Jordan-Petra and Dead Sea

February 26 and 27, 2020

Oh Wow Plus 100 Camels

Our one day of rest and relaxation in Aqaba turned out not to be. The hotel’s main pool was under construction and the noise was unbearable to sit outside, even on our balcony. So we hung out in the room and got caught up on work and the blog.

At 3:30 our driver came to fetch us and bring us to Wadi Musa, the town closest to the main entrance of Petra. I have decided that Jordanian drivers are a bit reckless and certainly drive like the wind. As we topped out at the pass through some of Jordan’s highest mountains, there were patches of snow still sitting in the shade. Crazy to think yesterday it was snowing here.

We made it to the hotel just in time for sunset, had an incredibly warm welcome from the duty manager, the cousin of a waiter at the other hotel who we had befriended and watched the sun set over the beautiful mountains.

Dinner at the hotel was delicious and we all went to bed early for the alarm was going off at 5:30AM so we could get into Petra before the crowds.

Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the second one we will have visited this trip (the first was Wadi Rum Protected Area). It is not known precisely when Petra was built, but the city began to prosper as the capital of the Nabataean Arab Empire from the 1st century BC, but was later annexed to the Roman Empire and continued to thrive until a large earthquake in 363 AD destroyed much of the city. The earthquake combined with changes in trade routes, eventually led to the downfall of the city which was ultimately abandoned, only to be “discovered” by westerners in 1812.

Our timing this morning was great as we pretty much had the Siq all to ourselves as we walked in. The Siq is the ancient entrance to the city of Petra. It is basically a ridiculously deep slot canyon with walls some 250 feet high, still paved in ancient cobblestones in part, with remnants of original dams, canals and carvings of the Nabataeans. The walk through the Siq was beautiful and peaceful, leaving us in great anticipation of arriving at the end where we would come face to face with the Treasury, Petra’s most famous building.

Arrival at the end of the Siq gave us the initial glimpse of the magnificent treasury building. Stepping out into the open brought this stunning structure into full view, literally resulting in audible gasps of, “Oh wow!” It is a truly spectacular sight and there were few other people around to detract from its impact. Thies remarked that he had expected it was going to be much smaller than its actual size of roughly 80 feet high. It’s original purpose is still a mystery but it has recently been thought to be a tomb. The carvings and columns are lovely, and its placement under an overhang, built into the sandstone cliff is truly marvelous. We lingered here a while, taking photos and just absorbing its overwhelming presence before heading down the main trail deeper into the old town of Petra.

All of the canyon walls are filled with caves. There are hundreds of them carved into the rock having been used for stables, homes, tombs, stores, etc. We knew there was a view of the Treasury from above so we set out to find it. We ended up eventually finding the main trail of Al-Kubtha that would take you up high on the cliffs above the Treasury for a view down on it. Did I mention that this trail takes you up? Like up 1 mile and over 600 steps or in the case of some areas just indents carved into the rock. This trail was a serious workout but the views along the way were spectacular without a cloud in the sky to obscure the panorama.

Thies and Jenny had gone on ahead of us…you know younger more able bodied folk they are, and by the time we made it to the viewpoint, we found them hanging out on the edge of the cliff in a Bedouin’s tea house, chatting it up with a family from the Netherlands. The family was grateful to receive news from us that we had passed their two other children carrying their hotel-packed lunch boxes not far from where we were now.

The view over the edge down to the Treasury was breathtaking. We sipped fresh pomegranate juice and watched as the sun rose high enough in the sky to shine its first rays of the day on it, lighting it up slowly from top to bottom – so dramatic!

Back down the 600 steps and our knees surely felt it more than our glutes did going up! Oh, but the price we are willing to pay for the experience of it all.

On the way we checked out the area known as the Royal Tombs. They are magnificent in their structure and colors of granite zigzagging every which way throughout- reds, yellows, whites, blacks, oranges, and pinks were like a sunset explosion.

Billy and Thies decided to try their hands at negotiating with the local Bedouins for a few souvenirs and gifts to purchase to take back home. As it seems for all of the vendors, they are masters at their craft and even a truly excellent salesman like Billy, doesn’t stand a chance…At one point, the vendor offered 100 camels for Jenny… at anywhere from $3500-$5500 per camel I’d say she’s worth some money. But once again, the experience was fun and the items purchased will immediately remind us of the incredible time we have spent here in Jordan.

We continued down on the main trail, knowing that tomorrow we would cover most of the same ground so instead we veered up into the hills to see some of the outer, less visited sights that we were sure we would not want to stop at after our planned trek for tomorrow. The temple of the Winged Lion was pretty basic, with not much to see as none of it had been restored.

The other was the Byzantine Church, which while also not restored, and having been mostly destroyed by earthquake and fire, was a great stop for the mosaic floor alone. We also got a good laugh over the “guard” watching a US boxing match on his iPhone flinching and jerking with what must have been the jabs and blows being dealt in the ring.

Though still early in the day, it had already been a full one for us and the sun was out in full force. We decided to call it a day and go find some grub as we were all hungry and tired. The crowds on the main trail, the ridiculous amounts of trinket sellers lining the road, and the large numbers of donkeys and camels everywhere certainly detracted from the scene this should be. I was so happy we had enjoyed it before it had turned into a bit of a circus with the tour groups and crowds. In reflection, had we entered to the scene we exited on, the entire experience would have been different and probably disappointing.

Lunch back at the hotel hit the spot and we all passed out right after. We woke to watch another beautiful sunset over the rugged mountains of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan -such a great day!

February 28, 2020

Beautiful Jordan – In More Ways Than One

We were out the door on time this morning at 6:30AM for our drop off at Little Petra. The taxi driver told us to let the guy know at the bookstore outside the Petra Visitor Center when we were ready to be picked up and he would call him. I told him if he never hears from us to please send a search party out to look for us.

Technically there’s one way in and out of Petra, making it so you have to backtrack but I had read about a hike in to Petra through the “back door” that allows for one way travel. It also allows for you to avoid having to go up the grueling 800 or so steps to see the Monastery, the last structure on the main trail inside the confines of Petra Archaeological Park. The back door entry follows the Jordan Trail which is basically the Appalachian Trail of Jordan and can be done in a few hours. It was all appealing so I applied for the permission letters to hike before leaving home so we would be all set.

We arrived at Little Petra and were the only ones there, even the Bedouin vendors hadn’t arrived yet. We walked through the canyon, entering Little Petra through its ancient “door.” We were amazed how this far out from the main sight of Petra there were still hundreds of caves and carvings.

I searched for what is known as the Painted Biclinium, a sight that was said should not be missed. A sign helped point me in the right direction where I climbed the sandstone steps to peer inside the first century AD structure to view one of the few surviving examples of Nabataeans frescoes depicting grapevines, flowers and cherubic figures, including Venus. Pretty neat indeed. From there we walked back out where we found the sun lighting up the main temple turning it a beautiful golden color.

Thies took on the roll of navigator using the maps.me program to guide us to our destination of the Monastery. The trail is not very well marked. There is the occasional orange rock or red arrow, a sign every so often but that’s it and there are a lot of trails running off of the main trail so GPS was pretty essential.

The first two miles or so of the trail was through open country of sparsely populated Bedouin camps. No one was moving except for the dogs who dutifully ran up and barked at us only to turn back home once we passed their grounds. The lapis sky did not even have a single cloud and with the air only slightly crisp, we were happy with our decision to get an early start.

Orchid on Our Trail

The first small ascent took us to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Wadi Araba. Here the topography dramatically changed. We descended into the canyon on a trail that hugged the wall only to round a bend and have Thies point out that the trail goes up and I mean up! Thank God we came early because the trail was still in the shade as while I had read that there was some incline on this trail, no where was it mentioned that there are 292 steps you must climb – I know, I counted! After yesterday’s 8 miles and 600 steps, it was a bit of a “oh sh@t” moment looking straight up but up we soldiered on to reach an incredible viewpoint looking all the way out across the Jordan Rift Valley.

Up until now we had had the trail all to ourselves. There were a few people on a hiking tour that we passed at the rest stop but that was it until we came upon the cutest lady whose rosy cheeks matched the color of her heavy robe and were perfectly accented by the colorful headscarf she wore wrapped tight on her head. I would guess she was in her sixties, mainly from the grey in her eyebrows and the creases around her twinkling eyes. “Monastery? she asked. “Yes,” I said. “Where you are from?” “The United States,” I replied. “Ahhh… America…” In her very rudimentary English she said she was Bedouin, she goes to sell pashminas and that she makes this trek every day! What? Every day? We hadn’t passed a village let alone a tent in miles and we still had miles to go. Not to mention those grueling steps we had just climbed. She was adorable and immediately I was drawn to her beauty and her strength.

Not too long after that we rounded another bend and were looking out ahead at the trail trying to figure out which direction we were going to go next. There weren’t many options – right side, a 2,000 foot drop, left side a sheer wall. As I scanned the mountain I was drawn back to a video I had seen about this hike. I looked across the canyon at a small cut out in the rock face, “Oh dear God, that had better not be the freaking trail.” Thies turned to me, GPS in hand with this look of utter sympathy and certainty and stated, “I think that’s it.” Immediately my heart started pounding. “It can’t be,“ I implored. I had asked on the Trip Advisor forum about the issue for people with heights and I was assured it had all been rectified and there was only a small part (five feet they said) that would bother someone with acrophobia, even if it is not intense. There was no wall, and for that matter there was no trail! This trail made the trail in Zion look like a walk in the park. I told them I was going to have to crawl and Jenny was too because I would be so freaked out watching her walk it I couldn’t handle it. Just then some people that must have been ahead of us crossed the trail. There was no mistaking it – that was the trail. Thies, in his ever upbeat attitude turned to me and assured me, “You got this!”

As T minus zero came closer, my heart was pounding in my ears. Thies went first and got so close to the edge both Billy and I were begging him to step back. Jenny went next and once up assured me it wasn’t as bad as it looked. “It’s just this one part,” she said. Billy stayed behind me, supporting me through his silence. Just as I make my first step up, legs ferociously shaking, trying in vain to slow my breathing, I hear a voice calling, like a beacon of light to a mariner, “Madame. It’s OK. You be fine.” The sweet little lady was watching me, recognizing my tentative steps and desperate grabbing at any crevice in the rock face I could find. Her words and encouragement melted my heart. “I’ll be fine, she said. I’ll be fine.”

The trail continued from there, hugging the cliff with views to die for out over the rugged terrain but with a small wall separating us from the drop off, I was Ok.

We started to descend into the valley, slowly zigzagging down the canyon wall where eventually the terrain widened again and the top of the monastery could be seen. Cresting over a small hill, where the Monastery first came into view, was as memorable an event as ever. Its commanding size and presence made a lasting impression. Jenny asked why the Treasury was the face of Petra when the Monastery was so much more impressive.

We sat up on a hill overlooking it for quite some time before we moved lower to a tea house to continue soaking in the view. Jenny and I ordered a pomegranate juice and a lemon and mint juice while the boys scurried around.

Scenes from the Teahouse:

Not too much later the cute lady came through but now she was hauling a nylon rice sack filled with firewood. I smiled at her, enthusiastically saying, “You made it,” while she smiled back and continued on her way.

The hike from the Monastery back to the visitor center required descending the 800 steps we avoided by coming through the back door. The stairs are lined with vendors – everyone selling the exact same thing. How any of them make a coin is beyond me. It must be a tough life.

At some point, Thies and Jenny got ahead of Billy and I. As we made our way down, I came across Jenny taking a photo of the landscape when a young boy on a donkey nearby told her she could take his picture. When she did, she asked if he would like to see it and she spent a few minutes sharing it with him and laughing. I love that Jenny is never afraid or thinks she is too good to have meaningful exchanges with the people she meets on our trips. In fact, the opposite is true. She thrives off these interactions.

Another couple hundred stairs and once again Jenny gets ahead of us. This time we round the corner to see Jenny talking with the adorable lady from the trail, and I immediately know we are about to spend some money. She and Jenny are in an exchange smiling and laughing with each other. She sees me and grabs Jenny’s hand, leading her to a bench to sit down and tells me to take their photo. I do and share it with her. I point at all the wood she hauled and she smiled and said, “tea,” She asks if we would like to buy a pashmina and I am immediately struck by the fact her stall has about 20 pashminas compared to the 50, 100 or more that we have seen. She has only a few other trinkets and then some rocks and goat antlers that she has collected for sale. She says her name is Shayla and asks Jenny hers. We buy two scarfs from her for 7 Dinars apiece and she offers us a third for 5. Before we know it, she hands Jenny one of the few trinkets she was selling, a colorful mobile that has camels hanging from it, and says, “ A gift from my heart. No pay. For you.” My heart is melting at the thought of this lady who, if she’s lucky sells one item a week – if that, gifting Jenny something. It isn’t the first time we have experienced the generosity of someone who has so little and I suspect it won’t be the last. It is unfathomable really but perhaps not inexplicable.

There is something about Jenny that people are drawn to. Perhaps it’s her genuineness and her pure interest in interacting with people. She is patient and kind with others and always respectful. When an opportunity presents itself to have a moment or two of authentic banter, Jenny jumps on it. Just yesterday she shared a photo of herself in her “cheese head” from the Green Bay Packers game we went to, with a guy who, honestly, knew no different but said he had wanted a Cowboys baseball cap or “maybe one from Green Bay Packers.” She convinced him a slice of Wisconsin cheddar on his head was far better than any nylon cap with a boring old star. But these are the scenarios that seem to happen to us every trip. The few minutes it takes to engage in genuine communication, changes the entire feel of a trip. Jenny is a champ at it and for that she, we, really anyone who travels with her, is heavily rewarded by it.

We bid our goodbyes to Shayla and finished the last of the stairs off to find Thies waiting at the very end. Traveling with us isn’t quick – we slow down to take the scenery in, to shoot pictures, to chat with the locals or to pet a dog. We tend not to rush through things but also to not draw it out to the point that it’s painful. The more countries we travel to, the more we recognize it’s not about the number of things or places we can tick off having seen but the impact the place has on you and for that to occur, you must slow down and smell the roses – so we try.

The majority of the hike back out was the same from the day before. It wasn’t quite as crazy with tourists, perhaps yesterday a cruise ship came into Aqaba. Our cabbie said there has been so much fluctuations in tourists. After the Arab Spring, it was almost nonexistent. It had been strong until the coronavirus and now numbers are rapidly dropping. They are worried what will happen. I can only imagine.

Over lunch, Thies said the hike was one of his favorite things. I agree. It was just over 9 miles of rugged spectacular beauty.

That’s the Moon and Venus in the Top Left

February 29, 2020

The Lowest Point on a Highlight of Trips

We woke to another blue bird day in Petra to make our way north again, this time to the Dead Sea. After breakfast, where I broke down and had one last cup of Bedouin tea with pita and labneh; I guess I was a bit sad to leave this area of Jordan, we started our journey. Our final night in Jordan would be spent at the lowest place in the world at -1,300 feet below sea level. We had only planned one stop and that was at Dana, an abandoned village that is now the home of nothing else but a popular guesthouse for those people traveling on the Jordan Trail.

As we gained distance and elevation the weather changed quickly. We entered a thick cloud layer that left the road blanketed in fog. If anyone were to ask me whether I, at any time felt uneasy or unsafe in Jordan, my answer would be – only when driving in a car. The roads are of inclines that would never pass in the States. The width and guardrails for two lane mountain roads would be unheard of – except maybe in some of our national parks – I’m talking about you Rocky Mountain NP! But the absolutely craziest thing is that the lines in the highway appear to mean nothing – solid, divided, dashed, existent, or the fact there’s none and certainly should be. The left side’s second lane of travel is apparently also the right side’s; two apparent lanes really means three lanes, or occasionally four lanes; the random speed humps encountered in the middle of nowhere are meant to be dodged or what the hell… hit head on going 100 km/hr. So is Jordan safe? Absolutely… unless you are driving in a car. Which is why I was glad we had the accident early on, to get it out of the way and let me rest easy… ha!

As it was, on our way from Dana to the Dead Sea, I thought this could be all she wrote for us. Thies, once again, was drooling with the thoughts of biking this paved way and me, in the last row of the minivan was just praying our driver, who apparently actually races cars for fun, realized how precious his cargo was.

It was more than unfortunate that the fog hid most of the views that surrounded us as for the moments we could gain a glimpse – oh my, were they outstanding. I had no idea Jordon is as mountainous as it is – it is crazy rugged, with jagged peaks every which way – totally unexpected.

As we whirled down the mountains, we came around a corner and laid eyes on a sight I had never seen before and hope to never witness again. There were dogs… tens, if not hundreds of them living in this stretch of desolate land with no obvious reason of being there nor means of surviving there. It was like “Planet of the Apes” but with canines. One of the strangest and most troubling sights we have ever witnessed.

Our descent down from the summit was rapid and unprecedented. We had descended 5,000 feet in less than two hours and were still high in the mountains when Billy announced we were forty feet below sea level. Wait! What? Thies and I both said we were having a really hard time wrapping our heads around the fact we were below sea level while we were carving through canyons high in the mountains above the Jordan Valley far beyond. How is it possible?

When we finally hit the valley floor we headed north to our last stop of the trip. It was amazing passing by stand after stand of vegetable sellers. There are clearly no hungry people in Jordan as the ridiculous abundance of crop-grown foods makes it impossible.

There was a surreal feeling to traveling along, looking at an area that is known to be a place of great angst for the Jordanians. Jordan, like Egypt, has a peace accord with Israel but there is little doubt that there is no love loss there. More than half the population of Jordan considers themselves to be of Palestinian descent – I think I need not say more. It was like today as we were driving and Billy asks the driver who the bumper sticker on the car in front of us is an image of. Seriously? I thought he was being a bit radical. Qadar, our driver, emphatically and almost with a surprising tone states, “Saddam Houssein. The Jordanians loved him.” As far as I was concerned that was a “check” response. Do you really pursue that as an American? I think not.

We pulled into the Marriott and underwent another round of heavy security screening again. But, this was the first place that flinched at Billy’s pocketknife and they actually ended up taking it away from him. He was beyond perturbed to say the least but he held it together and relinquished it with an agreement to pick it up tomorrow before we leave for the airport.

We grabbed a quick lunch on the deck overlooking the resort and the Dead Sea before everyone changed to take a dip. It is well known that the sea has healing properties but it is also known that you can pay a price to receive those benefits.

Thies, in a bit of impatience, ran for the sea before I could warm him and before he read the large warning signs, that any drop of salt water in the eye was going to basically feel corrosive. The Dead Sea is ten times saltier than your typical ocean water and as such what stings in the ocean basically burns here.

Crazy You Can Raise your hands and your Feet

Billy, Jenny and Thies had fun bobbing around in the rather rough water even though it had far more waves than normal. After a bit, Billy exited and Jenny and Thies proceeded to cover themselves in the famous Dead Sea mud. I didn’t bob, mainly because I chose to be the photographer, as well as, I had a few wounds from my tumble out of the truck that I thought if the salinity were to touch, would have me walking on water. I only covered my hands and arms but could feel an absolute difference in my poor parched skin afterwards.

The rest of the day was spent lounging by the pool, watching the sunset and having our first non- Middle Eastern dinner in ten days. We also bid adieu to Thies as his flight was early out. We had a lot of fun with him. It was of course great getting to know him even better. Billy says he’s soulful, and he really likes that about him. I see that too – a very nice quality to have for sure.

There’s nothing like spending time immersed in another culture to remind you how lucky you are yet it enables you to develop sensitivity and understanding of our differences and learn to be comfortable with them. It allows you to recognize and accept that we aren’t the same and that we shouldn’t judge one another by our cultural standards or norms rather we should find common ground to relate to one another – based around respect and decency.

I went into this trip not too sure how we, as Americans, would be welcomed and treated. The people of Jordan have blown away any preconceived fears I might have had. The genuine, heart-felt appreciation they showed for us visiting their country was truly overwhelming. I was shocked by the praise we received as Americans, certainly not what I was expecting.

So many fears were laid to rest and so many misguided ones at that. I found nothing but warmth here and of course raw beauty in not only the landscape but especially the people. I feel a bit of a fool thinking it would be any different, having allowed mainstream news to be my guiding light. I had read and heard so many accounts that a trip to Jordan was life changing; I worried it might be a let down and I wouldn’t feel that way too. I’m happy to say that’s not the case. It more than changed my perspective on this part of the world and isn’t that really what one of the main goals of travel is all about – enlightenment?

There are so many memories etched in my mind. So many take sways I am grateful for. So many sights that left me breathless and so many people that made my heart melt.

A life changing experience for sure.