The subject of my visit to Petra was recently raised by Lisak and she expressed her disappointment that my blog was now missing from the new style forum due to an incompatibility problem. Unfortunately I no longer had a complete copy that I could just re-post and a number of my original photographs had initially been extracted from my video films and were no longer available on my PC. So I decided to rewrite a large part of it and post it here on the new style Egypt4U forum as a travelogue. Where possible I have added more detail, more photographs and some short videos together with a map indicating the location of key places and a general map showing the route taken from Wadi Musa into Petra, hopefully you will find it an interesting read. It is a great place to visit and something that you may well wish to do when in the Red Sea area of Egypt or Jordan in general.
The following are short videos that I have made to show you the actual walk into Petra via the Siq. Unfortunately although I have attempted to keep them as short as possible, each one is around 2-3 minutes in length and there are 4 in total. Out of necessity it is only possible to show some highlights and brief clips, there is so much more to see and to hold your attention than can possibly be described in a few short minutes of video, but hopefully they will give you a real flavour of the place. I must apologise for the picture quality, it was poor weather during our visit in March and there is a raindrop on the camera lens, also the video compression used to enable web viewing doesn't help either, so here we go: .........................
Try to imagine a range of mountains that fully enclose an large, but well hidden valley, the Siq (a local name for the entrance passage) is your only way in and looks like a tall slit or crack that meanders through the surrounding Sandstone rock. It is quite narrow in places and twists and turns so that very little is visible ahead of you as you are walking along, so you never know what is around the next turn. There is however plenty to keep your attention as you walk, especially the tortuous shapes that are weather carved into the colourful banded Sandstone rock and the sparse but often colourful flowers and vegetation that clings perilously to the shear vertical sides. The Siq has a steady downward slope which can be quite steep at the entrance point, but presents no problem for any reasonably able bodied person. It is never so narrow as to be oppressive and at its narrowest point you could ride a quad bike through. It can be slippery underfoot in places during wet weather so comfy walking shoes or trainers should be worn, this is not a place for high heels.
PART 1
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PART 2
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PART 3
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PART 4
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Some Petra facts and pictures
This lost city of Petra in Jordan is often referred to as the ‘Rose Red City' and was the hub of a long lost civilisation called the Nabataeans who’s wealth was built upon taxing the caravan trade of the ancient spice and incense route that passed their way. As they had a virtual monopoly on the water and shelter in the area, they became very rich on the proceeds of this taxation. All this wealth accrued at the expense of taxing Roman imports, would eventually lead to it being invaded by the Roman Empire.
One dictionary definition for the word Petra is as follows:
An ancient ruined city of Edom in present-day Southwest Jordan. It flourished as a trade centre and the capital of Nabataea from the 4th century BC until its capture by the Romans in AD 106. The city was taken by Muslims in the 7th century and by Crusaders in the 12th century. The ruins of the “rose-red city” were discovered in 1812.
We arrived in the Jordanian port of Aqaba after sailing from Hurghada across to Sharm El Sheikh and then passing through the gulf of Aqaba a seaway that divides the Sinai and the Saudi Arabian peninsula’s then onto the port of Aqaba itself. The first thing that struck me was the proximity of Israel to Jordan. Although I am fairly good at geography I did not have in my head a proper mental picture of the actual location of these two names that were so well known to me, namely Eilat in Israel and Aqaba in Jordan. In reality they sit on opposite sides of a bay to each other and are a salutary reminder of the close proximity of today’s political divide. All countries must meet at some common point with it’s neighbours, but we rarely have a fixed border in our minds when we think of these places, but the fact that our ship could barely turn around at Aqaba without crossing into Israeli waters came as a real surprise to me.
The port of Aqaba
The Jordanians have designated the port of Aqaba as the equivalent of a ‘free port’ in an attempt to encourage enterprise into the area. The present monarch King Abdullah is only the third king of Jordan and succeeds his more famous and diplomatic father King Hussein. At the port itself there flies a very large flag, reputedly the largest flag in the world. At first glance it appears to be the Jordanian flag but closer inspection of it shows that the colour patterns differ. It is the flag that commemorates ‘The Great Arab Revolt’ of 1916; this revolt started in the port of Aquaba and spread throughout the Arab world and eventually toppled the Turkish ‘Ottoman’ Empire. I have to admit to a slight stirring of pride, when instead of the usual castigation of the British, the guide was keen to point out that it was our very own ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ who helped the Bedouin tribesmen to overthrow the Turkish occupiers of their country.
Laurence of Arabia
Soldiers carrying their Arab Revolt flag.
We had set out from the port in a fleet of coaches not unlike the convoys used to visit Egyptian historical sites. These coaches were clean, air-conditioned and with more legroom than on our Thomson flight to Hurgada. A nice change was the standard of driving by the Jordanian drivers, they were very steady and we never had that heart-stopping feeling that is so common with some Egyptian coach operators. There were in the region of 700 people taking the excursion to Petra, so we had around 14 coaches in our convoy. En route we had the obligatory police escort but this was fairly low key and unobtrusive.
Another surprise was the terrain, I can only speak for this part of Jordan but it is a fairly inhospitable landscape populated mainly by Bedouin peoples. The government have built small houses along the main road in an attempt to get the Bedouin to settle. But often their ‘Beit al-Shar’(sp) or ‘House of hair’ black coloured tents traditionally woven from goat hair, can be seen pitched alongside of the new housing, whilst a camel peers out of the window of an empty house originally intended for people, but now used as a stable. Small children can be seen tending flocks of goats, but what these goats eat other than stones is a complete mystery to me.
Bedouin Shepherds, these goats were lucky there was some greenery around.
It is a desolate landscape of rock-strewn desert, hilly rather than mountainous. Large wadies formed by long dead rivers or flash floods abound on each side of the road and necessitate yet another concrete culvert to contain these phantom deluges of long forgotten water flows. The hills rise one after the other to form a jagged vista that seems to go on for ever, broken only by the wide bands of black volcanic basalt rock that stripe the hills. It is hard to imagine that once all of this was once submerged below the Red Sea. The national flower of Jordan is the ‘Black Iris’ which to me seems to sum up the Bedouin people dressed in their dark billowing robes.
The barren terrain of Jordan
Although the government has built houses, the Bedouin often prefer their traditional tents
Bedouin people
The Black Iris, the national flower of Jordan is evocative of their billowing black robes
After around two hours we wound our way up and down a series of steep valleys that some say are the very places that the Israelites wandered in their quest for the promised land, it is not hard to imagine them wandering for forty years in this harsh and desolate landscape. Not far away is mount Nebo reputed to be the place where God took Mosses and showed him the promised land, again the connection to the bible was one that I had never really made before. To me ‘crossing the Jordan’ was just the name of another river; I had never really made the connection that it referred to them entering another country, or that from a mountain in Jordan you could look down upon the land of Israel. From Mount Nebo it is only about 46 Km to Jerusalem, 27 Km to Jericho, 25 Km to Qumran and 50 Km to Bethlehem, so to a wandering tribe of people most of these places would only be a few days walk away, so you have to wonder why it took them so long to eventually get there, but it looks so desolate that you have to wonder if it really was worth fighting anyone for in the first place.
The view from Mount Nebo
The river Jordan
We were shrouded in a heavy mist as we started to descend out of the mountains towards Petra, the visibility was low and with steep drops to the left of us it was a little unnerving. The steep hillsides all seemed to have been cultivated and planted with some sort of corn or wheat but this looked so out of place in this inhospitable and withered land. Suddenly a large village that seemed to be glued to the hillsides and defying gravity loomed out of the mist. This was Mosses village, so named because it was reputedly the place where god had commanded Moses to strike a rock with his staff and the water gushed forth to slake the thirst of the Israelites. The natural springs found here may have something to do with this belief, tourism also thrives in this area and many hotels are located here. Finally we reached Wadi Musa (Mosses village) and the entrance to Petra, so after a short recap of our itinerary for the day we all prepared for the eight-kilometre walk into Petra and back.
Wadi Musa, your destination for a visit to Petra, 'A' on the location map.
A few facts:
Petra is located in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and is about 255 Km away from the country’s capital Amman. It is very close to the city of Wadi Mousa or ‘Mosses Village’ that I mentioned earlier. The whole area has a history that goes back to the Neolithic period; it has been fought over by the Greeks, Romans and the Crusaders to name but a few. Petra it seems has always been a centre for trade and has seen the Egyptian, Greek, & Roman Empires come and go. The Edomite Kingdom flourished in this area from the 13th to the 6th century BC. The 6th century BC saw the arrival of the Nabataeans who migrated from what was the Southwest of Arabia and spread out to settle in Wadi Araba as well as the Sinai and Negeb. It was at this time that they started to control the caravan routes bringing goods from as far away as India, Petra was used as their capital city and from this time onwards it was always linked to the Nabatean civilisation. Although the Nabateans had many gods, one of the foremost was ‘Dushara’ and is depicted on many coins found in the area. This god was often represented as a snake, ox, hawk or a lion and these depictions can be seen throughout Petra. The Egyptian’s also influenced them and recently an idol that resembles Isis, was uncovered in the ‘Winged Lion’ temple.
It will be helpfull to understand something of the terrain we are moving through in order to visualise the various locations being described in this travelogue. The letters shown on the contour picture below represent the location of certain things along the route, some are described below and other locations may be referenced by saying " located close to 'D' " or similar.
Legend:
A = The village of Wadi Musa Jordan
B = The Crown Plaza Resort at Wadi Musa
C = The start of the Petra trek and ticket office.
D = The start of the passageway called the 'Siq'
E = The end of the Siq and the location of the small valley containing the 'Treasury'
F = The Roman theatre with the shops, toilets and Cafe opposite.
G = This cliff face contains many carved buildings.
H = The centre of the city of Petra, Winged Lion Temple, Tomb of the Pharoah's Daughter etc.
The total walking distance starting at and returning to the Crown Plaza is approximately 5 miles (or 8 Kilometres) and will take about 4 hours walking steadily, it is all downhill going in and uphill comming back. This will only take you into the old city of Petra and does not include additional exploring time for the surrounding tombs other than the Treasury on your way in.
The following shows the route from start to finish, indicated by the green line.
A distant view of the Crown Plaza Resort, located at 'B' on the picture map.
A view from the Crown Plaza, Petra lies enclosed by these hills, looking towards 'D'
The trek begins:
We started our slow decent into the valley that held the city of Petra at around 10 am on what turned out to be a cold, wet and windy day. Another illusion shattered, although it was late March I had not expected the bad weather, the previous week another tour group had the misfortune to visit during a storm of hail and snow!
We had come prepared; Mrs H wearing everything that she could muster and was as warm as toast, even if she did look like a refugee. I had elected to forego the manly shorts and T-shirt in favour of a pair of creased Chino’s and a T-shirt, topped off with a very expensive white fleecy top that I purchased at the boat’s duty free shop. Who expects snow in a desert in March?
Our guide was a lovely Jordanian lady whose name now escapes me. She held up her yellow Thomson’s lollypop with a number 2 emblazoned upon it and we all followed her like sheep to the slaughter. The path is quite wide at first and after several sets of steps we passed through the ubiquitous tourist stalls selling the usual souvenirs. I was relieved to see that the Jordanians were not so in your face with their selling techniques as the Egyptians and polite “La Shukran” was often enough to stop the hassle, or maybe I just took them by surprise with my few polite words of Arabic.
After we passed through the ticket gate we started down a rocky path that meandered gently downwards. On our left was a separate path that was especially made for the riding of horses, much to my surprise there was also a Brooke animal shelter. Young men displaying their riding skills were riding sleek, sweat flecked, nostril flaring horses and while galloping up and down the sandy road they called out to us to ask if we wanted to ride a horse down into the valley. Maybe once in my youth I would have relished this opportunity, but I dared not risk my aging bones and reluctantly declined their tempting offer.
Riding the horses, between 'C & D' on the locations map.
It is worth a mention at this point that there are three separate modes of transport that may be used on the Petra trip. For the first section as you go in from the ticket office, horses may be hired, you do not ride them freely but are lead by their owners down to the start of the gorge where you dismount . The second is a sort of two-wheeled horse drawn buggy; these are only allowed to operate within the narrow Siq passageway itself and care must be taken as they pass you by in the more narrow sections.
A buggy that will take you through the Siq, they only operate btween 'D & E' only
At the end of the passage way through the gorge and just as you enter the valley area, it is possible to get camels and donkeys to take you further on your journey. I personally would opt for a good Kawasaki or Yamaha motorbike!
The camels at Petra, Camels and Donkeys only operate between 'E & H'
It is a pleasant walk down to the entrance of the Siq after leaving the ticket office and it takes around 20 minutes to get there, on the way down there are lovely views over the surrounding hills and often Bedouin children can be seen tending their herds of sheep. We arrive at the actual entrance to the gorge and it has an air of expectancy about it. We breast a small rise and stand at the top of a 10 meter wide opening, from here we can look down into the open mouth of the Siq with the narrow road seeming to disappear into the very rock itself as the rising walls on each side seem to draw us towards the open maw and a hidden world beyond, with rising excitement we start our trek down.
The entrance to the Siq, location 'D' on the map.
A little further in, between 'D & E' on the map.
This is the ‘Siq’ to give it it’s correct name, a towering, twisting, passage that has been sculptured by time, wind, sand and water. At first it looks very steep and on the wet surface near the top we are more than a little wary. This initial trepidation is well founded as we quickly step back to allow a horse drawn buggy to pass, the horse suddenly stalls, it’s back legs giving way until it is sitting on it’s haunches sliding down the steep road and desperately trying to hold back the buggy containing three people with a combined weight exceeding that of the poor horse. It was at this point that Mrs H turned to me and said “If I have to crawl out of here on my bloody hands and knees, I will not get into one of those cruel things.” and I had to agree with her. Later upon seeing another horse struggling to breast the same part of the road on the way out again, its steel shod hooves clashing and sliding while trying to get a grip on the ancient stone surface, I thought of the poor caleche horses in Egypt and wondered which horses were the worse off.
Passing through the Siq is a wonderful experience; the beautiful banded veins within the rock are a multitude of different colours that have to be seen to be believed. The bands of colour are folded and blended to form amazing contours within the rock strata, add to this the smooth convoluted vertical face of the passage way and you may try to visualise this wonder of nature for yourselves.
The banded rock strata, best seen at location 'F'
On the right and left hand sides are two rock cut channels, these were cut by the Nabataeans to channel rainwater into the city itself. There are also dams built into side gully’s so as to create a reservoir’s and also to contain flash floodwater from pouring down the steep incline and flooding the city area.
The rock cut water channel, between 'D & E' on the map.
In many parts the floor is still the original Roman cobbled road and it is still in very good condition. I love to stand for a moment and consider all of the famous people from various Empires and era's who must have walked along this very path, many leaving their inscriptions and carvings along the walls of the gorge.
This is a heavily eroded carving that once straddled the water channel, it depicts several Camels and their traders leading them into the city. If you look closely the Camels belly is visible as are several pairs of feet, all that remains of the original figures. Near to location 'E' towards the end of the Siq.
A section of Roman cobbled road with the water channel visible on the left. Loacted midway between 'D & E' along the Siq.
This is only one of three routes into the city and was mainly used as a ceremonial route and not as a caravan road, hence all of the various religious carving that may be seen on the way in. A few sparse bits of vegetation cling to the walls of the passage and here and there a hardy shrub sprouts from a crevice high up the smooth sides.
In places it is wide and high with clinging vegetation, between 'D & E' on the map.
By now we were a good hour into our tour and the Siq continued its twisting downwards decent. At one point we turned a corner and the full force of a wintry gale hit us head on. I was already hiding my video camera under my rapidly soaking fleecy and had to make frequent stops to dry the lens. I cast a sideways look at the ‘refugee’ and she looked like maybe she had had enough of this particular trip.
“We will stop here for a moment for you to get your cameras ready” said our guide.
Ready for what I thought, but nothing could prepare me for the sight that met our eyes as we turned the next corner.
The last thing our guide had said was to get your cameras ready, so we stood there brimming with anticipation and waiting for the tour group in front of us to move on, as it did so we were funnelled downwards and inwards like sand in an hourglass. It seemed as if nature itself had conspired with the Nabataeans to produce the perfect setting for what was to greet us around the next turn. We were walking about six abreast into the narrowing passage, the sides seeming to rise even steeper and the natural light was decreasing and it seemed as if our way was blocked by another wall of rock at the end of the path. Just then the previously absent sun streaked in to illuminate a golden pink façade at the end of the passageway, it was as if the rock itself was giving birth.
Our first glimse of the magnificent Treasury, located in the small valley at 'E' on the map
This building is known as ‘The Treasury’ and was probably built for King Aretas III of the first century BC. The whole building is hewn from the natural rock and was carved in situ. There are no added stone blocks other than a few that were used to restore the third pillar from the left. It is like looking at a gigantic wedding cake with all the fancy icing, the detail is amazing and very sharp in outline.
Getting nearer, located in the small valley at 'E' on the map
It is at this point that you leave the Siq and enter a small sandy valley with towering sides and this is where you stand and gaze in awe at the full splendour of the Treasury building, carved from the living sandstone with a skill that is beyond belief, this is truly sculpture on a massive scale that rivals Abu Simbel in Egypt for its beauty and impact.
Standing in the first valley after leaving the Siq, Standing in the small valley located at 'E' on the map
It is also possible to make the steep climb up from the Treasury and look down, the new excavations can be seen just in front of the building. Looking down into the small valley located at 'E' on the map
It is unlikely that these building were actually used as tombs but more likely as some type of mortuary temple. The building is 40 metres high and 28 metres in width and shows various cultural influences as depictions of Zeus and of Isis may be seen on the pediments. If you go up the steps and through the portico there is a large internal room cut out from the natural rock. Guarding this room which you are not allowed to enter, is a Jordanian soldier in full dress uniform, he looked absolutely splendid and willingly poses for photographs either standing on his own or with tourists. It was an extremely nice touch and could only enhance the standing of our host country and he never once requested payment. (One may also be seen in the video)
A Jordanian Soldier at Petra standing outside the Treasury
Legend said that the urn on the top of the ‘tholos’ high in the centre contained treasure, hence it’s name of ‘al-Khazeh’ the 'Treasury'. Many pocked bullet marks in and around the urn will attest to the fact that the Bedouin put great faith in this legend. During our visit in 2007 the deep sandy area in front of the Treasury building had been excavated to reveal a set of steps leading down to another level below the portico, this now extends across the width of the building. (This can also be seen in the video) Hopefully by now there are more things to be seen of this lower level that have remained hidden for a millenium.
We had now been walking for about 1-1/2 hours and I kept looking at my watch. We were due to have lunch at the Crown Plaza at 2 PM but saying that it was at the top of the gorge and I was not, it seemed an unlikely proposition and I was becoming rather concerned. I asked our guide how far through the tour we were, “half way” she replied “half way in or half way through” I asked with some trepidation, “half way in” she replied, “Follow me” and off we trekked once more.
We leave the area of the ‘Treasury’ which is contained within a small sandy area full of souvenir stalls and grumpy camels, then head off on another downward meander through a more open part of the valley. Here we meet the Bedouin traders and their children, these people were obviously related to the traders of Luxor and would try to sell you handfuls of coloured stones that they had picked up within the valley floor. We pass on through many more carved tombs of all types and styles; some look like open caves and are presently the homes of donkeys.
Souvenir traders stalls, between 'E & F' on the locations picture.
A souvenir of Petra, a jar of the multi-coloured sand.
The donkey stable cave, just past 'F'on the locations picture.
This valley was still the home of Bedouins when it was rediscovered in August 1812, by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt who knew Petra to be the supposed location of Moses’ brother Aaron’s tomb. He passed himself off as an Arab and on the pretext of wanting to make an offering at Aaron’s tomb he was led into Petra itself. His guide became suspicious and terminated the deal before showing him the actual tomb, if such a thing really did exist. When Petra started to become a popular tourist attraction the then King Hussein declared that all Bedouin must leave the valley. As a means of placating them for this loss he decreed that only Bedouins be allowed to carry on trade within the Petra area. I must admit that the thought that anyone could actually lose a city was a mystery to me until I saw the surrounding area of endless hills and deep valleys.
It was here that we stopped for a short toilet break, our guide told us to go have a cup of coffee and have a look around. It was still very cold and some of the caves had huge open fires burning within them with lots of comfortable cushions scattered around. “Loo first” I said to the refugee, “then I’m off for a hot coffee”.
The cafe and toilet area can be seen to the left of the picture, located near 'F' on the location map.
The loo is something else, who would believe that in the middle of an eight-kilometre trek down a rugged path there sits the most wonderful of loo’s, a veritable prince of toilets, a magnificent Pee Palace. It is constructed inside of one of the most colourful caves you could wish to see, I stood there and could not take my eyes off the ceiling, later as I looked down at my trainers I wished that I had been paying more attention to what I was doing at the time. I wanted to take some pictures, but as I took out my camera I was getting some funny looks, so I thought better of it! So we headed off in the direction of the coffee cave and warm fire, when suddenly “follow me” she hailed “Oh my bloody legs” I muttered as I stumbled ever onwards.
As we continue down the valley it starts to broaden out and we find ourselves standing before a rock cut theatre. Our guide tells us that it is incorrect to call it an amphitheatre as that describes a circular shape, as this was semicircular in shape its correct name was a therefore a theatre, you learn something new every day. It is cut from the living rock and could accommodate around 2000 seated people. It was believed that it was used as some sort of debating forum for the city affairs.
A Roman theatre cut from the rock, located at 'F' on the map.
We are now standing in more open and broken ground; unlike the Siq it has broadened out and is starting to look more like a valley but surrounded on all sides by hills. There are many tombs cut into the surrounding hillsides and they look like hollow black eyes starring back at you,
Commoners Tombs
Painted Caves
The street of Facades
The Lion Monument
There are strange single carved rocks, shaped like squared blocks that are referred to as Djin stones. The belief in Djin’s or Genies was a part of the Nabatean culture but in reality these carved blocks are representations of the god Dushara.
Djin stones or representations of the god Dushara
Our path starts a downwards turn to the left but on our right an imposing cliff face continues on in a gently right curving arc of glowing pink rock. The ground falls away from this cliff face and down towards the centre of Petra itself, this cliff face also forms the right hand enclosure of the main valley. The whole visible length of this edifice is carved with tall facades that tower upwards from the base of the cliff almost to the very top. Although more eroded than the ‘Treasury’ building it is obvious that in their day they would have equalled it or even exceeded it in splendour. Various influences of style can be seen, the most prominent being the 'Corinthian' tomb, the overall effect is of a spectacular row of terraced houses with an ostentatious frontage.
The carved cliff face with many spectacular tombs, this would be standing in location 'G' on the location picture.
The Monastery Tomb
The Corinthian Tomb
The Urn Tomb
“Only another 20 minutes” says our guide “and we will be at the bottom”. ”It will only take you an hour to go back out” she said rather glibly, “Just follow the path back out the way you came in” I took another look at her sturdy build and wondered just how often she had walked out of here in just one hour. So we start on the last leg of our tour, we have made a slight left hand turn and are now aligned with and walking on the main road into the city centre. One part is loose sand and it is very deep, the going is hard on tired legs and it is like walking on a sand dune, we all try to avoid this part by walking on the more broken ground at the sides.
Hard going on the loose sand and still futher to go, near to 'G' heading towards 'H' on the location map.
Almost there, approaching the city centre, close to 'H' on the location map.
Camels and donkeys pass us in both directions each carrying a weary tourist; most people are riding them as a way of avoiding walking rather than for the fun of it. We reach another section of cobbled Roman road and the remains of column bases and stone outlines on either side leave us in no doubt that we are in the commercial heart of the city.
Insert picture of Roman road
There are the ruins of a large temple complex on the left but we are not allowed to go in. Just past this is another imposing building, it is called the tomb of the Pharaoh’s daughter and an Egyptian influence can clearly be seen. In reality it is the temple of Qasr el Bint and was dedicated to the gods Dushara and al-Uzza.
Tomb of the Pharoahs daughter, area 'H' on the locations picture.
The Winged Lion Temple, area 'H' on the locations picture.
In this part of the valley most of the buildings are constructed of cut stone blocks, rather than cut into the rock face, this reflects the fact that this was where the people actually lived, traded and carried on their everyday lives. Standing at the bottom of the valley it becomes apparent just how large the area really is, plenty of room to graze and tend the animals of several large caravans without any problem. With a little bit of imagination you can visualise the caravan traders camping out on the valley floor, their campfires burning like small beacons in the darkness and sharing in the hospitality that was on offer from the Nabateans. This hospitality came at a price! The usual charge for the hospitality on offer was around 25% of the value of the caravans trade goods, so it is not hard to see why the Nabateans became so prosperous. These taxes eventually led to their downfall as the Romans in particular resented paying this additional cost on imported luxuries and soon took steps to rectify the situation.
Journeys end the city centre, location 'H' on the map.
“There is a small museum around the corner” said our guide, “I have to meet my friend there, so if you wish to look around it or make your way back you may do so” She had hardly spoken the words before Mrs H was off again. She reminded me of a Collie dog we once had that was unstoppable once it scented the road home, I glanced at my watch, 12-30 p.m.
We had walked in at a steady pace for about 2-1/2 hours and it had all been downhill! I had second thoughts about maybe hiring a camel or a donkey to take us part of the way out but two things decided me against this course of action. The first was that I probably weighed more than the donkey so that would be a little unfair, secondly the man with the camel was treading on it’s bottom lip to make it stay down. Now I don’t know about you but if someone had been treading on my bottom lip, then put someone on my back, I would be fairly well brassed off when I was allowed to get back up again, the thought of me charging back out of the valley, desperately clinging on to an irate camel with my dignity in tatters soon chaged my mind.
Heading back towards the Siq, between 'F' & 'E' on the map.
We kept up a steady pace on the road out again, only stopping occasionally to admire the view, but this was really an excuse to get our breath back and have a rest. We reached the entrance to the Siq and again Mrs H refused the offer of a two-wheeled buggy, she will not ride in a caleche out of principal so these were a definite no go. By the time we left the Siq she was definitely flagging and her small stature made the going hard work on the rough ground. On the last leg I had to cajole her into putting one foot in front of the other, we passed a fine looking mare with a small foal lying down contentedly at her feet. “You don’t realise what you have coming to you when you grow up” I thought as I looked upon this tranquil little tableaux, remembering the horse we had passed with its hoofs slipping in a desperate attempt to scramble out of the Siq with its heavy burden.
We plodded up the last set of steps and into the welcoming surrounds of the Crown Plaza hotel at exactly 3 minutes to 2 p.m. A wonderful buffet lunch had been set out for our return; we passed along the rows of food not really looking at what went onto our plates. Even when a chef stuck his hand into a large platter containing a full sheep surrounded by cooked rice, then proceeded to tear off a chunk and plonk it onto Mrs H’s plate, she did not even bat an eyelid.
The whole trip in and out took 4 hours and our guide had complimented us on our endurance in reaching the bottom. It should be said that most people were into middle age and beyond, so it was no surprise to find a load of people probably not used to 8 kilometre walks feeling a bit knackered. Even so it was a wonderful experience and something that I would not have missed for the world, would I do it again? Yes given the opportunity, you really need about three days to see the whole site properly, but next time I would do it on a motorbike!
As a footnote, I was giving my video footage some closer inspection the other night and just by the museum at the bottom of Petra what did I see? A couple of 4 x 4s parked up ready to take the guides back again. No wonder she had not passed us on the road out, the next time a guide tells me they are meeting a friend, I am going with them!
The End
All video used are the authors original material, as is the transcript and the majority of photographs. The odd creative commons picture has been used in the event of a specific photograph not being available from the authors own collection and used with thanks for educational purposes only.
Grandad, your turn next with India maybe? 
Many thanks x
