The Rose-Red City of Petra

Once we found out Assaf (my Israeli friend from riversurfing) was going to be in Israel the same time we were in the area, we cut down our plans in Jordan to as little time as possible. There is only one thing you have see in Jordan, and that's Petra. Sure, there are other interesting things, but Petra is by far and away the main draw. So, we figured out that it would pretty much save us a whole day to take a taxi straight from the airport to Petra. It was about a 3 hour trip and cost us just under $100. Expensive, but not bad considering the distance and totally worth it. Plus, one Jordanian Dinar is about 1.4 US Dollar, so it didn't feel like as much. It also worked out good so we could get up early the next day and start exploring Petra. The first thing you do when you get to Petra, of course, is pay the entrance fee. We were shocked to see it was 33 dinar - about 50 bucks! We were at least relieved that we came when we did, as the fees are set to rise to 50 dinar ($70) at the end of the month. What a ripoff. Before we go in, a little background - the ancient capital of the Nabataeans, Petra was established in the 6th century BC. The site was basically lost to the western world until 1812, when a Swiss explorer, pretending to be a muslim, re-discovered the city. It seems strange that it could ever be "lost" considering the Romans ruled it at one point. Regardless, it was an important center for trading and is even mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses brother Aaron died.

the Siq

They have all kinds of ways to get around Petra - donkeys, horses, horse and buggy, camels - but we opted for our own two feet. The entrance to Petra, in my opinion, might just be the coolest part. You have to walk through a narrow canyon that is usually about 30 feet wide and hundreds of feet high. Anybody who takes a horse and buggy through here is really missing out. The walls of the Siq, as it's called, are smooth and flowing due to the flash floods that used to regularly sweep through it (now prevented by a series of dams). Each wall has a small waist-high channel that originally held clay pipes to redirect water into the city. Apparently it was very high-tech back in those days. There's  a few carvings still lining the walls that have escaped erosion from flooding, but the Siq in itself is really, really cool.

After you walk about half a mile through the Siq, it opens up on the crown-jewel of Petra - the Treasury. You may recognize it from Indiana Jones the Last Crusade. I don't, so I'll have to go back and watch the movie sometime. It's a huge "building" - over 130 feet high, and has incredible detail. The urn at the top was rumoured to hold ancient pharoanic treasures, so some Beduins apparently wanted to see for themselves. You can see the small indentations where they shot it with their rifles, and a big chunk eventually broke away. Sorry boys, no treasure.

our first glimpse of the Treasury as we came out of the Siq

waa-laa!

Still good detail after all these years

the treasure-less urn

As you pass the Treasury, the canyon slowly opens up into a big valley. There's lots of other stuff to see - temples, tombs, a church, and even a big ampitheatre, all carved into the mountains. There are the remains of a Roman temple, which are still be excavated by a team from Brown University. A popular side-trip is the hike up to the Monastery, a huge building similar-looking to the Treasury, carved high up near the tops of the mountains. The hike was long and very hot, but the Monastery and especially the views over the valley made the trek worth it.

the theatre

Not much left of the Great Temple, built by the Romans

The mountains were peppered with carvings and caves

We made it to the Monastery!

Good views

We didn't last nearly as long as we had planned exploring Petra. The heat was just too much, and we really felt like we had seen enough. There's plenty more short hikes and climbs to do, but I think it's more for the solitude than any actual ruins. About 2 o'clock we walked back through the Siq and taxied back to our hotel. Having only 2 nights in Jordan, and since we ate crackers for dinner the night before, we treated ourselves to a nice Jordanian restaurant. I had a really good lentil soup (the lentil is a very underated bean I have found), Steph had a really good appetizer of small eggplants stuffed with strange things like wheat and chili then covered with a white sauce. We don't know what it was but it was good! Then we split some sort of Jordanian main dish that was mostly rice and chicken. The food in the Middle East has been surprisingly good and we'll definitely make sure to remember a few dishes to make once we get back home. But for now, our short time in Jordan was over and it was time to meet Assaf for 6 days in the Promised Land!