Petra Day 2

Arrival

Bedouin 

There are actually more Bedouin men in the area in front of the Treasury than tourists. They are exotic with their eyes rimmed in khol…slightly reminiscent of Captain Jack Sparrow or a more attractive Keith Richards.

They approach us in a friendly manner, wanting to know if we want a camel or donkey ride, or to buy jewellery or even to be guided on secret paths to viewpoints overlooking the Treasury. We read that sometimes if you agree to a price to be guided to the viewpoint, once there they say the cost was only for one way…you have to pay them again to be taken back or chance getting lost if you go it alone.

A large tourist gets on the back of a camel. The camel lets out a loud groan as if he’s suffering the effects of having consumed way too many boxes of Turkish delight. (I can relate). The camel lifts up his back legs, gravity forcing the tourist to lean forward. She yelps. The camel groans once more, straightening its front legs, making her lean back and they are up.

I’ve ridden many camels and  feel no need to ride again; much preferring to watch (and chuckle over) the reactions of the first timers.

As we walk towards the Royal Tombs, the smell of donkey dung accosts our senses. Every now and then we see camels and donkeys running around on their own. The animals appear to be well cared for.

The Bedouin people who live and work in Petra also herd goats in and around the ancient ruins.

I head to the washroom, knowing today to bring my own toilet paper…I am pleasantly surprised to see that today there is paper. The washrooms all around Jordan are clean, even in a busy place like Petra.

Main Trail and Church

Walking along the Main Trail, I notice a camel grazing amongst the rocks in the sun. Donkeys are all around, sometimes sheltering from the bright sun in an old tomb.

We walk up to the ruins of an old Byzantine church and are soon escorted by a friendly,  white dog. We have the place to ourselves.

Continuing around the hilltop we stop for a snack on top of another ruin. From this vantage point we watch the day to day life of some of the 6000 Bedouin who live or work at Petra as well as the visiting tourists. There are many more Bedouin than tourists.

It’s only 10am and we strip off our jackets. It’s really hot and I wish I had worn a t-shirt under my sweater.

Down below a camel sounds like its trying to expel something large and unpleasant. The camel has been complaining for more than 20 minutes. The sound echoes…maybe it’s giving birth. A donkey brays in a cave, a dog howls and goats bleat. A symphony of animals!

If Jordan is mostly a cat’s place, Petra belongs to the dogs. Whether the dogs are helping their owners with livestock or are just wondering around.

Royal Tombs

We walk towards the Royal Tombs. I am hot so we stop for a fresh pomegranate juice and coffee in a shady cafe. Its amazing how fast I cool off in the shade, almost feeling a need to put on my jacket.

The Royal Tombs are our next destination.

On the way up, I stop to chat to a merchant. He tells me that over 35 Bedouin families still live in the caves of Petra and many, many more live in nearby homes built by the government when Petra became a popular tourist attraction (after the Indiana Jones movie).

I am told that during the Covid lock downs only the Bedouin were allowed to be at Petra. Covid has been difficult on these people since they survive 100 percent on tourism. He is concerned how another lockdown would affect them.

The Royal Tombs are impressive, especially the Urn Tomb. Inside I look up at the ceiling and its naturally coloured rock. Just beautiful.

Al Khubtha Trail 

There is a trail leading to a gorgeous view looking down at the Treasury that John wants to take. Called the Al-Khubtha Trail, it is about an hour one way leading up and up and up on uneven rock stairs.

On the way up we come across a camera crew who are filming a TV series called Treasures of the World. They ask if we can wait a few minutes while they shoot a short scene. We inform them that I am most happy to have a break and we sit on the stairs to watch. The host is Bettany Hughes, a famous historian in England who tells us that the series is on BBC, TVO and another American station. They are all very friendly.

We say goodbye and continue up to our destination. My fear of heights is competing with my FOMO (fear of missing out). Fortunately today FOMO wins.

I notice what appears to be tulips growing out of the sandy, rocky ground. I’m surprised that any kind of plant can grow iñ these conditions.

We reach a point on the trail where I decide to slide down on my bum. A young Polish couple catch up to us, we chat and let them pass us on the trail (since I am moving rather slowly).

Viewpoint

We reach a tented area serving tea on a ledge overlooking the Treasury. The Polish couple is there and John takes a bunch of pictures of them on the ledge. I crawl on my hands and knees and sit near the ledge with John for pictures. There is no chance in hell that I’m dangling my legs over the edge. John does and I take some pics.

The Polish couple leaves and I buy a cup of sweet mint tea. One of the owners invites me to sit on a cushion beside him. Buying a drink is the price to use their ledge for photos.

There are white boards as walls for the tent. These walls are signed with messages and names of tourists. One message in bold letters says “Save Brittany”.

The Trail Down

Continuing on the same trail back, we pass the TV crew as they make their way to where we just came from. I’m happy to see that some of the women (but not Bettany) are sliding down on their bottoms as I had. We exchange a few words and head on our way.

Further on we meet up with two friendly guys from Canada.

John and I find a rock that I deem to be safe and unpack our lunches. The sandwiches are still wrapped with excessive amounts of saran wrap, but only half as much as was used for yesterday’s sandwiches. Even in this remote spot, a dog comes out of nowhere in hopes of getting some scraps.

We hear loud Arabic music playing. As the tunes get louder we hear that its accompanied by galloping hooves. A guy, blasting Arabic music riding a donkey wizzes past…cruising along to his favourite tunes it appears.

Continuing our way down, the merchant I talked to earlier invites us in for tea. No purchase necessary…just Jordanian hospitality. I accept because I find him very interesting and nice. He gives us no pressure. Although we don’t need to buy,  I buy a small bowl. The Canadian guys pop into the shop.

Petra Museum

Its time to leave Petra. We need to rest up for the Petra at Night presentation.

We pass a very shop with a very funny sign. Tigers Love Shop. There is a note underneath saying Free to Try. Hmmmm.

On the way out we visit the Petra Museum. The museum is modern and with good displays and admission is free – definitely worth the visit.

Petra at Night

After a rest at our hotel, it’s time for Petra at Night. You must buy tickets for this event (17 JOD, about 30 CAD) as it’s not included in the regular admission price. We get back to the Petra gates shortly before 8:30pm. John read that it was best to lag behind the crowds because the main event is the atmosphere of walking the candle lit path through the Siq.

It is good advice. When the gates open, most people rush to go through the Siq to get to the Treasury. John and I take our time and walk through with a minimum of people. The walkway through the Siq is lined by paper bag candle lanterns.

We stop to take pictures. We get to the Treasury and the ground in front of it is lined with candles but there is no lighting on the Treasury itself. The people who rushed ahead have been sitting there for quite some time.

As I sit on the ground, I hope that they cleaned all the camel, dog, goat and donkey poo from earlier in the day…it appears so.

The show begins…it’s rather under whelming. It starts with a very, very, very long musical piece without any partular tune played on a one string violin type instrument with some vocals. I’m getting uncomfortable, I start to fidget.

The next piece is a flute solo with no particular tune. It goes on…and on…and on. My bottom is going numb.

Then the host tells a story about how the Queen of Petra chose to let the Romans kill her kidnapped daughter rather than give the Romans access to the city.