Jihad, Shmahad – Southern Jordan, Petra

Let me preface this by saying: Petra is too amazing to be understood in digital picture format. It’s older than anything in the United States (300 BC). As for a little background you might understand: Do you remember Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? The one with Sean Connery? Remember when Indiana is riding his horse through the valley at the end to find the temple with the Holy Grail in it? That’s Petra.

Wade Jewkes, Deseret News: Petra — Ancient Nabateans built a place of wonder in the wilderness

… everyone who visits here is left breathless by the stunning, architectural beauty. And the breathless part can be taken almost literally when one considers the hike in is about two miles to the main bowl area and from there it requires a steep climb covering 950 steps to reach the famed Monastery monument — that is if the wear and tear on your body can withstand the rigors required from this masochistic behavior. But it is worth it.

Trans-Ferir – Professor da Universidade do Porto – PETRA (Jordan)

A little farther from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view; and at the point where the valley opens out into the plain the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. Indeed, the amphitheatre has actually been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction, rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-coloured mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with tombs cut from the rock in the form of towers

Lee Abbamonte – The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

I wish I was more poetic, to be able to aptly describe what the opening walk in Petra is like, but I will try my best. Entering the city, you first see various different sculptures along the road that winds into a mountain. As you enter the Siq, it seems like you are walking aimlessly for a very long time. After about 20 minutes or so you see an opening in the narrow slit in the Siq.

As you approach the ending the narrow gash gets wider and more and more light shows itself and the temperature starts to get hotter as your heart starts to beat heavier. Finally as you are about to exit the pass you are blinded by the rush of light and as you clear your eyes and continue walking out the tunnel you are greeted by the single most amazing site ever concocted by mankind. Right there in front of you is the Treasury, Petra’s most famous and magnificent structure.

And the adventure continues…. on to Jordan and Israe! – Petra, Jordan

Well things didn’t work out as planned and I did not spend my birthday at the pyramids!  I thought Petra would be nice, one wonder of the world for another, but I was disappointed.  I got there at 10am and quickly went to the sight … The second day I had a much better time and started to like Petra a lot more.  It is amazing to see the same sight twice because the light changes completely during the day and it looks very different.

Hiking Petra – The Monastery

By this point we were quite ill again, but I decided it would be a good idea to continue hiking up the 800+ steps carved into the sandstone which lead to the monastery. I really enjoyed this part of the hike, in part because of the view at the end, but in part because we met several families that lived in a neighboring village with whom we exchanged greetings and who were kind and welcoming. I was fascinated that the trails leading among these wonders of the world were their daily paths.

Southern Exposure offers these three photo journal posts:

• Southern Exposure: Petra
• Southern Exposure: Aqaba
• Southern Exposure: Wadi Rum

Of course, there’s my post from November of 2007 – The Petra Treasury Indiana Jones didn’t show you

Two days ago I was standing alone on the steps of the Treasury at Petra. The images still awe me, more so this 2nd visit than the 1st.  Below is a brief description along with 3 YouTube videos explaining why …

Hey, I know what some of you are thinking … but trust me … while there’s alot of “touristy stuff” going on there … none of it detracts from finding your own grail in the glory of Petra.

“You want a horse? You wont make it five feet” – This was the advice of a young man who is part of the “horse mafia” that operates here in Petra.  If you go into Petra as a group you have to pay an additional 7 JOD on top of the large sum of cash you already dished out.  This money goes directly to the horse mafia in order to keep them off your tail and to allow you to ride a horse if you wish.

The above quote coming from a recent Travel Post that along with describing the once-in-a-lifetime thrill that is visiting Petra, some of the not-so-thrilling aspects of the local tourist enterprises.

In my first visit to Petra, I noted the same – where a number of soot covered boys would come right up next to me and holding strands of cheap bracelets and necklaces in my face would shout out sales pitches into my ear – often including empty flattery about the U.S.A. – which they correctly (and probably easily) guessed as my country of origin.

But that was benign and almost cute. What wasn’t was the horses running up and down the Siq – an awe-inspiring spectacle of geology almost 0.825 mile (1.3 km) long, 600 foot (182 m) story high. It is through this rose-red gorge one walks through before arriving at the Treasury – with an awe inspiring view similar to that seen in the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) that I captured and posted to YouTube my second visit … but I digress …

It is also through this cavern that I and others have almost gotten run over by … as another blogger describes: “Untrained horses with untrained kids racing the horses down a rocky trail …”

And it is this safety issue, along with a health issue one confronts while climbing the long set to steps up to the Monastery … avoiding the odorous ‘presents’ left by mules some tourists take to the top … and then are taken at the top by the ‘donkey mafia‘ when they discover the negotiated 2JD price for riding up is taxed with a surprise 10JD to be let off the animal!

Hopefully, the recently announced plans at Petra to regulate services & enhance visitor experience will remedy such incidents as they tend to distract somewhat from the experience … though I have my doubts if there is any truth to this snippet from another Petra blogger also commenting on the infamous horse mafia:

At Petra the horse mafia rule the roost. They’re so cunning that they hold the King to ransom and force him to include the price of their terrible horse ride into the entry price to Petra. And when the King tried to change things, they threatened to blow up Petra with dynamite… long story.

Still, with increased travel to the historic site up over the half million mark this year alone, something is going to have to change before a fatal accident and/or a health issue ruins it for everyone.

BUT please, don’t let these descriptions of the horse mafia, the donkey mafia, the bands of junk jewelry hawkers and other minor distractions deter you from visiting Petra. They are annoyances at best, usually quickly forgotten moments after experiencing fantastic and incredible sites such as:

• The Siq
• The Treasury
• Street of Facades
• The Amphitheater
• Royal Tombs
• High Place of Sacrifice
• Colonnaded Streets
• Winged Lions & Qasr al-Bint Temples
• The Monastery
• The Petra Museum

Trust me, as time passes and one looks over the photos of Petra, you don’t think too much about them crazy kids racing them rickety carriages up-n-down the SIQ.