We knew Petra would be impressive, and we weren't disappointed. Our guide brought us to the entry gate, paid the fees, and gave us our passes. You can either walk, ride a horse, or a horse cart from the entrance area down a deep chasm, about 2 miles, into the main plaza which faces the most well-preserved building, the Treasury. The setting is amazing! You enter a well-worn cut -- just yards wide -- into the earth, which towers above you in sandstone walls occasionally pockmarked with ancient burial tombs.
We passed on the horses, and chose the wagon ride instead. It was a bit nerve-jangling as the Bedouin guide whipped the beast, who kept looking back at us with a confused look' and continually stumbled along on the ancient cobblestone road. The driver enjoyed the occasional race with a competitor and we held on. At one point he got out to talk with someone and the cart began to lurch forward, but the guy jumped back in at the last second. There was a kind of screwup because the rest of our group -- and the guide -- finished their ride well before the main plaza, while cart carries down past this point, and dumped up out amid a mass of jewelry hawkers who surrounded us as soon as we were off the cart. It was kind of unnerving. So we walked to the Treasury with a gang of people inches from our face pleading for us to buy something. I might exaggerate here -- they were a foot or two from our face.
Finally a little kid gives us a small painted rock, and says its a gift. Of course it's not a gift, but the game's up once the rock is in your hand. So I have him a dinar (more than $1) and walked away. Lily told me later she looked back and he was pretty pleased! In any case, the rock is now on among my souvenirs on my shelf back in Juneau. It was hot, we were surrounded by small boys selling trinkets and teenage boys leering at Lily and offering camel rides, and we had no idea where our guide was.
Undaunted we pressed on, walking around Petra to the Roman theater and various tombs. Finally we ended up at a restaurant. We knew a lunch was included, so the dilemma was, get lunch or not. Amazingly, our group and guide showed up at this point, and it turned out we were at the correct place for our included lunch. It's amazing what a cold Diet Coke and a plate of food can do to lift one's spirits!
After lunch we worked our way back to the main plaza, and found our horse cab for the ride back to the main gate. This time it was up hill, and the horse needed a little extra whipping to find his motivation. Lily asked the guide whether the horses get any rest, and he explained they work every other day. I guess we felt a little better. We tipped the guy a couple of dinar and angrily demanded more. I refused, thinking the poor horse might appreciate the moral support. I watched some of the camels, and they seem to be treated with a little more respect. This is probably because they have that 'I'll get you when you least expect it' look from time to time.
PHOTOS: Jar Tomb (see detail above), Lily and I along the Roman Road, the Ampitheater (notice the ancient projection booths in the background) ... 
No comments:
Post a Comment