May 19 - Al’Aqaba and Petra, Jordan

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This morning we arrived at Al’ Aqaba, the only port of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  Yes, that is the official name of this country.  King Abdullah II, the current ruler, is a direct descendant of the prophet Mohammed (something like a 43^rd great-grandson).

Aqaba (for short) is at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba and in quite an interesting location.  Only a few miles to its east is Saudi Arabia and to its west is Eliat, Israel.  In fact one can see the lights and buildings of both.  We had to get up early for our tour departure.  Once again we decided to go to Petra.

As you leave Aqaba you begin a journey through what is absolutely desolate desert.  On all sides are vast mountains of rock with only an occasional scrubby tree or bush.  This truly is Lawrence of Arabia country. As we drove along we would see an occasional Bedouin encampment.  They are nomadic people and evidently camp for a while in a place that has some water for their goats, sheep and camels and then move on to the next spot.

Some of the rugged terrain

The black tent in the middle is a bedouin encampment

After a couple of hours we arrived in the city of Petra.  This is the modern city which has been built in the hills around the ancient city.  Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9000 BC and it became the capital of the Nabataean civilization in the 4^th century BC.  The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who found Petra’s proximity to trade routes advantageous so they built a great city there.  This was a center for trading in frankincense, myrrh and spices.

Petra is often called the Rose-red City because of the marvelous color of the rock from which it has been carved. What is amazing when looking at the edifices is that the beautiful column, capitals, and decorations were all done with only primitive hand-tools.

We had been here before several years ago and made the walk down to the city through a narrow gorge called the Siq.  The walk is a couple of miles each way with a drop in elevation from about 5400 ft to 4800 ft.  It is hot, dusty and in some places paved with uneven stones.  We remembered that the last time on the way up we thought we’d have to get the Jordanian equivalent of 911 to get us to the top.  There are horse carts you can take down, but they look only slightly better as they gallop along at breakneck speed on wheels that are not round but rather crenellated.  So when the opportunity to travel in style down and back in an electric golf cart presented itself, we jumped on it. 

The Bab al Siq or Gateway to the gorge leading to ancient Petra

The Siq  You can see how narrow it is.

The crown jewel of Petra is the Treasury, that place where Indiana Jones finds the ancient knight still guarding the Holy Grail.  You can’t go inside, but the exterior is breath-taking.  The façade is nearly 40 meters high with towering columns topped with Corinthian capitals, carved friezes and figures, and at the center top a huge funerary urn which legend says houses a Pharaoh’s treasure.  In the front of the Treasury is a sort of town square in which one can take a camel ride, get photos taken with Nabataeans soldiers, or buy “treasures.”  It’s like a movie set version of an ancient souk.  An enterprising Arab spotted Al and negotiations began for a genuine imitation silver bracelet and some “ancient” coins.  We enriched the local economy by a little, but Al had great fun haggling with the guy.  After all, how often do you get to Petra, Jordan?

The Treasury

An Arab entrepreneur happy with his new American friends

Camels waiting for riders

One of the many horse carts

After a look about and some photos, we took our golf carpet back to the top.  As we rode along I looked at the faces of the people making the trek back up and they looked flushed and pained.  We knew that feeling last time.  One side note, I was astounded by the choice of footwear some people, particularly women, had made.  I saw several with those kind of sandals with skinny flat soles  more like flip flops than anything else.  Whatever were they thinking?

Once up in  modern Petra we went to the Movenpick Hotel for the buffet lunch included in our tour.  It was blissfully cool and serene with a nice selection of salads, a couple of entrees and lovely desserts.  Then it was time to board our bus for the trip back across the desert.

The last time at the midway point on the road to Aqaba, Seabourn had trucked out champagne, caviar, foie gras canapés and the staff to serve them.  That didn’t happen this time because it’s Ramadan and it would be offensive to the owners of the roadside rest stop.  Oh well, such is life! Seabourn did welcome us home in their traditional way with most of the housekeeping and bar staff lined up cheering and dancing to lively music.

Welcome home from pierside

Welcome home from our balcony perspective

We have two sea days coming up as we traverse the Gulf of Aqaba and Gulf of Suez first and the Suez Canal on the second day.  I think we’ll sleep well tonight.