August 2015:
It was a weird silence as we walked through no-man’s land. We had passed through the border control of Israel and next was the border control for Jordan. Between the two, was a passage way of about 100 metres one had to walk along. It was a clear, still sunny day. After the hustle and bustle of tour groups at the Israeli border, the silence of just the three of us walking to the Jordan border was very peaceful.
My tour group today consisted of myself, my girlfriend, Margarita, Sofia an Israeli woman, our local tour guide and a driver. After a brief tour of the beachside town of Aqaba, we drove for two hours through the desolate Wadi Rum region – very impressive and very orange.
Then the moment we’d all been waiting for: Petra.
Of course, we wanted to rush off and see the famous Treasury building that Petra is known for. It’s well-known from movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Mummy Returns and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen. But our guide had a tour to conduct. We walked slowly from the site entrance and listened to very interesting information and history about the archaeological city, also known as the Rose City due to the colour of the stone at the site.
The excitement began to build as we entered the narrow passage way, called as- siq, that was book-ended by tall rocks either side, up to 80 metres high. Tombs, carvings and water ducts lined the way as we edged closer to the Treasury. Also prevalent were locals peddling horse and camel rides, or kids selling post cards.
Then after a 20 minute walk through the siq, we turned a corner and the excitement hit its peak. Through a narrow opening between the rock faces a glimpse of the Treasury Building could be seen. We walked on till we passed the rocks and everything opened up and the full brilliance of the Treasury Building could be admired.
WOW! It was way taller than I’d expected.
We rushed around like excited children, taking plenty of photos in the blazing heat. The temperature was in the high 30’s or maybe low 40’s. Our guide told us Jordan had had an extreme summer with temperatures reaching 50° C on some occasions. Measuring 39 metres high and 25 metres wide, this amazing temple is carved out of the sandstone rock face, starting at the top and working down. We weren’t allowed to go inside. Apparently, there is only a tomb – no treasure.
Petra isn’t all about the Treasury. We moved on to explore the rest of the archaeological site. There are many more tombs, agricultural terraces, temples and theatres. Responsible for this brilliance in construction were the Nabataeans – ancient Arab tribes originally from the Arabian Peninsula, more than 2200 years ago, that came to settle in southern Jordan.
After some free time, we had to start heading back to the tour van to then go to lunch. Unfortunately, we were a bit short on money for a camel ride so we endured the 45 minute walk back in the unforgiving sunshine.
After a delicious buffet lunch and then a restful drive through Wadi Rum, we arrived back to the border as an orange glow of sunset filled the sky. Normally after such a long, tiring day a shower, a cold drink and a relaxing evening would be in order, but no rest for the adventurous. After arriving in Eilat again, we had two hours to eat and get ready for our next tour. If the awe-inspiring Petra wasn’t enough, we were now bound for Cairo and one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World − the Pyramids of Giza.
*Some photos included in photo gallery.
