Petra

We started a little late our first day in Petra because of our later than expected arrival. The hotel offers a shuttle to the entrance of the ruins three times a day, so we caught the early afternoon bus.

As a bit of background info, Petra, is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, as of 2007. It was a city carved out of mountains by the Nabatean people going back to about 100 B.C. Most of the people in the region are Bedouins, so Petra was an important permanent city for these nomadic peoples as a place for commerce and culture. Romans took control about 100 AD and Christianity soon followed. It was an important stronghold during the Crusades.

When you enter the park, the first stop is the Visitor's Center, where you can get maps, hire guides, etc. I had a pretty good book that would allow us to do our own thing and the only maps available were in German or Spanish ( thank goodness for my Spanish language skills).

As with any official site in Jordan, you always have photos of the Jordanian Royals. King Hussein, now deceased, and his son Abdullah, current ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. (His wife Rania is sometimes in the photos.... she is a hottie). Gift shops abound, many referring to Indiana Jones, since one of his movies was filmed here.

You enter the site with a 45 minute walk down the Siq, which is now the remains of what was probably a river millions of years ago. It provides for a very narrow passage way into the ancient city, but also provides a great deal of shade, and keeps the heat out. Locals are constantly passing you buy with offers to ride horses or donkeys down the path, but we opted to walk. I couldn't help but feel that the animals were being a tad exploited. My friend Sinda had told me to be prepared for this.

I got the impression that the big jaw dropping encounter with the Treasury, the most famous landmark at the site, was always just around the next corner, but when you finally make it, you are just floored by how impressive it is.

It's officially called the Al Khazneh, or Treasury and is by far the most elaborate structure at the ruins. Archaeologists estimate it was built between 100 BC and 200 AD and the style is very obviously influenced by Greece. One of the things you notice is that the facade is riddled with bullets. According to my book, the local Bedouins shot at the urn at the top of the facade in the hopes of uncovering a large treasure, but it was actually just an ornamental decoration, as the whole facade is carved out of solid sandstone. That is how it was named the Treasury, as the legend stated there was a hidden booty of gold stored at the site.

After wandering around and taking in the main feature, we headed back up the Siq and out into the small city center for a beer (ok... a few beers) and dinner. We stopped at a gift shop where Stu tried to haggle with the owner for a charm for Marty's bracelet. I kind of messed up negotiations when I said, "Stu, he also takes credit cards"

We wrapped up our day and headed back to the hotel. We had purchased a two day pass, so the plan was to come back the next day and hit the ground running.

As the sun was setting, I got a great photo of the Rif valley. A harsh landscape, but very impressive nonetheless. I am in a study about the Book of Joshua at the moment, and so being in this region was very appropriate. I can't help but imagine what it was like for my Jewish ancestors who had to wander around in this for 40 years before making it to Israel. Conditions must have been trying at best.