Petra - Happy Hour Will Never Be the Same

It has been a super long and excited day! It all started at 8am when we all piled into the van to head to Petra. Our guide insisted that we leave early so that by the time we got to the Treasury the sun would be shining.

The van dropped us off at the visitor centre, but before we got off the bus our guide warned us about the Bedouin people that live around Petra and come to Petra everyday to sell things to the tourists... aka harass the tourists to purchase jewelry, stop for tea, or ride a donkey or a camel. He warned us that the majority of the jewelry and coins are made in China or India, the shops that sell the tea don't properly wash the cups, and that riding the donkeys or camels can be dangerous as they often over work the animals and the ground is very uneven.

After we got our ticket and we headed in, we passes the horses (which are actually free) that take you from the visitor centre to the beginning of the Siq. If we are talking Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, it's the long narrow path that lead to the "palace-looking" building carved into the wall that the cup of Christ was hidden it. The "palace-looking" building The Treasury. In really life it's a pathway that goes narrow and then larger at different points. It was all paved by the Nabataeans and then the Romans.

It was so amazing as we walked through the Siq, Our guide stopped us and spoke about the ancient Nabataeans society which were the first to develop the area. They were very progressive, they had a democratic society, set up the Siq for many different religions, and advertised key people who played at the auditorium. all this to attract people to Petra. They created much of Petra but there are also Greek, Turkish, and Roman influences based on whomever had taken over the land.

Along the Siq, our guide pointed out the different religions statues that were carved into the rock so that the caravans could stop and pray along the ways to Petra. He also provided some interesting parallels with Islam. Including the washing that is done before muslim prayers comes from some of the ancient religions in the regions. In fact you can see that at each of the religious statues where were areas where they could wash before they prayed. The water was provided by an amazing aqueduct system that carried water on each side of the Siq. One was coved and they used clay to prevent sediment in their drinking water and the other was for agriculture (and was uncovered.)

And then all of a sudden the Siq ends and hints of the sunlight lit Treasury Appear. It's breathtaking. Truly unbelievable to see... and then, we went camera crazy. Both Sue and I got some amazing pics!

 

Aziz then showed us two tombs one tomb of the last queen of Petra and next to her a Petra tour guide! Now the Romans were not happy that they had to go to the Nabataeans for their frankincense and myrrh so they decided they were going to cross the very difficult Saudi desert and create a route to Yemen themselves. This tour guide volunteered to lead them and then lead them to the middle of the desert and then buggered off leaving them to perish in the desert. He returned to Petra a hero and with much thanks they buried him next to the last queen!

We then followed the path while being harassed by the Bedouin people to stop and purchase items. Aziz warned us that he would sound very convincing that we should buy from these people. His code to tell us it's okay to purchase was when he said "Seriously, Seriously, Seriously!" So along the way we stopped for some "serious" drinks. I had another delicious mint and lemonade... WICKED AWESOME TASTY! I'm so going to make these when I get home. I also bought some postcards.

We then saw the Temple of Dushares, the heart of Petra. It's beautiful ruins that include a miracle arch that survived through thousands of years of frequent earthquakes. We then headed to an included buffet lunch that was tasty and I had Fanta... yum... I haven't had a Fanta in a while. It was so cold and so good.

Then we started the very long and uphill climb to The Monastery. At this point it's at least 3K climbing switch back stairs and dodging donkeys. I'm so thankful that Aziz said to stay VERY clear of the donkeys because they are not well controlled and many have gone over the side with their passenger in the past. So stuck to the side of the way we climbed, and climbed, and climbed! At points we thought, is this really going to be worth it. OMG, it totally was worth it! The Monastery is very similar to the Treasury, but less intricate. It was very quiet so we got such great pics! It's truly breathtaking! And not just because we were so high up! It was then about another 10 minute climb to the very top where you can get some great pics of the area.

 

We then began the race back to the front gate to make the 5pm van back to the hotel. We left the top at 1:50. Along the way we stopped at ruins of a church that has some beautiful mosaics. We found along the way to the next stop an amazing amount of ceramic pottery bits from where the homes used to be (they have since fallen in the earthquakes.) Very large bit actually... including cup handles, and casserole handles, and bottoms of cups or bowls.

We then made our way to the Royal Tombs. Sue and I were so close to being done that we almost didn't go but in the end we wanted to see as much as we could so we sucked it up and climbed (again!) and see some of the very large royal tombs. These tombs had some of the most amazing colours.

 

From there it was a race back through the pathways, by the Treasury, taking some sunless shots and them rocketing through the uphill path through the Siq finally to be harassed by the donkey and horse people for a lift to the top. We just couldn't do it, so after a moment break we continued to climb arriving at the visitor centre with enough to grab a scoop of the best ice cream in Jordan. We managed to get on the 5pm bus and saved ourselves the 3 JD for a cab!

So why will Happy Hour never by the same? Because EVERY Bedouin man, woman, and child along the way (and there were many, form the jewelry to the donkeys) would yell out to you saying it's "Happy Hour" indicating there where special deals! Amazingly, happy hour lasts ALL day long. I don't think I can hear about happy hour without thinking about it!

All in all the ruins of Petra where HUGE, over 14K of walking with 1/2 being uphill (and it was uphill on the way back!!!) We are so tired and we are madly packing our bags as they bags need to be out at 7:30 am and we need to be in the lobby at 8 am for more amazing travels tomorrow.

 

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