Photo by Randy Klug
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Aqaba, Jordan
Petra
We traveled from Aqaba, Jordan up to the mountains to Petra Thursday morning, our American Thanksgiving Day. The weather was cooler again, low of 54 and high of 71. The bus ride was about 3 hours and as with our tour in Egypt, the roadway was heavily guarded with regular security checkpoints.
Once you climb into the mountains you can see how far everything is and that the area is sparsely populated. Being rather desert like there does not seem to be many water sources and would have been tough to live in back in the day.
The scenes you see of Petra and the Treasury in the Indiana Jones movie (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) do not provide you the context of this site. And in fact we did not see all that there is to see of the ruins of the ancient Petra.
Wikipedia cites that Petra was "established possibly as early as the 4th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub." The Nabataeans constructed the water conduit system that flowed water into the city and created an artifical oasis, thus sustaining the area.
After we arrived at the entrance we began a gentle walk through the "Bab el Siq" - "Gateway to the Gorge" on a path bordered by ancient tombs and monuments with a horse/donkey path on the side. As we walked our guide stopped at several key points - the Djinn Blocks, the Obelisk Tomb, and then the Barrage Dam before we came to the beginning of the Siq, or "the shaft" which is a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. The Djinn Blocks are single standing monuments named Djinn which is Arabic for a type of spirit. The Obelisk Tomb sits atop the Bab el Siq Triclinium (three benches), both are tombs. As you near to opening of the siq you cross the Barrage Dam originally constructed by the Nabataeans to redirect flood waters into a tunnel and thus into the conduit system. It was rebuilt in the 1960s using the same techniques as the Nabataeans.
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Entrance gate to Petra |
Tickets |
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Walking the path toward the Siq |
SIgn of information about the Djinn Blocks |
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Djinn Blocks |
Djinn Blocks |
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Tombs |
Obelisk Tomb |
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Barrage Dam information sign |
Barrage Dam |
Once you start down the gorge (Siq) you walk between sandstone walls that vary in shades of light to dark. Along the way are smaller tombs and carvings in the walls. Of course the reality of this quiet walk is stepping aside as horse drawn buggies careen down the path. As Randy mentioned about the Giza Plateau, you really needed to also watch where you stepped. I think we may still have some "stuff" on the bottom of our shoes!
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Babel Siq |
Siq entrance |
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Looking back at the entry as we head down the Siq |
Walls of the Siq |
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Water conduit system |
Water conduit system |
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Paved Road information |
Road paved by the Nabataeans around 1st century BC |
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Walls of the Siq |
Walls of the Siq |
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Walls of the Siq |
Walls of the Siq |
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Camel Caravan information sign |
You can see the feet of a camel and the lower half of the camel herder |
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Closer view |
Our guide describing the caravan |
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View of the Camel Caravan |
Elephant carving |
The first view of the Treasury, Al Khazna, truly is through a small opening between the walls as you walk through a curve. In all its rose color glory it shines through the shadows of the Siq. As you clear the gorge you are in an open area with the Treasury carved into the stone in front of you. As you stand there in awe you are suddenly surrounded by Bedouins trying to get you to ride a camel, a donkey, take a buggy back up, or by some inexpensive trinkets. Their children hawk postcards almost incessantly as you try to make your way around. When we asked about this we learned from our guide that before Petra was acquired for a tourist site these Bedouin families lived in the area. As part of the agreement for them to move, was an agreement that the families and their successors could sell their wares to the tourists. LIke Randy, the purist comes out in me and I had just wanted to wander in awe and enjoy the moment of actually being in Petra.
You can't deny the beauty though and we took numerous pictures. Our guide then told us we had to leave the area by 1:00 or 1:15 to start the walk back up the Siq to meet for lunch at the hotel outside the Visitor's Center and shops. That gave us about 30 minutes to wander to "see the rest". Well we didn't see the rest. There is so much more to Petra than the Treasury and Facade of Streets and amphitheater. As you can see on the map I found while building this site, we only saw a small portion. You need a day or more to explore this site and all that it has to show you!
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Our first "peek" of the Treasury |
Randy as we first see the Treasury! |
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Full view of the Treasury |
View with edge of Siq |
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Detail view |
Detail view |
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Detail view |
Looking at the level below the entry to Treasury |
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Street of Facades information sign |
Street of Facades |
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Tomb 67 information sign |
Tomb 67 |
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Amphitheater - cut into the stone; seats up to 8,500! |
Donkey |
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Our selfie from Petra |
So the walk down was really a stroll as we wandered and stopped along the way. At 1:00 we started to walk back, using this as a good exercise opportunity. Well, good grief.. the incline going back was between 5 and 7 degrees and steadily with very little flat areas. We kept it in "motor" and made it in about 32 minutes, both sweating and breathing fairly hard! You don't realize just how far it is down the Siq or how steep it is until you decide to not stroll! We made it and had time to choose a few treasures from the shops before we joined the group for lunch at the Movenpick Resort Petra. Then, back on the bus for the ride back to the ship.
As we drove back to Aqaba we managed to get a few pictures of the mountain area. When we returned to the ship about 7 or 8 that evening, the "welcome gang" was at the gangplank with the small three piece band! And when we got to our room Yi had drawn a hot bath...so soothing after all that walking! So, we ended up skipping dinner and off to bed for a very deep sleep as the next day we were in Safaga and off to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings!
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Looking back at "Modern" Petra |
Views of the mountains as we drove back to Aqaba |
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Views of the mountains as we drove back to Aqaba |
Views of the mountains as we drove back to Aqaba |
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Views of the mountains as we drove back to Aqaba |
Postcard from Petra |
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"Welcome Home" and the band playing |
Soothing Hot Bath - waiting for our return (really spoiled!) |
Trying to learn a little more about Petra I found the official site Visit Petra. It is a wonderful site with a lot of information. Definitely wish we'd found it before we visited!
Pre-cruise Post
Our fourth port of call on the cruise is Aqaba, Jordan and our access to go visit Petra!
Here's a little about Aqaba from Wikipedia: "Aqaba is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba - Aqaba's strategic location at the northeastern tip of the Red Sea between the continents of Asia and Africa, has made its port important over the course of thousands of years. The ancient city was called Ayla, its strategic location and proximity to copper mines, made it a regional hub for copper production and trade in the Chalcolithic period. Ayla became a bishopric under Byzantine rule and later became a Latin Catholic titular see after Islamic conquest around 600 AD, when Ayla became known as Aqaba. The Great Arab Revolt's Battle of Aqaba, depicted in the film Lawrence of Arabia, resulted in victory for Arab forces over the Ottoman defenders.Aqaba's location next to Wadi Rum and Petra has placed it in Jordan's golden triangle of tourism, which strengthened the city's location on the world map and made it one of the major tourist attractions in Jordan."
We've booked the ship's tour to go visit Petra. Using the ship tour ensures the ship won't leave without us! And we don't have connections to a reliable tour company like the one we use in Italy.
The ship's tour is :
Petra - Jordan's Treasure: 9 hours
Enjoy the opportunity to visit Jordan's most famous attraction, the spectacular rose-red City of Petra during this full-day tour.
Petra
Depart the port in comfortable coaches and travel north along the Desert Highway. The last stretch is on country road through several small villages. Upon arrival at Petra, begin your visit on foot, walk through the half-mile-long (800 metre) siq, or chasm. The long, narrow gorge with steeply rising sides all but obliterates the sun. For those who wish, the entrance to the siq may be reached on horseback - at your own risk. (There is no charge for this service but the horseman will expect a gratuity.)
Khazneh (Treasury)
As you exit the gorge, it suddenly opens into a natural square dominated by Petra's most famous monument, the Treasury. Its intricately carved façade presents a magnificent sight in the dazzling sun. If you have seen the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you will no doubt recognise the façade. Follow the guide farther into the site and discover other impressive structures carved out of the rose-coloured stone. They include temples, royal tombs and an amphitheatre that could seat 3,000 spectators. The Petra basin boasts over 800 individual monuments; to explore it all would take several days.
Your visit of approximately three hours concludes with the walk back via the same way. Optionally, a horse-drawn buggy or carriage can be hired to take you through the narrow pathway of the Petra Valley. It is the only transportation permitted. Buggies/carriages are limited and cannot be reserved in advance. However, local staff will provide assistance. The charge is $40 USD per two-person (at the time if printing) carriage to be paid on the spot. Be aware that you may have to wait in line. Each buggy carries two persons; the ride can be quite bumpy.
Afterwards, re-join the coach for the 2.5-hour drive back to Aqaba.
We can't wait to see this as well!
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Photo by Carl Alexander Lucas posted on Wikipedia |
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