Petra! Called by the BBC one of the "40 places you must see before you die" (per Wikipedia, folks), Lee and I had been planning to go since we first arrived here in Israel. The catalyst for making the trip this time was Lee's mother coming to visit. She was very eager to get to Petra (and a whole bunch of other places!) in the week she would be here with us. We also hit Eilat and Dolphin Reef during this trip, but I'll get to those after PETRA!
Petra is the city carved out of the mountains. Estimates have it being built somewhere around 1550 BCE - it's mentioned in Egyptian texts, and the Romans laid claim to it in their heyday. It's been featured in numerous movies and books (most notably Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), and is Jordan's most visited tourist attraction. (Duh on that...there isn't much else in Jordan.)
We started our trip on a Thursday evening. Lee left work a little early, and we piled ourselves into the not-large rental car for the long hot drive down south. Following the route our bus had taken us just 10 days earlier, we paralleled the Dead Sea, and shot out into the desert night for a 4 hour drive. We were meeting my friend Eyal down there, who had a girl in tow, in order to do Petra as a bigger group. As we'd never been to Eilat before, we had no idea where our hotel was (The directions were typical for Israel "go through two roundabouts, make a left onto xxxx street". Now do you go THROUGH two roundabouts, and at the THIRD one make a left? Oh, and the street naming has the same issue as in Jerusalem. They don't match up depending on your source.) but found it relatively easily, and were more than pleasantly surprised to discover a two-bedroom suite, complete with lounge and kitchenette. At a more than reasonable price, I might add. And our timing was perfect- they were just starting karaoke in the lobby!
As we had a very early start the next day, we were quickly to bed. Sadly, karaoke would have to wait for another time.
To get to Petra, you cross the Jordanian border on foot. We drove to the border, parked the car, and walked up. Much like crossing the Egyptian border, it's unmitigated chaos. First you line up in front of booths ("cashiers") to pay your Israel exit fee (98.5NIS..); We were surrounded by busloads of tourists all trying to do the same thing, and it took an extraordinary amount of time giving them our money, and making a quick purchase of Jordanian Dinar (about $1.50:1 Dinar). Then on to the entering Jordan part. You walk through the middle of an active mine field (I am not joking), then through a small doorway into a small room and have your items xray screened before being told to go to a window outside. This window is in a courtyard, one side is a building with windows and some instructions (NO PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIALS), the other side is a souvenir/refreshments shop. The space in between is crawling with large tour groups, sitting idly around while their guides collect all their passports together, and hand them in a huge stack through the aforementioned window. Being that we were a small group of six, and not on a tour, and had no idea what we were doing, this process also took an extraordinary amount time. We finally got the window man to take our passports - and they do TAKE them - you get them back at yet another window further down the line. Mine was handed back to a group in front of us, who kindly returned it to me when I asked.
(Ok, fine. I was totally freaking out, and panicking, and Lee was doing his best to keep me calm and collected while these disorganized people took my only existing form of ID and did god-knows-what with it in their dirty smoke-filled offices. ok? Happy now?)
(The minefield; Welcome to Jordan)
Weathering the crazed border crossing (2.5 hours after the border opened), we crossed into Jordan, surrounded by photographs (big ones!) of the current leaders in power (in different outfits- military, casual, black dress thingy..). In the parking lot on the other side, we were approached by taxi drivers, who gave us quotes that were WAY more expensive than we'd expected, and there was no bargaining to be had. Finding that we were at the mercy of the taxi driver mafia in Jordan, we split into two groups (no driver would take 6), and then were taken to a sketchy meeting point in Aqaba - some housing project - where our REAL taxi drivers picked us up. Taxi pimping, alive and well in Jordan.
We got on the road for the 2.5 hour drive to Petra. As the best (read: safest) place to cross into Jordan is in Eilat, you drive 4 hours south in order to drive 2.5 hours north to the site....There is a touistpiracy in Jordan. All the drivers stop at designated places along the road that conveniently are souvenir shops and cafes! As we were much later than we wanted to be, we weren't all that thrilled about the stop, but a potty break is a potty break. And this is where I saw my first burqha-wearing woman shepherding goats.
(Shepherding fashion)
The drive through Jordan is actually lovely - mountainous, clear air, good roads. Our driver was funny too; He played local music and spent some time dancing and singing in the car. At the very least it wasn't a boring drive! You climb up and over a mountain range to get to Petra, and back down into a valley. The surrounding town is well supported by the tourist economy, as this is really the only town of any merit we've seen since leaving Aqaba. Parking the taxis, we agree on a meeting time and place (yes, the drivers hang out and wait for several hours while you go and check out the goods), and we were informed that we should tell the ticket window that we were staying overnight in Jordan - it cuts the entry fee in HALF. 60.00JD for "tourists", 33.00JD for people staying at least one night in Jordan. They really want to keep that tourist money in the country.
We got our discounted rates, and headed into the canyon.
You can take a 'free' horseback ride the first 750 meters (downhill), but we elected to walk it. Past all the men on horseback calling out "horse ride? horse RIDE?", kicking up dust as they trotted back and forth. The interesting bits of Petra are along a long winding canyon floor - they had put in place water damming, routing and storing measures, to capture flash floods and use the water for sustaining life in the desert. The first sites are tombs, very basic, eroded structures lining the canyon. Then nothing but water channels carved into the rock for a kilometer through a winding slot canyon. But at the end of the kilometer? The narrow walls open up in to a sunny giant proper canyon, and at the end you're faced with the enormous and impressive Treasury building. This is THE iconic image everyone has of Petra. And it's amazing. The city stretches for miles beyond this initial breathtaking site, and while it's all impressive and beautiful, nothing compared to this initial carving. We stood around, and wandered, and took tons of photographs before carrying on down the canyon. We started coming on more clustered 'buildings' which may have been homes or businesses, and then a large amphitheater, and even more structures winding up the canyon walls. (Lee commented that the builders were under a lot of pressure- if you mess up a structure you're putting together, you can tear it down and start over.....if you mess up a structure you're carving out of a mountainside...well, you only get one shot!)
There were 'ladders' carved into the rock next to the taller buildings- obviously the architects needed access to the higher reaches, but these things were sketchy looking, I would have been terrified ascending them.
(The Treasury)
Continuing on through the canyon, we passed numerous bedouin booths set up with jewelry and trinkets and small souvenirs, where women were working! Very strange based on our experience in Egypt, but there you go. The setups were colorful and well arrayed, and no-pressure selling from the owners. Bracelets, necklaces, ROCKS, postcards (also sold by children mixed in with the tour groups), sodas, lamps, lanterns, tea pots....you name it, they had it.
(More of the city; A crazy little scene at a Bedouin shop)
Towards the end of the main sites, past an active archeological dig at a Roman temple, there are two restaurants and restrooms. Thank goodness. We threw some food into us (Arabian food buffet- very very good- particularly the oranges, which we took by the armful), and started the long climb back up to the entrance. Geraldine (Lee's mum) and I had been gagging to ride camels all day- they have several herds of them just for that purpose in the canyon. So, we bargained for a ride (on Zuzu and Coco), and left the men on foot while we sauntered in luxury (or held on for dear life) back up the road. The man who was leading the camel train stopped and grabbed a cola from one of the stalls - not for himself though. For Zuzu, my camel. Apparently she was a big soda junkie, and was motivated by him crinkling the can at her. Once we reached the Treasury again, he gave Zuzu the can, and it promptly disappeared into her huge mouth, and was 'chewed' for a while. She did spit it out when she got up to leave. Woo hoo, camels! My stay in the middle east is now officially complete. The last box was ticked. Everything else is just gravy.
(Geraldine's slick ride)
Leaving the site, we met back up with our taxi drivers, and headed on the long ride back to the border. With a few stops for good photos, we made good time (all of us napped at one time or another), and crossed back into Israel with no problems. Where Eyal took us to Eddie's Hide-a-way steakhouse for one of the best steak meals I've ever had. And if you tell them you're a diver, you get a stellar deal - an appetizer for two, two meals and two drinks for 100NIS. $30!
Tomorrow: Eilat itself, and Dolphin Reef!
(All of us - including driver! at the end of the day)
No comments:
Post a Comment