Aqaba (for Petra), Jordan – Friday 13th April

Landscape outside Aqaba

Jordan has borders with Saudi Arabia, Israel and Eqypt with Aqaba, on the  Red Sea, being the country’s only port.  Apparently it is growing rapidly and becoming a tourist resort – there are 15 new hotels being built by the beach.  From the little we saw of it from the coach it looked a lot more interesting than Hurghada, with a very lively seafront packed with people and lots of shops and restaurants. We learned from our guide that Jordan is quite a liberal country where women have equal rights and can wear what they like – though many choose to cover their heads.  The country is 90% Moslem and 10% Christian.  The area around Aqaba is the home of the Bedouins some of whom still follow a traditional nomadic life, herding sheep, goats and camels, but more and more are settling into government-built houses (where they are provided with free electricity and water), though we were told that the grandparents will often carry on living in a tent – we did indeed see some of these houses with traditional tents in the garden.  Our guide was of the opinion that the traditional Bedouins will disappear within 10 years, partly because the younger generations are getting used to satellite TV, computers and mobile phones, but also because the climate is getting drier and drier and it is no longer possible for many of them to carry on.  Some have turned to farming watermelons and tomatoes – where water is available from wells or springs.

We embarked on a day trip to Petra which took us back into biblical times.  As we travelled across the desert – for part of the way along a 4000 year old road called the Kings Way – the guide told us stories from the Old Testament – ‘it was near here that Joseph was dropped down the well and then rescued and sold to the Egyptians’ – ‘here Moses lived for 10 years’ – ‘this is where he saw the burning bush’ - ‘this is where he buried his brother Aaron’.  On a slightly more modern note we also passed Wadi Rum which was the base for Lawrence of Arabia and his Bedouin tribes to sabotage the Turkish supply lines during the first world war.  The countryside is truly amazing and very arid – although in biblical times it was green and fertile and even up to 40 years ago there were trees growing in areas which are now desolate.

In the Siq leading to Petra

Petra, which is 80 miles from Aqaba, is known as ‘the rose red city which is half as old as time’.  It was built by the Nabataeans in 169 BC  - they were a group of tribes who occupied land between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea – and it lies on the cross roads of major trade routes from the East and Arabia.  It’s golden period seems to have been under the King Aretas IV, from 9BC to 40AD, and this when the best building work was done.  It was conquered by the Romans in AD106 but the Nabataeans still lived there and the town continued to flourish until AD363 when it was partly destroyed by an earthquake.  Bizarrely it is reputed not to have been re-discovered until 1812, though it is hard to imagine that the locals didn’t know it was there.

Al Kasneh - The Treasury

The entrance to Petra is through a narrow chasm in the rock which leads to a winding downhill path called the Siq one mile through sandstone cliffs that are at least 100 ft. high.  Along the path the excitement builds as you see evidence of carvings on the rocks but the first view of the biggest monument, known as The Treasury or Al Kasneh, is amazing.  This is 130 ft high and 90 ft wide and is thought to be a Royal Tomb – it is absolutely stunning and almost impossible to believe that it is 2000 years old. 

The Urn Tomb

The Roman Road

These look like houses!

As you go on there are more and more carvings on the cliff side – some are just facades but many have rooms behind them and you can climb up steps and walk through.  The majority are tombs but there are some temples and others which appear to be houses, also a 6000 seat amphitheatre!  The atmosphere is enhanced by the camels and donkeys and a number of souvenir stalls run by the local Bedouins – they are the Bdoul tribe who were living in the ruined city until 1985 when they were moved out by the government – but given sole trading rights inside the site.  There were some sights we didn’t see – a “monastery” high up on the cliff side (at least a monument that has signs of Christian use) and sacrificial altars on Jebel Al Madbah (the Mount of Sacrifice).  It would take a whole day to view everything properly - we would like to go back.