Three short bus rides later we arrived in the town of Wadi Musa and were ready to enter Petra. Petra, a wonder-filled city that is fully carved out of stone, was said to be built by the Nabataeans (an Arab people) over 2000 years ago. It served as one of the major trade crossroads, linking China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and even Rome.
We entered the city through the Siq, a narrow gorge surrounded by soaring 260 foot cliffs. Walking through the Siq was a magical experience in itself- the astounding rock formations and beautiful swirls of color made it feel like we were entering a whole new world! We walked slowly, taking in each moment...
This was one of the many different and- should I dare say- THRILLING rock patterns that we witnessed.
The end of the Siq left us with this stunning sight: the Al-Khazneh, also known as the Treasury. This Treasury, at nearly 100 feet wide and 150 feet tall, was carved right out of the sandstone cliff and is praised as one of the most beautiful architectural buildings in all of Jordan (some may even say the world).
From the Treasury, we wandered inward to view the many other sights that Petra had to offer: caves* (where the Bedouin people actually lived until quite recently), rock cut tombs, obelisks, temples, colonnaded streets, water ways, and the Ad-Meir Monastery (which is located atop a mere flight of 800 rock cut steps). The 90 degree Fahrenheit weather had nothing on us!
*The Bedouins are historically a desert-dwelling, nomadic people of Arab origin. Until the mid- 1980's, the Bedouins inhabited the whole of Petra as their own city, making their home in the caves. In the mid- 1980's however, the Jordanian government- in an effort to preserve the monuments- outlawed living in the city of Petra. The Bedouins moved out of the caves and into a nearby village- complete with housing structures, running water and electricity- and thus entered into a completely different lifestyle.
With sunset approaching, we decided to hike up to The High Place of Sacrifice (where we were going to try and spend a few hours, hoping that we would be able to stay in the site until nightfall and catch the candle lit show around 8 pm). We spent the next hour or so basking in the delight of the setting sun (aka re-creating the sacrificial scene). Time magically slipped away, and we found ourselves walking down in the ever-darkening night (perfect!). Tessa whipped out her head-lamp and we quickly reached the main road.
As we started to approach what we believed to be the candle-lit show area, we were greeted by two Bedouin store owners who were throwing away the remains of their dinner. Our love of food, and desire to catch a free show, beckoned us into their shop where we finished their leftovers and joined them for a few (five each!) glasses of tea. We spent the time discussing everything from the tensions between the Bedouin community and the greater Wadi Musa community (apparently people from Wadi Musa try to paint the Bedouins as a group of people who cannot be trusted) to our favorite Jordanian desserts.
By the time we finished our conversation, Tessa and I were sure that we would be able to glimpse the candle-lit show. As we began the long walk back, we started conversing with another Bedouin man and he offered to walk us out, explaining that the candle-lit show was only two nights a week and that we were there on the wrong night...bummer!
We treasured his company, however, and ended up stopping at another little store to share mint tea with another Bedouin. Eventually, we finished our tea and continued our hike out.
As we walked out of the exit gate of Petra, two guys from our hotel walked up and, in a huge commotion, shared how they had been waiting for us (we have no clue why) for the past few hours and that we were in Petra for too long, "the Bedouins cannot be trusted". They then said something to the security guards (we think they were trying to teach us a lesson) and then the security guards motioned us onto the side, where we were supposed to wait for the police. Five or ten minutes later the police- a rather lacksadaisical crew- came and, rather uninterestedly, asked us a few questions. We were free- no big deal.
We've all heard that saying that one should make a big entrance. We, however, feel that it is all in the exit.
The next day we went to a castle and ended up crossing paths with Ellie, a USAID worker who loves adventure. We ended up catching a ride back with her to Amman. On the way back to the city, she pulled her car off the road and we all jumped into the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea. The salt formations here were incredible!
Back in Amman, we were able to meet up with Azalea, Tessa's friend from studying abroad in Thailand. Azalea is currently teaching English to young Jordanians. Tessa and I were the guest speakers for the day!
That last night we settled down for business with our new friend, Haya, and her family. Her family is Palestinian (according to one friend we met in Jordan, 60% of all people living in Jordan are from the neighboring countries, many of whom are refugees). Her mother cooked us a delicious Palestinian dinner, her parents gave up their bed so that we could sleep on it (half of the family said that they prefer to sleep on the floor!), the cousin brought in a huge bag of icecream treats and popsicles (we were each forced to take multiple), and the older brother (a nurse) operated on Tessa's puss-filled and swollen toe. Couchsurfing.com has really come through for us.
Our friend, Zafira, took us out to a few art galleries in Amman. She also took us to see a short and informative little documentary about Palestine and its right to existence.
Amman, the city of crisp and clean white-washed buildings all made of the same local stone. Apparently, for a time, Jordanians were outlawed from painting their houses.
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