We met Daoud at 7 so that we could get started on viewing Petra by day early. Walking into the city by day was a much different experience than the night before.
The Siq was amazing, remindful of the slot canyons we saw in New Mexico and Utah, but much larger and higher. It was carved by water cutting through the sandstone over thousands of years. Petra is also known as the rose-red city because of the beautiful colors of the sandstone carvings throughout. The city of Petra was built by the Nabataeans, who dominated the Trans-Jordan region from around 300 B.C.E. through the Byzantium period. They were a Semitic people from who moved into the Negev and what is now Southern Jordan around 600 B.C.E. Petra was chosen because of its strategic position near caravan routes and because of its defensibility. As traders, they incorporated many different cultures into their lifestyle and art and architecture. As we walked through the city, we saw Eastern, Western, Semitic, and European (Roman and Greek) influences. They showed amazing ingenuity in their methods of conservation and distribution of water. The Siq is lined by two rock carved water channels that trapped dew and rainwater and brought it into the city.
The Nabataean religion is based on two deities a god of strength, Dushara, and a goddess of water and fertility, al-Uzzah. There was a strong belief in the afterlife, and this was evident in the structure of their homes (caves). The homes were simple caves, but above he caves were very elaborate “second homes”, mausoleums cut into the sandstone with beautiful facades. The famous Treasury was in fact not a treasury at all, but the mausoleum of the Nabataen King Aretas IV (9 B.C.E-40 A.D.) .
After a guided tour of the city, we were left on our own to wander and hike one of the steep trails up to the Qasir Habis (Crusader’s Castle} with great views from the top west to Israel.
There is a strong Bedouin presence in Petra very evident throughout. After the fall of Petra in 300 A.D. due to a devastating earthquake, the ruins were inhabited by Bedouins who lived and kept livestock in the caves until 1985. At that time, the Jordanian government relocated them to new housing in nearby New Petra. The Bedouins now are concessionaires, giving horseback, camel, donkey, and horse cart rides to tourists who prefer not to walk. The site is littered with women and young children (couldn’t figure out why they weren’t in school) hawking souvenirs, water, tea, post cards. Even along the hike we took, there were stalls of trinkets being sold. This certainly detracted from the experience. One vendor stood out, though. He was a 20 something year old Bedouin selling silver jewelry and a book. The book was the story of his parents, a New Zealand mother and a Bedouin father, who live in Petra until they were evicted in 1985. This young man grew up here, but he spoke English with a very prominent Kiwi accent!
We were pretty exhausted after several hours of hiking in the hot dry desert sun. We were also covered in a combination of dried sweat and desert sand dust and looked and smelled awful (not quite as bad as the camels and donkeys, though). It was a long 2 hour ride back to the border. Though Jordan did seem friendlier than Egypt, we were still happy and relieved to be getting back to Israel.
We crossed back into Israel after the mandatory questions: “Why did you go to Jordan?” “Where did you go?” “Did anyone give you anything to bring into Israel?” “Did you pack your own bags?” “Were the bags out of you sight at anytime after you packed them?” And then the apology, “We want to know this for your safety, so that you are not bringing a bomb with you.” They take security very seriously. They also x-ray your bags and tear them apart if they have any questions. Better safe than sorry.
Our flight from Eilat to Tel Aviv was delayed, so we didn’t get to our hotel until about 9 PM. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so we were starving. Walked to the first falafel stand we found and wolfed down falafels and Maccabee beers (water for the ladies). I’m not sure that it was due to the state of hunger or the quality of the food, but we all agreed that of the 6 or so falafel stands this was the best. Back to the hotel for a shower to wash off the days sweat and dust, and our last night’s sleep in Israel. Tomorrow, Tel Aviv and the flight home.
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