21 June 2011

After a quick breakfast at 6:15am, we set off for a day in Petra. It was definitely not what I was expecting. Of course, most people know of Petra from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (which you should have watched by now…if not, shame on you), but it was so much more than that. Petra was the home of 25,000 people at the peak of its existence. Mostly built up by the Nabateans – it was also home to the Crusaders for a short while – the architecture is amazing. Your journey into the heart of the city begins by walking through al-Siq, a grand gorge, or canyon…take your pick. The rock in the canyon is so beautiful; it definitely has the “vibe”. Pictures just don’t do it justice. Upon leaving the Siq, you enter into a clearing which holds the Hollywood-made famous Cazneh or Treasury, believed to be the tomb of Aretas IV. The edifice of this thing is spectacular. I only wish we were able to go inside. Darn those safety regulations! Haha I was able to get a lot of pictures though. I’ll just have to sneak inside on a different occasion in my own attempt to find the Holy Grail! (Once again, if you haven’t taken the time to stop reading and watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, shame on you.)

From the Cazneh, we split from the group and were granted free time for the next six hours. This may seem like a lot of time, but it was not enough to do everything we wanted to do. Kymberly, Jenny, Wayna, and I decided to begin our journey through Petra by climbing up to the Monastery – 900 steps and sloping hills. It was killer in the sun but at least it wasn’t during the heat of the afternoon! Plus, once we reached the top, we forgot all about the climb. In front of us was another beautiful edifice – the Monastery. We took pictures and went off on a side path to the “Best View in Petra.” It wasn’t the best view of the day, but it was amazing. The desert really is gorgeous and the mountain ranges and valleys make it appear spectacular. The walk back down to leveled ground was obnoxious with so many steep slopes and stairs made for giants like Hagrid or Fezik, but we eventually made it and went to lunch. Lunch did not disappoint. With rice, flat bread, traditional Jordanian chicken, and warm bread pudding, I was a happy woman and ready to begin my next adventure!

I left lunch with Kerri Allison, Diedra, and Dallin to visit the King’s Tombs and the “High Place”. The tombs were tombs. The “High Place” was a high place. The walk up to the “High Place” was killer but the view from the top was easily one of the best things I had seen all day. It was beautiful. Plus, as soon as we got down to the bottom, Dallin found us some camels for us to ride back to the Treasury. Yes, I actually rode a camel. I had never ridden a camel before. It was so much fun! I was kind of worried before, especially when the camel was standing up, but once I was up, I was on top of the world. I name my came Rupert; he was such a delightful camel. Oh, and he really, really liked Kerri Allison – a lot. At one point, she turned around to say something to me and Rupert’s face was inches away from her own! I almost fell off I was laughing so hard. Dallin was sad (as were the rest of us) when the ride came to an end…the camels were the best part of his day. My favorite part came after the camels. You can ride a horse for about 500 meters or so (maybe a bit more) at the end of the Siq to the entrance gate for three dollars. Normally, you just sit there as someone guides your horse; however, I have ridden horse; I know how to ride. So I took the rope from the guy guiding me and took off! It was so great! He ran with me for a while but gave up after he realized I knew what I was doing. It was so great; I had forgotten how much I love riding. I reached the end way quicker than my guide so I raced a couple local kids and trotted around. It was wonderful. I felt just like Indiana Jones jumping onto his own horse and riding away from the Cazneh. It was a sad day when the guide appeared and I had to return the horse. I secretly wanted to keep him. I guess it wasn’t really a secret though. I’m sure the guide could see it in my eyes and from my mannerisms. I continued trotting around well after he reached the gate.

After Petra, we boarded the buses to begin our drive up to Ammon. Along the way, we stopped at a castle to look around and what not. It was just like any other castle I have seen, but it was fun. We climbed down into a shaft that led down to a cistern. It was dark and slippery and very dirty, but it was pretty cool. Dark, creepy gunnels are always the way to go. The drive up to Ammon was about three hours. I slept or about half of that; Petra took a lot out of me! And then – I ate a Kit Kat. I am a fan of Kit Kats. They are delightful – yum. We got to Ammon at eight o’clock at night or so – and had to go through security to get into the hotel. That was comforting, and it reminded me a bit of when security guards checked the trunk of our taxi when my family and I checked into our hotel in Turkey a couple of years ago to make sure nothing (no one) was there that wasn’t supposed to be. We stayed at the Belle Vue which was amazing compared to what we had been staying in. It wasn’t quite a Marriott, but it was on the verge for sure. Dinner was decent, but I wasn’t exactly hungry. I was dirty and tired so I took a quick shower and climbed into bed.

It was a really great day. The fact that the day was over, however, was a little too much for me to handle. Our journey through Jordan had just begun and yet it was almost over. I would be back in Jerusalem before I knew it.