Ancient Trails and Camel Dung

A four hour drive on the "International Desert Highway" led us from Amman to Wadi Musa  - to the Petra Guest House and to the gate of the ancient Nabatean city of Petra.   The drive was uneventful... hours of dry, brown desert with no trees and only a smattering of small, cinder-block housing complexes. The driver, "Steve", however, was quite intriguing.  A Jordanian who had lived in the USA (Nashville, of all places), he talked endlessly about his love for the USA, his former position as a body guard at the US Embassy in Amman  (where, he bragged, he worked with Hillary Clinton - "a long time ago, when she was pretty"), and his stint with the FBI (uh, don't think so, buddy).   He did actually provide great information about Jordan and it's history in the Middle East, his concerns about Syrian refugee camps on the border, and the oil routes from Akaber to Amman  (fuel, unlike other place in the Middle East, is very expensive in Jordan).   Although we had the conceirge at the Sheraton book the tour driver for us, in retrospect I think "Steve" could have just been one of his buddies who wanted to make some extra cash - and not a true tour operator.  Hmmm....

Steve dropped us at the Petra Guest House - a lovely little hotel with a "Cave Bar" built into the sandstone  (truthfully, this is why I picked the place). 

The staff were quite accustomed to dealing with tourists... but indicated that the number of American tourists had dropped considerably since the recent uprisings in the Middle East.  ( By the way - we felt very safe the entire time....).

The hotel boasted a great breakfast/lunch.... traditional breakfast of bread, hummus (best in the world), pickled veggies, lebnah (a type of creamy, sour cheese that was fried), beautiful fruit and STRONG coffee.  Yum!

PETRA.  Wow.  I remember sitting in the eat-in kitchen at the home of my Uncle John Loomis about 15 years ago when he pulled out this huge book detailing some pretty amazing places in the world.  To me,  he always seemed to have this mysterious knowlege of ancient cultures and places - I always found him so intruiguing.   I remember him showing me this picture of an enourmous building carved into a sandstone wall in some far-off Arabian country.  I was hooked. It immediately made it onto my "top ten" list of places I wanted to visit someday.  How fortunate that it was able to happen.

A brief history lesson.
According to my guidebook - the Nabateans were an ancient tribe who originally came from the Arabian Peninsula more than 2200 years ago.  Before they settled in southern Jordan, they lived for a considerable time in north-western Arabia in a strategic area that lay on the ancient "Silk Road" trade routes (linking to China and India and the Mediterranean coastal cities).  They became "masters of the regions trade routes" - levying tolls and protecting caravans carrying Arabian frankincense and myrrh, Indian spices and African ivory and animal hides.   Profits from the caravanning business enabled them to establish and organize a powerful kingdom - effectively ruling the greater part of Arabia (not easy considering the region was under the domination of Greeks and later Romans).   In 106 AD, the Nabatean Empire was annexed to the Roman Empire.   Petra thrived for many years until the sources of its riches decreased due to such factors as the shift in trade routes and lesser demand for frankincenses as Christianity replaced pagan religions.  Eventually, Petra fell to ruin.  After the 14th century it was completely lost to the West until a Swiss traveler rediscovered it in 1812 (what a find that must have been!). 


We purchased tickets from the small trailer at the entrance and proceeded to enter one of my "top ten places".   I was stoked. 

Then the smell hit.   Camels, donkeys, horses..... a fragrant aroma of dung.   There were "tour guides" constantly following us (animals in tow)... "You want to ride a donkey, lady?  A camel?  Cheap price.  I give you good deal".   ... or....  "Taxi?  Air conditioned!", followed by hysterical laughter. 

 

We proceeded through the As-Siq, the ancient main entrance to Petra.  It's an impressive 1200 meter long, deep and narrow gorge surrounded by soaring sandstone cliffs and bizarre geological formations.   It's quite amazing... especially when hearing the "clop-clop" of horses and donkeys from around each bend.

 

After a wonderful 30 minute hike - we round the bend to see the sight I've been waiting for....

 

The view from the Siq opens to one of the most famous sights of Petra - The Al-Khazneh (Treasury).  Emerging from the Siq, you come face to face with the Al-Khazneh - a magnificient sight (you may recall from Indiana Jones...).  You're also met with a plethora of children and old men trying to sell their wares.... oh, and more camel dung.

 



 

More to come in the next post!  Alsalam Alakam!