You know a trip was good if you feel even better about it later.
We loved Petra, but I was also recovering a bit from Egypt. We had just gotten off a week on a live aboard dive boat on the Red Sea.
THAT was amazing, and I am danged proud of us being the elders on the boat, doing 15-16 dives in the 7 days at sea.
Pretty incredible.
We had 2 nights in Hurghada after that because you shouldn’t fly 24 hours after being at depth, plus I thought we might need the rest.
We flew Hurghada to Cairo, then to Amman, Jordan. We were picked up in Amman and had the 3 hour drive to Petra, which I described in the October article.
I say all this because sometimes travel is a bit grueling. I try to be cognizant of the need to rest up in between travel days. But we were just so excited about being in Petra that we pushed it hard for the few days we had there.
Glenn and I keep reflecting on our time in Egypt and Jordan, because it was so different, and it was challenging to do what we wanted to do, but also because of how well everything worked out.
I highly recommend going in March and April. It is HOT in the Middle East, and spring is much more doable. Plus the crowds are less. We ended up being there during Ramadan, which we hadn’t planned at all but we found a great relief, because the smokers are not smoking during the day. And everyone smokes in the Middle East. We suffered in Turkey. The Turks are famous for how much they smoke.
But we didn’t know that Ramadan was starting just as we arrived, and it ended just as we left Jordan. So I really felt like we were lucky. We never had to wait to eat in a restaurant because the locals were fasting during the day. They broke their fast after the muezzin called evening prayers. Then they really had a lovely big meal with friends and family. They also had breakfast at about 4 am, after morning prayer, if they wanted to.
On the dive boat, we had an early coffee before the first dive of the day. The breakfast came after we came back and showered. But I’d hear the crew having breakfast before the sun was up through the hull of the boat!
They worked hard so I was glad they could at least have something to eat, even if it was really early.
Back to Petra, the locals were still fasting. Ramadan lasts a month.
Our camp was about 20 minutes away from the entrance to Petra.
From Wiki:
“Petra is also called the “Rose City” because of the color of the stone from which it is carved.
It is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Access to the city is through a famously picturesque 1.2-kilometre-long (3⁄4 mi) gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh.
The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom as early as the 4th century BC.”
We were really thrilled to see Petra in the daylight! I was wondering how my hip would hold up. It has been a problem for years but had gotten really bad this year. Soon I’d need a replacement, but we were here now!
The first part was The Siq. Just spectacular in the daylight! They did have golf carts zipping back and forth through the Siq. If I had to, we could wait in the line and get one. But I knew Glenn wanted to walk this ancient route. And I had made it the previous night!
I’ve seen pictures of crowds of people jammed into the Siq and I am so grateful that wasn’t our experience.
We had horses going by on a wide trail on the side of the main path and they don’t go into the Siq. It was too narrow for people, golf carts and horses.
We found out later there’s a whole other route that is adjacent to the Siq that you could ride camels along. I wasn’t sure if I could ride with my hip so bad. I may have attempted it though if we had known about it.
Once again, we just hung out in the open space in front of the Treasury, Al-Khazneh. Glenn hopped around taking photos and I made lots of camel friends.
There’s just something about being in a place like that with camels all around, as they have been for thousands of years, that is the epitome of adventure to me.
Finally we continued up the main road, on foot, to explore deeper into Petra now going where we hadn’t the night before. On both sides of the path are tombs cut into the pink stone. Some is known about the owner who commissioned the tomb, the knowledge of others are lost to time.
You can explore pretty freely. Unlike the USA where it would be strictly controlled, in Petra, you could climb pretty much anywhere, at your own risk. You cannot hold anyone accountable for your own accidents in other countries.
Inside some of the caves were donkeys or a horse taking a break in the shade. The animals we saw in Petra often were unaccompanied. They didn’t seem to stray too far. Bedouins had the right to be the only businesses in Petra.
They seemed to know their animals would stick around or maybe they had a shepherding system no one else is aware of! Young men and boys worked with the horses, donkeys and camels giving tourists a ride or a photo op. All negotiated for a price, of course.
I was content to take pictures and give a pet to a few of them. They all seemed pretty gentle or blasé about the whole thing. None seemed abused. Although no one was plump, people or animals, they all seemed to have enough.
There were a few baby donkeys that either roamed by their mom or were indulged by the shopkeepers. One little guy had chewed the back off a bench. Maybe he was teething. People gave him fruit, which he loved.
Glenn and I had stopped at that stand to get a drink of something. In general, we found the folks who worked in the Petra area very kind and friendly. Maybe they were faking it, but I don’t think so. Tourists have been coming to Petra for generations, and we (and our money) seem very welcome.
Fair enough!
I love souvenirs like fabrics, and will browse happily for hours. But in the Middle East, shopping and selling is very different. It’s energetic, and transactional. You must engage and have a lot of attitude. I never did figure out how to effectively shop. It was too intimidating. I can say that nothing is made in Jordan. It’s all junk from India. Don’t bother! Photos are your best souvenir. Spend your money on experiences. Get on a camel!
I also buy postcards because the images are often taken at the very best time of day with fewer people in the way. I also happen to love vintage travel images and kitschy, funny ones! I keep them in a box on my coffee table and flick through them sometimes. Also, it’s very fun to share with friends and family when they come over and the talk turns to travel.
Our travel through Petra was a highlight of 2023 for us, in a year full of amazing travel. If you have a chance to go, do it!
Happy Trails!
