"You Won't Be Disappointed"

  Petra, Jordan
Thursday, May 3, 2007

Wow... wow.

Thats all.  I don't have anything else to say...

Our tour leader, Nick, told us we wouldn't be disapointed by Petra.  Despite our high expectations, they were surpassed.  It was a blazingly hot day of 37 degrees and climbing, but we got a fairly early start on our way down to the site.  It's almost 800m down a gravel path to hit the Siq, or rock valley, that leads to Petra.  Down this path there is evidence of ancient carved statues, tombs, and dams to control water flow, supplying the city with water. 

A Walk Through Time

The Siq is another 1.2km, a long deep gorge of specatacularly coloured rock faces rising up to 80m on each side.  The walls are occasionally dotted with the remains of carvings of camels and their drivers, ancient gods, and writing.  

Near the end of the Siq, there is a huge temptation to run for your first glimpse of what you know is coming.  You round the last corner and there it is... the 'Treasury' of Petra, seen fragmented through the rolling walls of the Siq. 

Breath Taking

We came out into the clearing and picked up our jaws.  The sheer scale of it is increadible.  The ornate detail in the building... the stunning red, gold colour of the stone... the absolute majesty that surrounds it... it was increadible. 

The Majesty of Petra

The timeless peace of the great building could not be shattered by the chaotic crowds that milled below.  Tiny, snot nosed Bedouin children and hard faced men calling out their wares, or offering camel and donkey rides.  Women lying in the shade, looking achingly hot in full robes, and the noise of braying donkeys, horses hooves clattering on stone, and complaining camels echoing off the rock walls. 

Just One Dinar

And the tourists!  There were lots of us, all toting cameras and wearing similarly dazed expressions of awe.  At almost $60 New Zealand each to get into the site, we couldn't help but think that the tourism authorities in Jordan must be thankful for Petra.  Despite the extortionate price, it really was worth every penny to actually be there.

We had a tour around the site, including the rock tombs, some almost as high as the treasury, and the dwellings and staircases cut directly into the rock.  The colour of the rock was incredible too, all purple, orange, yellow, ocher, red, tan and white swirled together in amazing patterns. 

Colours in the Rock

We made it as far as the temple and the ancient, mosaic-floored church before we had to stop for a break from the heat.  It was well over 30 degrees Celcius, and hot work climbing around on the sun-baked stone.  I didn't realise how HUGE the site really is.

Mosaics of Petra

 After a quick rest in the shade, we decided to head up to the monastery while the rest of the group ate lunch.  It was blazingly hot, and the haphazard rock stairs up to the monastery seemed endless, stepping around piles of donkey dung and sweating, panting tourists.  Once we reached the top, though, it was definitely worth the climb. 

The Monastery

The monastery is plainer than the Treasury, but basically the same size, a scale so massive it just takes your breath away.  There were far fewer people up there, and we found a shaded cave cut into the rock opposite the monastery and sat and ate our lunch, admiring the view out in front of us.  It was very peaceful being able to sit there and contemplate our own significance in the face of this ancient accomplishment, and we somewhat reluctantly left our shady post after an hour or so to start the climb back down.

Tonight, we head out into the desert of Wadi Rum to spend the night at a Bedouin camp, deep in the heart of Lawrence of Arabia country.

All our best from Jordan,
Dan and Gabes