**** I need to dedicate this post to two "FOYs", Kerri, who I know has been waiting for this one and RonR who emailed me – "This morning for the third year in a row I cancelled (postponed?) our 3 month European tour which of course included Tel Aviv, Israel, and Petra. Then, of course I opened up my favorite website every morning and there you are talking about Tel Aviv. Aaarrrggghhh!" Oh man, I'm so sorry Ron, I hope you'll be able to visit Petra and Wadi Rum soon!
Also, not much food in this one….even though I'm going to try to keep verbiage to a minimum, it's pretty looong….so I wouldn't be bothered at all if you decide to come back tomorrow for a more food focused post!
After a nice, relaxing evening at the Intercontinental Aqaba a van arrived to pick us up in the morning. We saw the landscape change as we drove from Aqaba to the town of Wadi Musa.
We stopped twice for bathroom breaks; once at a viewpoint above Wadi Musa and Petra….which was interesting…..you'd never know what lay in the valley below from here.
We arrived a Wadi Musa and transferred to a larger van with several other folks' including a wonderful couple from Australia whose company we really enjoyed! The tour company, Eco Desert Tours was amazing. They dropped our luggage at our hotel while we were dropped off at the rather chaotic ticketing area.
Where we met up with our guide. Once everyone was accounted for, we headed off, down the Bab el-Siq, the path and valley that leads to the Siq.
There are actually tombs and what is called Djinn Blocks, carved blocks of stone. The word means something along the lines of "spirit" in Arabic, but is also credited with being the origin of the word "genie".
And soon enough you reach the Siq, the narrow gorge which leads to into Petra.
There's a lot to see here as well, like the Niche Monument, a shrine created with two Djinn blocks.
This of course, is just an "appetizer" as most folks come to see what right ahead. It goes without saying that the last few steps to view Al-Khazneh, known as the Treasury is quite dramatic in its own right. First, you get a peek, then as you walk closer, it comes slowly into view….the pink-hued wonder, with intricate designs chiseled on it.
One could imagine the moment that Swiss explorer JL Burckhardt, disguised as a Muslim Scholar, became the first Westerner to enter Petra, and laid eyes upon this amazing structure.
It's about a mile to get to the Treasury; which of course, is the most crowded area of Petra. With folks selling Camel rides to various other items……
If you're not inclined to walking…well, you can catch a wagon, camel, or even a mule to get around…….
The portion past the Treasury is called the Outer Siq and is comprised of burial chambers of various designs.
We walked on over to the Street of Facades, a collection of more tombs, these crowded closer together.
Carved into the mountain right past the Street of Facades into El-Khubtha Mountain are what's called the "Royal Tombs".
And then beyond that; the actual city of Petra.
And then, it was lunch time. We had chosen just the simple lunch. We were then told we'd have free time to explore and the meeting place and time were indicated to us.
Which was perfectly fine. Actually, the falafel were not bad at all.
And then we set off exploring……..and had a great time exploring the City….the Great Temple and Qasr al-Bint, a Nabataean Temple.
Of course the Missus couldn't help but climb and explore the Royal Tombs.
After which we headed back to the Treasury.
It was amazing how the colors seemed to change as the sun moved across the sky.
The Missus had seen folks standing on the cliff across from the Treasury…and so…She just had to get there…..sigh.
So, we found a trail across from the Treasury and started climbing up. As I was set to start climbing I saw a gentleman wearing a long black robe and a clerical collar…my goodness; it was a priest climbing and inching his way down the rocks! I stuck out my hand and helped him down the last few steps. He smiles at me and said: "thank you my son"!
Anyway, it wasn't a super hard, but not an easy climb up. But of course, the Missus made it look easy.
I will say, the view was amazing.
Pretty amazing huh?
Of course, the climb down was much harder than going up. But…I'm here right? So I obviously made it.
By now we met our guide, whom we tipped, and told the nice guy that we'd just walk back to the hotel we were staying, the Petra Palace. We chatted on the way back to the hotel and decided to return and do the Petra by Night light show. But first; it was time to check in, hydrate, and most importantly, take a nap!
If you stuck around to the end of this post I thank you.
Have a great week!
