Thursday
22nd October
Petra
Petra
was originally made famous by the Nabateans about 100 BC, then came
the Romans in 106 AD, the Byzantines in the 5th Century
and finally Steven Spielberg with Indian Jones and the Last
Crusade in the 1980s.
What
a day!
We
were met by our local guide, Faisal, at 9:00am and headed into the
city via the famous gully and rock causeways, called the Al-Siq
finally emerging at the remarkabe Treasury Building. This is
probably the most famous and recognised of the monuments in Petra.
We continued on past the Roman Theatre and down the colonnade
surrounded by monuments with intricate carvings that have lasted the
centuries. What makes these stand out from all of the other old
buildings one may see in their travels, is these are carved out of
the solid and multifaceted rose coloured sandstone rock-faces.
Masterpieces!
After
lunch with Faisal we headed up, and up, and up ... to the monastery
perched above the Al-Deir mountain, 800 steps from the ground. Huge
in size, and beautifully awesome. From this point it's a short walk
to a variety of lookouts where you can see across the deserts to
Israel and the ancient caravan roads to Egypt and the north. Truly
awe inspiring.
Then
it was the long track back to the starting point, our hotel. We
chose not to take the horse, camel, donkey or buggy option but to
continue on foot right to the end. Twenty kilometers and eight hours
later we arrived home bloody exhausted. But what an experience!
We
had a quick shower followed by a lie down and then we were off to the
hamman/Turkish bath. Oh boy, was that needed! It proved to be the
most necessary part of the day. Ten minutes in the steam bath;
shower off then we climbed onto two marble slabs to be scrubbed,
loofaed, soaped and finally massaged for 40 minutes. Absolute bliss
– the perfect end to the day. Finally another dinner at the
restaurant recommended by our guide and then to bed. A remarkable
day.
