Petra, Jordan – December 2010

Our tour of Petra began with a walk through the Siq, which is a narrow canyon surrounded by huge cliffs.  At the end of the walk down the Siq we saw the Petra Treasury for the first time.  It was beautiful!  The red stone glowed in the sunlight at the end of the tunnel, it was a breathtaking sight. 

After a few Kodak moments our tour guide gave us free time and we were able to hike and look at the ruins for a few hours.  Half of our group took a hike and the rest of us stayed and explored the tombs and structures in the site.  It was fun to explore the area that was featured in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”   The red city, or rose colored city, must have been marvelous at the height of Nabatean history.   We spent time at the amphitheater and practicing speaking English with a local child that was selling souvenirs.  The guide told us before we arrived at the site not to buy anything from the children.  They are forced by their families to work rather than going to school.  We didn’t buy anything but we helped her practice speaking English.  

 

When our free time was over we rejoined the group for the walk back through the Siq to the parking area.  We had the option of taking a horse ride or walking.  I rarely get to ride a horse so I thought it would be fun, wish I had chosen differently.  The horse guides were aggressive because they wanted our money.  I picked one based on the horse.  The horses were the saddest I’ve ever seen, they weren’t starving but they were very thin and worked long days.  The whole way back to the car my guide made inappropriate comments to me.  I’m still not sure if he was being inappropriate because he didn’t know what he was saying in English or if he meant to be perverse, but it was really annoying.  If you are ever in Petra and get the opportunity to take a horse ride as part of your tour, take the walk instead.

Once we got to the top of the Siq we stopped and had lunch before hopping back on the bus to Amman.      

This is the spring. I was sad to see the trash people left.

On our way back to Amman we stopped at a building with a spring.  It is believed that the spring at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), is where Moses struck the rock to get water.  It is also thought that Aaron, Moses brother, died in Jordan and was buried in Petra at Mount Hor, now called Mount Aaron.  The guide told us that this was also a meeting place for the three kings, who took frankincense, gold and myrrh to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  During this part of the trip I wished I was more religious so I would better understand the significance of the history of Petra.