Jordan Day 13, June 24

5:30 was peaceful and still and quiet as Eva and I padded down to the gate and the guard let us in early. 5:58 found us as the first guests to enter Petra and we enjoyed a quiet hike down the Siq, past the Treasury and toward the tombs across from the Roman theater. We saw the Urn tomb, the Palace Monument and some others whose names escape me. We then traipsed across some hills to see some Byzantine/Nabbatean ruins of churches on the hills. Amazing mosaics inside the lowest of the three structures, blue marble columns from Egypt in the second structure and an eagle eye view from the top structure all lead to a majestic experience on a mountain top.

The Urn Tomb, thus named for an urn found on the top. Creative, no?

The Blue Marble Columns. They really are blue and they are in perfect condition as opposed to the sandstone that is being eroded away rapidly.
Mosaics in the aisles of a church, celebrating God's creative power.
We only had a short time at Petra today so we headed back to the hotel to shower and load onto the bus.

I could move to Petra in an instant. Not to marry a Bedouin (though I did buy the book 'Married to a Bedouin' which is great so far), nor would I be allowed to live alone there (women just don't do that here), so I guess being a tour guide is in my near future. I had best learn a couple more languages.

It's amazing to be standing on sand that has had so much happen on it before I had ever even heard of it. What a stunning (and very gritty) reminder of how small I truly am. This is my feet in the sands of Petra.

Jordan Day 12, June 23

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, Eva and Walter and I headed to the gate about 8 AM so we could take the LOOOOOOONG hike to Jabel Harun, or Mt. Aaron. Though Aaron died elsewhere (see Deut 10:6) his remains have been moved to the mountain about 7 kilometers to the south of Petra. There is now a lovely bright white mosque at top. You can see the Promised Land from the top. Oddly enough, the Wadi, or wash or river bed that Petra is built on is known as Wadi Mousa, or Wadi Moses and it is thought that the rock that Moses struck to get water flowing is here in Petra.

After walking about 2 hours we ran into a Bedouin family who lives in the caves below the snake monument. We were invited for tea as all passersby are and accepted once we heard an offer of a car ride to the base of Jabel Harun. In the cave we found 4 women, 13 children, a hoard of flies and floor mats waiting. 3 of the women were wives of our host Gaseem and 9 of the children were his. He was recently left by a fourth wife and is looking for another and Walter graciously volunteered me. HA! Walter dancing with the eldest son looks like this.

Some of the most beautiful girls ever. The one in pink was so shy that she would cover her face when she caught you looking at her and then giggle insanely.

After tea and lute music and dancing, we loaded into the diesel 4x 4 truck and drove ½ an hour to the base of the mountain. On steep parts, we had to shut of the AC (which didn’t work anyhow) and we bumped and crept our way over dry river beds and past ancient caves that serve as dwellings to local families. Here is Mount Aaron from a distance. The tiny white speck at the top is where we went.

It took us about an hour to summit and the view from the top was stellar. We could see for miles, into Israel, over all of Petra, over the Great Rift Valley and into the towns of Ma’an and Petra. There were even some recently excavated, not yet open to the public ruins that we could see up there. The mosque was locked but we had Walter. Here is how we all got to see the interior. Walter got shoved through a window. This is the end we got to see of Walter.

A view from the top looking toward Ma'an in what is Biblical Edomite territory, with a bit of the terrace around the mosque in the foreground.

We ate some snacks we had toted to the top with us, soaked in the amazing vista and then hit the path back to the bottom. In another hour we were back at the Roman Theater. Round trip – 5 hours, 6 liters of water each (did I mention it’s blooming hot here?) and 1 amazing Sabbath hike.

Walter left us to go see the Monastery and Eva and I returned slowly to the hotel, sans animal power this time, to shower and shop and get some dinner. We turned in early. We had plans for 5:30 AM the next day.

Jordan Day 11, June 22

Today found us loading on the bus headed to Petra. The trip should have taken about 3 hours but took us 7 since we stopped for potty breaks (why is still unknown as we had a bathroom on the bus...) and a panoramic shot and to visit a Bedouin family in their tent.

Upon arriving and settling into our lovely hotel, The Petra Palace, we raced to grab some lunch and then headed into one of the most amazing wonders of the world.
About 4 o'clock we all descended on the gates and, since we work for the Department of Antiquities here, we all got to visit the site gratis. Free is always good!
This is what the walk begins as. It seems plain, expect for a few carved caves and one tomb known as the Obelisk tomb. The sandstone is an orange-y tone here and you walk over a crushed limestone path.And then you enter Al Siq. The Siq(said like seek). And you know you are in an entirely different world. The wind sounds different here and the smell of hot sand and the bright blue sky over head are all at once calming and invigorating.



















And at the end of the Siq you see this peeking around the wind carved sandstone. And I seriously expected to see someone dressed up as Indiana Jones for pictures, but found camels and Bedouins instead. I must admit that the group I was with did robustly sing the theme song to the movies. Bum ba rum ba bum ba dum. Such tourists!



















Al Khazar or The Treasury is amazing to see. It is a stunning reddish hue and is a fabulous first look and good bye as you enter and exit the city by way of the Siq.
Eva and I hit the road to Al Dayr, the Monastery. We walked past the old Roman theater and the Street of Facades in our race to get to the top before the sun went all the way down. It is about an hour walk in, up steep canyons and stairs carved out of hills and it is worth every drop of sweat. For me, it is more beautiful than The Treasury and Eva and I got there in time to have the perfect lighting hitting the front of it. A side note, this facade is 43 meters tall, so though it may appear small, the bottom of the doorway was over my head....
Farther up we saw some amazing views from the top. I snapped this picture in honor of a road trip with my mom in '97. Oh the VIEW! What a view!
And here are Eva and I at the top, with the Jordanian flag and a view of the great rift valley and Isreal in the far distance.
Darkness was coming quickly and we hit the road for the bottom. We met some local boys and their donkeys who took us, jarringly, on my first donkey ride. I think my bone marrow rattled loose.
We found Walter and Nick at one of the vendors tents about to have tea and dinner and we joined them. What fun eating in the middle of Petra when all guests are supposed to leave. The four of us all walked out of Petra by moonlight and starlight.