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Saturday, April 21, 2012
Aqaba, Jordan (Petra)
The only port in Jordan, Aqaba is only nine miles from Israel. This is the location where, in the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”, they filmed that scene where the Arabs coming thundering out of the desert to capture a Turkish Port. Although a fairly modern city, you could still film that scene in the outlying areas. Today, Aqaba is a resort area with sandy beaches, blue water and where people snorkel the reefs and wind sail. However, just get inland a few miles and there is desert and desolation like you have never seen! And yes, we saw lots of Bedouins still living in tents in the desert. I couldn’t quit taking pictures of how bleak it was. Often Aqaba is just used as a jumping off point for Petra, which is probably the one “must see” of Jordan. “Petra” means rock, in Greek. This city was built during the days of the Roman Empire. The story goes that this is where Moses stuck his staff in the ground and a fresh stream of water appeared. They did a good job of redirecting, storing and making use of this asset. Fresh water, as you might imagine, was in high demand in the desert. With this bargaining chip they were able to control many of the things traded at this busy cross road of the caravan routes. The unique thing about this city is – instead of buildings, they intricately carved beautiful homes, tombs and temples out of the red sandstone mountain side. It prospered until about 312 B.C. Even Alexander the Great’s army was unable to capture this city. And seeing it, I understand completely. If you look at the entrance to this city (above) you see what the challenge was. No one is sure how they met their demise. In about the 3rd Century they quit minting coins, for which they were famous. Historians think perhaps there was an earthquake in that area. If that caused the water supply to dry up, the people may have just left of their own accord. Petra, the “Lost city” was rediscovered in 1812. Probably what most people associate with Petra now is the movie, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Yep, that is just what it looks like. This was not a tour for the weak of heart or feet. You walk close to 5 miles to get to this city, tour it and get back out. But hey, this place was truly incredible. I guess that is why it is one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. I will post a few Petra pictures tonight then work on all the rest of the pictures of Petra and Jordan during our next at sea day. We were so fortunate because instead of the usual 100 degree heat, a fluke cool front came through and it was about 75 degrees. We started the tour by walking down a slope for about a half mile to get the “siq”, the main entrance. You finally reach the city through a narrow passageway with rock walls towering about 600 feet above your head. This thing is only about 9 feet wide in places and maybe 25 ft. in the wider spots. Very daunting. It is another half mile of walking through this crack-like passageway in the stone walls to get to the city. I have to say it is definitely worth the hike. You exit this passageway to see the Treasury (which is really a tomb). This is the picture you see in the movies and on postcards. It dates back to about 100 B.C. This red sandstone city is incredible to see with its stone, colonnaded street, amphitheater (seating 3,000), royal tombs, homes and market area. There are over 500 carved tombs. This thing covers acres. I walked a couple of miles in this city and barely scratched the surface. All I could think of was how much the kids would enjoy climbing around in these ruins – and that is allowed. Hannah would have gone crazy with all the places to explore. I never took so many pictures of rocks! Temples carved from rocks. Home and tombs carved from rocks – amphitheater out of rock .I thought I had hit the end of the road in the direction I was walking, but was told you could walk hours in several other directions and still be in Petra. Remember that loooong walk down an incline to get to the city? Guess what, you get to retrace your steps, at the end of the day, to get home. The walk that seemed like a stroll down a gentle slope going - turned into an uphill incline that felt like a mountain climb returning home. Even with perfect weather, we wimped out and took one of the carts back to the entrance. It was that, or a donkey or a camel. We thought the cart looked easier. We got aboard and the horse drawn cart immediately started careening down the narrow passageway, as you clung on for dear life. The horse slipped and slid over the bumpy Roman stone roads until the challenge was just to remain seated and in the cart. We took one corner and hit another cart coming the other way. All I could think of was, about a minute earlier, my hand had been right where they ricocheted off each other! We made it and returned to the bus for our two hour bus ride back to the ship. Why is it that from the Taj Mahal to Petra – these places are always on the roads less traveled? It is never somewhere you can just fly into or take a cab. I will say it is truly one of the more impressive places we have toured and I am glad we did it. But my advice is - if you want to tour Petra, start training now as it is an arduous journey to find and tour the “lost city”.
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