Petra

The most amazing part of my trip to Southern Israel was the day we slipped over the border to Jordan to see Petra.For those even more ignorant than myself who haven’t a clue what this Petra-thingy is, it’s that really cool place where Indiana Jones goes to find the Holy Grail. And yes, it is one of the seven wonders of the world, not just a movie prop.But I’m jumping ahead of myself.

The day began with a wake-up call at 6 am to prepare for the transportation arriving for the guided tour at 7 am. It came on time, and it was a real jeep. We were packed into the back and the early-morning drive started towards the Jordinian border. I think they deliberately took the 4-wheel drive route, because most of the roads were sand and unpaved. I managed to snap a photo of a field covered in plastic strips. It glittered so prettily…

After a while, we arrived at the border, where our tour guide passed us through the digestive tract of border control, across the No-Man’s-Land, and then over the border.

Then he confiscated our passports and had us sit next to a conveniently located tourist shop, where I tried not to stare at the Jordinian soldiers drinking coffee and playing with the border control kitty. I also made my acquaintance with said cat while we waited for the return of our passports.

Eventually we were allowed to proceed further through the system, loaded onto a tourist minibus, provided with a personal driver and a personal (armed) tourist police escort. And then began the long(ish) drive to Petra.

Petra is actually a city, not just a location of pretty ruins, and we were provided with a narrated, guided tour of the history of the area, already beginning from the border. Unfortunately, I was so tired that it all went in one ear and out the other. But if you’re interested, check out Wikipedia. The city of Petra looked like a typical arabic village. Lots of little houses, sprinkled evenly all one area, with some houses in sky-blue sticking out. I laughed when I saw them - they stuck out like a sore thumb, but Eyal told me that they were blue for good luck.

We stopped inside the modern city of Petra as some of us wanted to raise some cash from the magical machines that spit out money from walls. The tourist police accompanied them on their search for an ATM which would accept foreign cards, and eventually they were successful. And on we went, driving deeper down into the valley of Wadi Muse, the Valley of Moses, where the ruins of Petra reside.

Apparently local beduins had lived there for generations, until it was determined a national heritage. They were moved out, given modern houses a small distance away, and employed within the location as “taxis”, shopkeepers, cafe-owners, and trinket-salesmen. Now, by taxis, I mean the air-conditioned type. That is to say, camels, mules, and horses.

Our guide, Ali (of course), led us through an amazing trip through the valleys. I snapped insane amounts of photographs, mostly of tombs carved into the cliffs, colorful, unbelievable natural rock formations, and.. well, everything, including the silly-looking tourist-shops. These included, but were not limited to, the Indiana Jones gift shop (proooooooobably not officially sanctioned), the Indiana Jones snack shop (wtf?), and the super-patriotic King Abdallah gift shop. The Indiana Jones gift shop sold cheap, plastic-looking vaguely Indiana Jones fedora-resembling hats.

All the time, beduins tried to entice us with their transportation, which was smartly divided into several areas to prevent too much competition. The first section was the area of “VIP” horse carriages and horse-rides. The second was the area of camels and mules (and still the VIP-carriages, but they cost extra-much). The entrance ticket to the area included one ‘free’ horse-ride, but you had to tip everyone anyway.

The walk down to the Treasury was a short 2-km walk, which was mostly done in the shade of the canyon walls, and with a very pleasant breeze swirling around us. Finally, our guide pulled us to the side and told us that around the corner, there was the Treasury. He told us to stand here, exactly here, and then walk over there… And the view opened up to us. It was incredible. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything like it, and seeing it on the tv screen or in photographs isn’t even close to reality. So, I humbly present you with my photographs, which really do it no justice. Before.. and after.

We were given a respectable amount of time to explore the Treasury before our trip proceeded onwards towards the “living quarters”. That is, everything else up to the point of the Treasury consisted of burial chambers. The rest of the area, the caves that did not have elaborately carved stone entrances, had served as living quarters for the Nebateans. (I swear, 50% of all the ruins in Israel are from the Nebateans, and the other half are from the Romans! (Ok ok, so I’m exaggerating, but still..))

A random armada of goats belonging to the beduins tried to cross the path at one point. I was at a loss at how to get past the constant stream of goats, but Eyal showed me that unlike Israeli drivers, they actually stop if you try to cross the road to let you pass.

At the bottom of the valley, we were treated to what was probably the most delicious bouffet I’ve ever eaten. It consisted of delicious Arabian food. Man. I have to go back for more…! The food was included in the tour ticket, but drinks cost something. Eyal ordered a coke light, and in case you’ve ever found yourself wondering what a Jordinian coke can looks like, here’s one (from almost all angles!).

The trip backwards was relaxing, as we took the camel uphill, walked past the Treasury, and then took a horse-ride. By the way, when trying to buy any kind of ride in Petra, it is well worth haggling. They EXPECT it of you, and offer completely insane prices at first. You have to go through the whole charade of naming a sensible price, feigning disinterest, walking away, and then accepting the original price that you asked for. If you have a tour guide, listen to the prices that they mention, remember them, and then haggle at will!

Put “visit Petra” on your list of “Things to do before I die.” It’s well worth it.