn't want to leave Petra so soon, so Froody suggested we spend time exploring the tombs we had passed. That was fun, and I got to collect some pieces of pottery. Some are probably Nabatean, others could be Roman, Ottoman, Persian, or from anywhere since Petra was along a major trade route for a couple of centuries. This was our shortest visit to Petra, only 4 hours instead of 6 or 8!
So, if Petra is not a "rose-red city," how would I describe it? A city made of shifting colors in bands of white, burgundy, blue, purple, and yellow. Like bruise? Oh, yeah, that's romantic- See Petra, whose walls and columns beautifully show the bruises of the Earth.
Showing posts with label Petra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Petra. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
Now in Jordan!
Froody and I have been in Jordan for about a week now, maybe more. Leaving Egypt, crossing Israel, and entering Jordan was fairly easy and much cheaper than the ferry. We stayed in Aqaba for about 4 days. Aqaba is Jordan's one seaside city, so it has a port, huge resorts and cheap hotels, and skindiving!! The corals were breathtaking and the fish were great. Not as many different types as we had seen in Hurgada but it was all right off the beach and we saw a ton of lionfish each time! On Christmas day we were skindiving (of course) and Froody found an octopus, my favorite animal, for me.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
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