Exploring the Rose Red City

The Siq

We woke at 0545 for breakfast at 0630, in preparation for our big day at Petra, the Rose Red City.  We were at the visitor centre at 0730 to commence our walk through the Siq to Petra.

Before we entered the Siq, Pat and Fiona said this wasn’t anything like what they had imagined.  But once in the Siq, they were suitably impressed.

In daylight I realised that there was a water channel alongside us in the Siq, something we had missed in darkness last night.

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Treasury

Eventually the Siq opened up to reveal the Treasury or Khazneh.  This was built around 1AD by the Nabateans and after its discovery in 1812, the local Bedouins believed it contained treasures.  But it is now known to be a crypt or mausoleum.

The Treasury’s façade stands 39m high and 25m wide.  We were dwarfed by the size of the door opening.  But inside, it was just red bare walls.  Despite the magnificence of the place, Petra was abandoned around 8AD.

At the Treasury we organised guides and donkeys to take us further.

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City

All four of us hopped on our donkeys led by our guides.  Kim and I were headed to the Monastery via Petra’s city while Pat and Fiona were only going to the city.

Leaving the Treasury area, we first came to what is dubbed the Street of Facades, which are actually tomb facades.  We then passed the huge theatre like those seen in Roman cities.

We continued through to Qasr al Bint Fir’aun (the palace of Pharaoh’s daughter, often abbreviated to Qasr al Bint) where we noted the Temenos Gateway, from 2AD, which separated the market place from the sacred courtyard (temenos) of the temple.

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Monastery

Our journey to the Monastery, without Pat and Fiona, was pretty uphill and stepped.  Quite a number of people, including some older than us, were walking and we were a little embarrassed.  We had to walk the last little bit to get to the Monastery.

Like the Treasury, we were in awe of the Monastery’s size.  The façade stands even higher at 47m and is 48m wide.  Again the inside was pretty bare.

We rested and chat with a British couple before returning to the Petra city area for a quick drink and rest.  On the return ride we chose not to spend any more time in the city area.

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High Place of Sacrifice

Meeting back with Pat & Fiona, we all continued to the High Place of Sacrifice.  The ride started off gently then it got steeper.  The route took us through Wadi al Farasa, past the Garden Triclinium before reaching the High Place of Sacrifice.

This was definitely one of those situations where the journey was better than the destination as I realise that we’ve got no photos of the High Place of Sacrifice but only photos of the journey before and after.

The most memorable part must have been the short-cut where Kim and I dismounted and were hand-led by the guides shuffling on a ledge.  Pat and Fiona continued on their donkeys (with ours as well) on the normal route.

The downhill parts were quite scary.  We were literally entrusting our lives to dumb-asses.  They’re actually not dumb but rather clever.  They know their pre-programmed routes.  They walk very close to the edge on some of the descending hairpins.  Respect to donkeys!

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Royal Tombs

Back on the main route in Petra city, Pat and Fiona rested while the guides took us to a viewpoint for the Royal Tombs.  We actually got a view of only the Urn Tomb.  We didn’t know about the more magnificent Palace Tombs and Corinthian Tombs until much later but we were pretty worn already from the excitement/fear of the hair-raising ride and the sun.  I would have hated to be doing this trip in mid-summer.

Mohamad, our guide offered us an extension to a spring and a Bedu village.  After all the amazing sights of the day, both were disappointing.  The spring was pitiful and the village modern.

 

Finishing up

Pat had looked pretty frightened, upset and was hyperventilating at the scariest moments of today’s donkey ride.  So we organised for Pat and Fiona to be taken out of Petra using an easier route straight to the carpark, avoiding the Treasury and the Siq.

After our additional exploration, we met up with them.  It was after 1400 when we were dropped off at the hotel in one of the guides’ pick-up truck.  It had felt like a long but exciting and worthwhile day.

We had been assured that Pat and Fiona’s return route would be flat.  We later learnt from Fiona that it was still somewhat steep.  I’m guessing the guides use the word “flat” to mean “not stepped”, regardless of gradient.

Through the day Fiona kept saying “I can’t believe I’m in Petra”.  It became quite apparent that this was the highlight of her trip, if not the sole purpose.  For me, there was so much to the trip than just one place.  And it’s not just places.  It’s also the food, the observations of how people live their day-to-day.  I love all that!

In the evening

We rang Mohamad around 1730 to decline is dinner invitation.  We gave an excuse saying that Pat and Fiona were worn out.  But he proposed that I looked after them while Kim attended dinner with them.  We declined.

Our dinner tonight was taken at Al Wadi restaurant in Wadi Musa.  We had salads and dips followed by grilled lamb on rice with a yellow yoghurt sauce, and grilled chicken on pilau with plain yoghurt.  Petra was definitely pricier than the rest of Jordan.

Afterwards, we decided to visit Petra’s visitor centre to watch an informational video of the place.   But it wasn’t on.  So, I visited the internet café to attend to some admin like pay my taxes.

Back in the hotel, we connected the digital camera to Pat and Fiona’s TV to show them photos of our adventure.  We retired around 2200.