A Long Weekend in Jordan – Travelogue Day 2
The Magical Petra
Hello and welcome to my Jordan travel diary. This is day 12
I was fortunate enough to spend a long weekend in Jordan. I hope you enjoy peeking into my travel journal.
I fell asleep not much after 9 pm because I was very tired from the early flight and spending the day in the sun. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I woke up after 6 am, so I got a solid 9 hours of sleep.
The night was so quiet, and the heating in the room was perfect. Any colder and it would have woken us up, and any warmer would have had the same effect.
I organised breakfast for 8.30 am as I wasn’t quite sure how late we would sleep. So, we lounge around on the gigantic bed and slowly get ready and pack our stuff.
The dome has an ensuite, which is a great feature. I wasn’t sure when I booked the dome if we would need to access an external amenities block. When I stayed in a Bedouin camp last time in a tent, I needed to use external facilities, so this feels very luxurious.
Besides the fact that the bathroom stinks, the shower leaks and the toilet doesn’t feel grouted to the floor, everything is great! But in all seriousness, the dome is great. The bed was extremely comfortable, and it was so lovely to see the sun rise through the front window. It was enjoyable lying in bed with the sun heating up the room.
We go to breakfast, and it is the standard Arabic fare with breads, cheeses, tahini, labneh, fresh vegetables, luncheon meats and an egg. While it looks simple enough, all the different flavours make it very delicious. The strawberry jam is yummy too. Everything is just so good.
After washing breakfast down with a cup of mint tea, it’s time to pack the car and make our way to Wadi Musa, the hometown of Petra. The drive is simple enough, and the road conditions vary greatly, but overall, it is an easy drive.
Along the way, we stop at a souvenir store that has the most incredible views over the area. The view is definitely worth the inflated prices of the captive souvenir audience. While here, I bought a hot chocolate and a soft drink for Amy. We also grab some snacks for when we are walking through Petra.
After purchasing a fridge magnet, we continue on our way. The drive is another 20 minutes to Wadi Musa. We stop at the Petra sign to take some photos, and then we drive towards the visitor centre.
Parking the car is another surprise as it is so quiet in the car park. There are plenty of spaces. We walk down to the visitor centre to get our tickets. While there, I spoke to the guide centre and arranged for a guide. I decided that it would be a nice refresher for me, as I can’t remember all the information from the last time I was here.
Our allocated guide is Mohammad, and he is very animated when telling us the history of this area. You can tell he is passionate about introducing his country and hometown to visitors.
After getting our tickets, we set off towards the entrance gate and entered the archaeological park. I am brimming with excitement, but I am not so sure about Amy!
There are horses at the beginning of the trail, and you can ride them for free as part of the entrance ticket. However, when I last visited, the handlers wanted a tip for leading you down to the entrance of the Siq, and I am pretty sure it’s still the same. We opt to walk because we have the guide and there are some interesting sites along the way that he will provide information on.
The first location we stop at is the Djinn, so called by the locals because they believe this area contains spirits. The three square cut blocks are said to represent gods. We are told that most of the areas that are designated for gods contain three symbols for three different gods.
Our guide shows us the universal traveller’s writing that was used around the world. It is a mix of Greek and Latin letters and aids travellers to be able to communicate without learning lots of different languages. Although travelling does help you to pick up a few words here and there from other languages, regardless.
The writing here is a dedication to the Nabatean house and tomb near it. It tells of the occupants, who are the man, his wife and their three children. When their tomb was found, there was evidence of their bodies in the tomb, corroborating the writing.
We arrive at the entrance to the Siq a short walk later. There is an ancient drain here that collects and carries the water away from the Siq. The Siq does have unique features, such as an open water channel to transport water from the beginning to the end. The water channel also features sumps to filter the sediment out as it moves down the 1.5 km channel.
The Siq is much deeper than is currently excavated, and there are more pipes carrying water under the ground. In some sections, the pipes are visible at ground level.
It is such a wondrous walk through this section of Petra. The Siq canyon is so beautiful, and the natural curves and colours of the rocks leave me in absolute awe. Even the second time around, this place has a kind of magical quality, especially in its beauty.
My guide tells us that they are not quite sure how the canyon was created, whether it was from an earthquake or by water. He is religious and refers to the ark flooding a lot. He talks about how the topography of the area has completely changed, which is why Petra fell into disuse as the capital of the Nabateans and as a major trade hub.
We are shown the different worship points and niches for the gods along the way. Once you are shown what to look for, you start to see little niche pockets everywhere.
We finally get to an amazing part of the Siq, the ancient carvings of a camel caravan. You can see one trader with a caravan of two camels on one side of the canyon, and further down, there are two or three more caravans and a trader.
We get towards the end, and our guide tells us we are almost there. Almost to the most beautiful sight a traveller could see: the moment the Siq opens up to display the Treasury. Once again, I am taken aback by the sheer beauty of the Treasury and how it playfully peeks out from behind the rock walls as you approach from the canyon. My eyes well up, and I feel a sense of gratitude for being able to see this once again in my life.
As I walk out of the canyon, I am completely mesmerised by the stunning building in front of me. It is only marred by some pock marks created by bullets because people thought the urn that crowns the carving was full of jewels and treasures.
After taking in my surroundings, I realise there are almost no tourists. The last time I was here, it was later and colder in the season, but it was still quite crowded with visitors. This time, there are but a handful. It almost feels as though we have the place to ourselves.
We sit at the little shop here and order a drink, a delicious mint tea for me and a can of Coke for Amy. Our guide explains different things and symbols on the Treasury.
Once we’ve rested and really absorbed the amazingness of the Treasury, we continue walking down the main trail to see more tombs and monuments. Along the way, I notice how quiet Petra is, and this time I don’t just mean the tourists.
The archaeological park is a bit different from when I visited last time because the government has taken control of the sites due to UNESCO pressure to keep them preserved. Last time the park was crawling with people selling you souvenirs, mule rides, camel rides and everything else in between. But now there is a police presence, and a lot of the stalls have been removed. There are only three camels at the Treasury for people to ride; otherwise, there are no camel rides further in the park.
I am surprised but not unhappy with the changes. Petra feels more like an ancient site that should be revered and no longer an amusement park. Although I understand how this would have hurt the economy in the area.
As we walk further into the park, our guide points out more interesting facts. You can see how deeply buried Petra still is, as there are so many lintels on doorways just poking above the ground. The buildings here also have houses on the bottom and tombs on top, but some caves are just tombs. You can see which places were used for which because the houses had water storage, whereas the tombs had a place to burn incense.
Next up is the theatre. It is the only theatre in the world to be carved out of rock as opposed to being built with stone blocks. It was Romanised with the introduction of the wings and stage. Prior to the stage being built, the show would take place at ground level.
Continuing on, we check out the last few main sites, the Colonnade Street, which has a huge temple with columns flanking the street. Once upon a time, there would have been market stalls here for the traders. The temple was found to have toilets, which felt novel for the time it was built.
We finally reach the final point on our tour with the guide, and it is the lady’s temple. The temple has survived earthquakes over the years because of a special ingredient placed in the brickwork while it was being built. There are three distinct layers of mortar mixed with juniper tree. These layers acted like a shock absorber during the earthquakes. It is not known if this temple was for women, but there were female gods here for worship.
It is time to say goodbye to our guide for today. We arranged to utilise his services tomorrow also, so we can see the Monastery. He shows us to the start of the trail that will take us high above the Treasury to the perfect vantage point.
He tells us yalla yalla, as it is getting later in the afternoon, and the hike will take an hour or so to reach the photo point. We start the hike at 3.47 pm, and we start by going straight up a huge set of stairs. After the first hundred or so, we are joined by a cat. The cat has one eye and follows us for some time. He is walking along, purring loudly, and enjoying the attention. I am enjoying the fact that Amy’s mind is being taken off the task at hand: walking up lots and lots of stairs.
And when I say stairs, let’s use that term loosely. Some of them are well-built steps, some are old ones carved into the stone, some are old ones that were carved but have weathered away, and some are crumbling stepping stones mixed with sand. The trail is rated hard, and it most definitely is. We take a few breaks along the way until we reach the top of the mountain.
There is now a police camp here, as there are a few police along the trail. Luckily, they are here as they point us in the right direction a few times. Now, when I did this hike last time I was here, I was with my guide, so it wasn’t an issue. After the government took control of Petra, it closed this hike down. I’m not sure why, but it has only been reopened for a few months. At this point, I think Amy would have preferred it to have stayed shut!
Once we reach the top, we then have to go down a bit and along the mountain trail. At least it isn’t stairs! We finally reach the viewpoint after 45 minutes. We try to take nice photos when the police ask if he can take some for us. We agree, and he ends up taking the best ones! There are only two other people up here, and we passed four on the way down when we were going up, so we are able to take our time and enjoy the view and the moment.
After about 25 minutes, we start the hike back down. I don’t think Amy considered the hike worth it! It was hard work! But the view from the top is just so pretty.
The sun is setting quickly after we reach the bottom of the trail. We had a few cats that joined us for the walk down, making it an enjoyable experience. One came all the way from the highest point to the very bottom. Now the poor thing has to go back up to the top if that’s where it lives!
We walk past the Royal Tombs, and agree that we will check these out tomorrow. We reach the Treasury once again, and the light has almost disappeared. And so have all the tourists. There are three other people who start the walk back out via the Siq at the same time we do.
The Siq is dark by now. I take a timelapse, but I am not sure how it will turn out, given we were walking by phone torchlight. We finally made it back out to the visitor centre just over 6 hours after we entered. We are tired, and our legs hurt, but we decide, since we had no lunch, that we should really go and find ourselves some dinner!
We walk along the main street, aptly called Tourism Street, checking out the different menus at each restaurant. But before we settle where to eat, we find ourselves wandering into souvenir shops. I pick up a Christmas bauble, and Amy gets a scarf.
For dinner, we settle on the Red Cave Restaurant, where I order an upside-down chicken and rice dish, and Amy orders a beef burger. We also have a fresh guava juice. The guava juice is delightfully yummy, even though it still has some seeds in it. It is fresh and thick and apparently full of vitamin C.
The food arrives rather quickly, and we scoff it down, laughing that it’s as though we’ve been stranded at sea for a month. With dinner demolished, we make our way to the car. It’s at this point that our legs have almost had enough. The hill to the car park is steep! We fall into the car and drive the 100m down the road to the hotel.
We check in and make our way to the allocated room. Of course, when we get to the room, we can’t open the door, so Amy takes one for the team and heads back to reception to get help. The gentleman at reception opens the door for us. There’s a knack to it, which might have been nice to know the first time around.
We get inside and collapse into our beds. We are exhausted. I think about writing up my trip details, but I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to brush my teeth. I set the alarm for 7.30 am, and then it’s lights out.
More journal entries from this trip
A Long Weekend in Jordan – Travelogue Day 1
A Long Weekend in Jordan – Travelogue Day 3 & 4
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