"Obligatory Indiana Jones Quotation!" - We Went to Petra

From the time we knew we were coming to Israel for the year, I knew we had to get to Petra. Petra is one of those places that I’ve always wanted to visit, but the timing has just never worked out. At first we waited until it wasn’t too hot, then until it wasn’t too cold. Finally, with only a few free weekends left in our year, we picked this one for our Petra adventure. On Thursday afternoon Jeremy finished his last class for the year, and we picked up the rental car and headed over to pick up our friends Marc and Polly. Just as we were ready to start our adventure, the car wouldn’t start and when it finally did, the check engine light was on. Since we didn’t want to drive all the way through the desert with the check engine light, it was back to the rental car company. They exchanged our car for a different one. As luck would have it, this one had shards of glass falling out of the driver’s side door - not a good sign. So with our third car of the day we drove out of Jerusalem and onto the Arava highway.

It took us about three and a half hours to drive down to Eilat. Not bad considering it takes about 5 on the bus. We dropped off Marc and Polly at their hotel and headed over to see our friend Brad. The three of us had a lovely dinner, then went back to Brad’s apartment where we spent the night. Our early departure for Petra necessitated an early night, but it’s always nice to spend as much time as we can with Brad.

In the morning we met up with Marc and Polly, and around 7am a cab picked us up to take us to the border. We planned our trip with Desert Eco Tours and they arranged absolutely everything. Once their cab dropped us off at the border we were met by one of their employees, who collected our border tax and explained how the rest of the day was going to work. The border does not open until 8 AM, but they like to get their groups there early so that they can be the first ones to cross. After waiting in line for a bit, the border finally opened and, sure enough, we were the first ones in. As we were walking toward passport control one of the Israeli security told us all to follow her. We did, and ended up in the border bomb shelter. We were there for 10-15 minutes - still not sure why. Exciting way to start the morning! When everything was deemed ok and we were released from the shelter, we stood in line to have our passports checked. Once we had the green light from the Israeli side the four of us walked through no man’s land to the Jordanian side of the border. There, we were met by Mustafa, the tour’s representative on the Jordanian side. He led us through Jordanian passport control, which included standing in front of a machine that takes a picture of your retinas. It was a funny little machine that talked to you, saying things like “You’re too close, step back. No no no, not that far. Thank you for your cooperation.”

With our passports stamped we gathered with the rest of the group, were given bottles of water, and got on the bus. On our way to Petra we had a little city tour of Aqaba. It looks a lot like Eilat with shops and beach front hotels. Like Eilat, Aqaba is also a tax-free zone and is the only coast-line that is part of Jordan, spanning about 27 km. The drive from the border crossing to Petra was about two and a half hours with a quick stop for a bathroom break and coffee. The two guides on the bus, Muhamad and Ali spoke most of the way about Aqaba, Jordan in general, and the history of Petra. Upon our arrival we stopped quickly at the tour office to drop our overnight bags, then headed to the park entrance.

The ancient city of Petra (Greek for “stone”) is a historical and archaeological city in the Ma’an region of Jordan. The city was established around the 6th century BCE, as the capital of the Nabataeans and their burial ground. It lies on the side of Mount Hor, forming the eastern flank of the Wadi Araba (or Arava, if you’re on the Israeli side of the border). The site was discovered by Johann Ludwig Bruckhardt in 1816, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Even though this city was built in the middle of the desert, it was able to thrive because of the incredible water system built throughout the city. There is an elaborate network of dams, cisterns, and water conduits that collect the water from the rain and flash floods and store it for drought times. According to Arabic tradition, Petra is the stop where Moses hit the rock with his staff to bring forth water. According to legend, Moses’s brother Aaron is buried at Mount Hor, which today is known in the region as Mount Aaron. The narrow valley where Petra lies is called Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses).

Our walk started down a divided dirt path, with pedestrians on one side and horses on the other. Part of your admission to Petra includes a horse ride down to the start of the valley, but we decided to walk as you had to tip the horse’s owner and we did not want to spend additional money. We were in a group of about 10 people with our guide Muhamad. He stopped every little while to explain the history and importance of the structures and carvings we were seeing. We saw the Djin tomb and the obelisks, then started our walk through the Siq. Walking in the valley exposed where the rock split apart was stunning. Everywhere we looked there were different colors of rock climbing the walls on either side of us.

As we reach the end of the siq, the rock walls open up onto the treasury building (Khazneh Al Firaun). Walking through, we can only imagine what it was like to stumble upon this incredible building carved into the rock nearly 200 years ago. Even with all the pictures that I had seen of Petra, nothing prepares you to actually see the treasury facade in person. It is absolutely huge, and the detail that still exists on the carving is incredible. We had a little time to explore the treasury on our own, then we made our way down the path toward the amphitheater. On the way, we passed all sorts of tombs built into the sides of the mountain. Even after seeing the treasury, the facades on these tombs were amazing.

The amphitheater was beautiful. It is cut into the hillside, with the different colors of the rock exposed in the layers of seats. Our guide said it is the only amphitheater in the world that is cut into the mountain in this way. We then walked through the Grand Temple, with columns built up on both sides. Walking down this street was reminiscent of the main street in Ephesus - both ancient cities rediscovered. At this point our group stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. It was a nice buffet with a combination of Jordanian food and more western food. I learned that spice is a big part of Jordanian cuisine, as is mustard. The four of ate rather efficiently, and after saying goodbye to our guide and fellow travelers were back on our way.

Leah and Daniel had been in Petra a few weeks before us and recommended that we do the hike up to the monastery (Al Deir). It takes about 45 minutes to climb the stairs built into the hillside, but the four of us took our time getting to the top. As tempting as it was to go up via donkey, I was more scared of the donkey than of the climb. As we got closer and closer to the top of the hill the views got more and more beautiful. The colors of the rocks kept changing, and the sides of the mountain that had been eroded away by the wind and the sand looked almost like pieces of wood. We finally arrived at the monastery, and were rewarded with a facade as incredible (if not more) than the treasury had been. Unlike the treasury, there were almost no people up at the monastery, and we were able to enjoy the peace and quiet of the place along with the incredible building carved into the rock. The building itself is about 50 meters wide and about 45 meters high - truly impressive. It was built in the first century CE by the Nabataeans. We rested, took in the sites, then started our walk back down the mountain.

On our way back toward the main entrance, we stopped to see the facades of the tombs build up into the hills. The Urn, Silk, Corinthian, and Palace tombs are less well-kept than the treasury or the monastery, but give you a good sense of what they must have looked like in their prime. There was almost nobody left in the park by the time we got to the tombs, but were bombarded by children trying to get us to ride horses, donkeys, and camels, as well as buy postcards.

From the tombs we walked back toward the treasury, which seemed much less amazing after having seen the monastery, although it was nice to see it with fewer people around. From there we walked back up the siq and back to the entrance, then about 300 more meters back to the tour office. We piled in a van with a few other travelers from our group, and they took us to our hotel for the night. The hotel was actually really lovely and included dinner and breakfast. After a desperately needed shower, the four of us decided to try the hotel’s Turkish bath. Jeremy and I had done a Turkish bath in Turkey, but this was Marc and Polly’s first experience. We headed down to the bath with two Dutch ladies from our group (a mother and daughter). We first enjoyed the jacuzzi then the steam room, then split up into boys and girls for our scrubs and massages. It was a great and relaxing end to a fantastic day. When we were finished we headed upstairs for dinner with our new Dutch friends, then crashed for the night.

In the morning Jeremy and I sat out on the patio overlooking Petra and had some breakfast. At 10, our driver picked us up in a van to take us back to the border. We stopped briefly at a lookout where we were able to see the Araba desert and Mount Aaron. In two hours we were back at the border, and except for a small problem where they didn’t want to let Jeremy back into Israel (what else is new?), we crossed with no problems. Someone from the tour company was there to meet us, and she took us back to where we had parked our car. After a stop for gas, we were on our way back up north. On the road we stopped at Yodvata for ice cream (of course), and made it back to Jerusalem in just over three hours.

Overall, the trip was amazing. It’s clear to me why Petra is visited by about half a million people a year, and is on the list of the wonders of the world. Marc and Polly were great travel companions, and made the experience that much better. After so many years of waiting to get to Petra, I’m so glad that I can now say we’ve been.

Pesach Travel Adventures - Day 11 & Conclusion

Day 11 – Saturday, April 14 – Travel back to Israel, Conclusion


On Saturday morning we slept to the leisurely hour of 8:30, and finished re-packing everything into our two bags. Leah, Jeremy, and I piled our things and ourselves into the car, and parked the car near the tube stop. We took the tube a few stations away, and had a lovely brunch at Giraffe. Jeremy got to try a “Flat White,” which is a double shot of espresso with some foam. He became a real fan of British hot drinks on this trip. After brunch we jumped back on the tube and into Leah’s car, and drove out to Luton. Luton is a bit outside the city, but there was barely any traffic and it didn’t take us long to get there. 


The airport itself was interesting. You have to pay to stop, even to just drop someone off. Once you get inside, EasyJet had a special desk to check in if you were running late and were about to miss your flight. Seems to me like that would encourage people to arrive later so they didn’t have to stand in a long line. We checked in our two bags, and proceeded to security. Along the security line, there were these creepy hologram projections of people giving liquid and safety announcements. Very strange. We waited about 15 minutes for my laptop to come through security (apparently there was a new girl who had no idea what she was doing), and made our way to the gate, where people were already lined up to board. 


easyJet #2087, London-Luton (Sat. Apr. 14, 1:25 PM) - Tel Aviv (8:25 PM)
G-EZTM, Airbus 320
Seat: Window/middle, Exit row
LTN: Depart 5 min late at 1:30
TLV: Arrive on-time at 8:25
Duration: 4:55


Notably, we never went through any kind of passport control before getting on the plane. We stood in line, had our boarding passes checked, then stood in line again for about half an hour. Like Jeremy’s flight into Luton, we boarded the flight via the tarmac through both the front and back of the plane. Surprisingly, we filled up the plane in only about 15 minutes. When we boarded, we were able to get ourselves into an exit row, meaning more leg room, but also meaning our baggage went up in the "locker." Again, there were meal and snack sales, but this time they were only accepting Euros and Pounds and not Shekels like on the TLV-LUT flight. 


After pulling into a real gate and a quick walk to customs (where we passed a flower field that was in the shape of the national brand of cottage cheese with the saying, “waiting for you at home…”), we boarded a sheirut, which filled up pretty quickly. As we were leaving, the driver asked if it was ok if he stopped for gas. Given that he didn’t have any, we all agreed. A short hour later Jeremy and I were home. It feels good to be home after more than two weeks away.


Here are some of Jeremy’s thoughts on our arrival at Ben Gurion: 


After all of the traveling we have done this year, this will be my last time walking through the arrivals area for some time. Ben Gurion is a beautiful airport, and there are things that I will surely miss. I'll miss walking out around the main departures area with the Mikveh. I'll miss walking down the long path towards passport control and seeing art from the Israel museum on one side and a flower display outside forming the logo of the national cottage cheese brand. I'll miss Israelis who don't know how to deal with us. (Why are you here? And why aren't you also Israeli?) I'll miss the bust of Ben Gurion greeting us, next to a huge menorah designed after the one that was illuminated in the Great Temple. But most of all, I'm going to miss the arrivals hall. Its design is astounding, with Roman columns, and my favorite part: a gorgeous water feature that not so subtly says: you are like the People of Israel, completing a journey by walking through parted waters and arriving in the Promised Land. When we arrived, we were walking at our normal, quick pace. Seeing this for the last time on this trip, we slowed down. 


We savored every step. 


We took in the view. 


We crossed through the waters from the Diaspora to the Promised Land.

Pesach Travel Adventures - Day 10

Day 10 – Friday, April 13 – Amsterdam, flight to London


On Friday, Jeremy and I took a little day-trip out of Amsterdam and went to visit Keukenhof, the famous tulip fields. Like the day before we jumped on the train and went just one stop to Schipol (the airport and main train station). After a 10 minute delay on the tracks for a reason we’re not totally sure of (the announcements were in Dutch), we arrived at Schipol and found the desk where we could get our “combi” tickets for the bus and entrance to Keukenhof. We got in line for the bus with lots of other visitors, and listened to the lady in charge bark orders until we were able to board. A short 30 or so minutes later, we were at the flower fields. 


Keukenhof is the world’s largest flower garden, covering about 32 hectares (about 80 acres) with over 7 million bulbs planted there annually. The gardens are only open 2 months out of the year, which makes them a very heavily visited tourist attraction. The flowers were absolutely beautiful. Everywhere we turned there was a different variety of tulip with a different set of colors and name. I had no idea there were so many variations and varieties of flowers. Each path we turned down was as beautiful as the last. We spent almost 3 hours walking around the gardens, and felt like we saw maybe 20% of the park. But after a while flowers all start to look the same, so we bit farewell to the tulips and got back on the bus that took us to Schipol. Jeremy grabbed a quick bite at the Albert Heijn in the airport, then after a quick visit to the KLM store (Jeremy was like a kid in a candy store), we were back on the tram to Becky and Eric’s house.


Becky met us at home, and she and Jeremy indulged me by taking a trip to the Purse and Bag Museum. It was actually pretty impressive. They had bags dating back to the 13th century, and the museum went chronologically detailing changes in the style and function of bags over the years. To me, the most impressive bags were the ones that were knit in intricate patterns, where the designer first had to string all the beads onto the yarn in a prescribed pattern, then knit the beads into the most amazing designs. After that museum we made our way to Foam, the Amsterdam photography museum. The content of the museum changes every few months, and we were lucky enough to see a huge exhibit about the New York Times magazine. In addition to having the articles and photographs, they also had the story behind the photographs and the proof sheets that the pictures used in the article had been chosen from. The exhibit was both beautiful and moving. 


On our way back to the apartment, Becky and Jeremy stopped to pick up some ossenworst, a sausage-like meat made from raw beef. A store right near Becky’s house is known for their ossenworst, so we picked some up to try. Becky enjoyed it, and at his first bit, Jeremy said he’s moving to Amsterdam. Even Eric liked it, although he previously had not enjoyed this Dutch delicacy. To celebrate the end of Pesach we ordered pizza for dinner, and all too soon we were off to the airport. Becky and Eric drove us the few minutes to the airport, and we said our goodbyes. The four of us don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like, so the time that we got to spend together in Paris and Amsterdam was really special.


The Schipol airport is massive, full of really cool stuff. We passed a meditation room, showers, a museum (part of the Reijksmuseum and free to the public), a variety of shops, lounge areas with really comfy chairs and fake fireplaces, and a 4D theater. The one downside of this was that our gate was really far away. We kept hearing announcements of "Passenger So-And-So, please board your flight at Gate 25. You are delaying the flight. If you don't show, we will off-load your baggage." Very aggressive announcements. 


British Airways #433, Amsterdam (Fri. Apr. 13, 10:00 PM) - London-Heathrow (10:10 PM)
G-EUUZ, Airbus 320
Seat: Window/middle, Exit row
AMS: Depart 1 min late at 10:01
LHR: Arrive 3 early at 10:07
Duration: 1:07


After another 17 minute taxi to the runway, we were on our way. While our previous British Airways flights had a moving map, this one had updated software, making the map look even cooler. Again, we had a snack and beverage service. We were able to get exit row seats, however, according to British air standards, we had to move anything that would have fit underneath the seat to the overhead. A bit annoying, but that’s the small price you have to pay for having that extra legroom! Fortunately, once we landed, we were at the gate in very little time, especially for Heathrow standards. 


After an easy jaunt through customs Leah picked us up. This trip was a far cry from Jeremy’s first flight into London! We went back to Leah’s apartment, laughed our way through the rest of the night, and had a good night’s sleep.

Pesach Travel Adventures - Day 9

Day 9 – Thursday, April 12 – The Hague and Delft

Since in our first two days in Amsterdam we had seen the majority of the sites we wanted to see, on our third day we took a day-trip to The Hague and Delft. Becky walked us to the metro station and made sure we had the right tickets, and we jumped on the train to The Hague. The train ride was easy and only took about 45 minutes. When we exited the train station in The Hague we were a little disoriented, but finally made our way to the Parliament complex. 

It turns out that like in Amsterdam, almost everything in The Hague is currently under renovation, so we saw a lot of beautiful and important buildings and museums from the outside. The Parliament buildings are beautiful, and it was interesting to see the rows and rows of bikes parked outside. Seems that even those in Parliament don’t drive around the city. 

From the Parliament complex we made our way along the streets and canals to the Panorama Mesdag Museum. If you happen to find yourself in The Hague, this is a must see. The entire museum was built to house one piece of art – a cylindrical painting that is 14 meters high, 40 meters in diameter, and 120 meters in circumference. I don’t think I’ve ever spent 20-30 minutes looking at one painting before. Standing in the center with sand and beach furniture around you, I truly felt as if I could walk off the platform and into the beach and quaint little city pictured in this painting.

From the museum we continued our walk toward to Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice. While we couldn’t go inside (its not open to visitors right now), we at least got to see the beautiful building and grounds from outside. We also visited the eternal peace flame installed in 1999, which is seven flames from five continents brought together by 196 different nations. From the peace palace we found a cute little café to have lunch, then walked to the palace and through its gardens. There were some incredible statues and art throughout the gardens. Our last stop in The Hague was the Old Church, which, of course, was not open to visitors. The outside was beautiful, as I imagine the inside probably would have been too. From there we found the stop for Tram 1, and jumped aboard for the 20ish minute ride to Delft. 

Like in The Hague, we found art all over the streets of Delft. It’s a quaint little town, known for its production of “Delftware” – the blue and white pottery famous in the Netherlands. We started our walking tour of Delft at the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and this time we were able to go inside. This church was first founded in 1246 and has been renovated many times since then. Both the outside and the inside of the church were beautiful. The inside feels very open with very high ceilings, made of wood. Like in the church we visited in Amsterdam, the floor of this church is made up of over 400 graves. I was excited to visit the grave of Anton van Leeuwenhoek, who invented the microscope. 

From the Old Church we made our way to the market in the center of town, which was selling everything from cheese to meets to flowers to clothes and shoes. Just on the other side of the square is the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which was out next stop. The New Church dates back to the 14th century, and is the home of the crypt of the princes of Orange. The crypt itself is not open to the public, and only a few people are allowed to go in there. We spent some time exploring the church and the massive monuments to those buried in the crypt, then watched a video from 2004 – the last time the crypt was opened (for Queen Beatrix’s parents). The New Church is known for its bell tower, the second tallest in the Netherlands. Rick Steves recommended climbing it for a beautiful panorama of the region, so we did. Jeremy and I made our way up the 360 foot tower, winding up stair after stair. Reaching the top and walking out onto the narrow walkway circumnavigating the tower, the whole climb was worth it. The views were absolutely stunning. On the way up, we got to see the bell towers and gears that run it, which was also really cool.  

From the church we made our way back through the square and toward the Synagogue (Klal Yisrael). Like everything else in The Hague, the synagogue is under renovation and is not currently open to the public. So, we saw the building from the outside. It was getting late in the afternoon, so Jeremy and I made our way to the train station to head back to Amsterdam. We had an interesting experience with the train station bathrooms, where for 50 cents you get 15 minutes in the bathroom. The metal seat descends, and when you’re finished you put your hands into a hole in the wall and get water, then soap, then a dryer. The train ride back was uneventful – we changed trains and got back to Becky and Eric’s apartment. While we were gone Becky had prepared a beautiful salad full of fruits and vegetables, and we had a lovely dinner all together. 

Pesach Travel Adventures - Day 8

Day 8 – Wednesday, April 11 – Amsterdam


On Wednesday morning, Jeremy and I jumped on the tram and headed toward the Anne Frank House. Luckily for us Becky had reserved us tickets in advance, so we skipped the 3-4 hour line and walked right in. It was really interesting and somewhat surreal to visit Anne’s house after so many years of imagining what it must be like from her descriptions in her diary. The museum includes both the attic and building where the family hid during the war and a small museum built into the building next door. The atmosphere was somewhat somber, almost as if the visitors there didn’t want the people downstairs to hear them, like the Frank family. The path of the museum was narrated with Anne’s own words, taken from her diary. I was surprised at how big the attic was. From Anne’s descriptions I expected a space 3-4 times smaller than what we saw. Upon exiting the attic there was a small exhibit of the original diary and another small room about Otto Frank. At the end of the tour there was a bookshop, selling Anne Frank’s diary is almost 80 different languages.


Becky met us outside the Anne Frank House and we walked down to the canal to see the Homomonument, a monument in the center of town commemorating all those who have been persecuted because of their homosexuality. From there, we walked through some different neighborhoods including the nine little streets and the Jordaan. We walked along Prinssengracht and Herengracht, taking in the sites and enjoying all the canals and bridges. From there we walked down haarlemmerstraat, toward the Central Station and stopped for a quick lunch. After lunch we visited the outside of the Central Station, then made our way to the Museum of Our Lord in the Attic.  While the building was built in 1630, the top three floors of the house were changed into a church starting in 1661 when Catholics could not practice their religion in public. The building and church are currently under renovation, but we were able to walk through the house and visit the church. It is being restored to look like it did 300 years ago, matching the original art and paint colors. 


After the museum Becky took us to the brand new Amsterdam library. The building itself is magnificent and modern, and we enjoyed some coffee and apple cake on the seventh floor with a view overlooking the entire city. After our rest and picture opportunity we walked to Rembrandt House Museum, where the painter lived from 1639 – 1658. In addition to the art displayed, there were demonstrations of how prints are made from etchings and how paint is mixed from ground stones and spices. The museum is really well done and has a nice combination of art, demonstrations, and original furniture and decorations. When we were finished in the museum we walked through Waterlooplein, a flea-market type street with people selling everything from second hand clothing to bikes to copper products. At the end of the street we arrived at the Jewish quarter, housing the Jewish museum and the Portuguese Synagogue. We wanted to go into the synagogue, but unfortunately for us it was 4:05 and it closed at 4:00. So, instead we meandered home, walking and stopping to sit along the Amstel River. We walked by the Hermitage and crossed the famous “skinny bridge.” On our way back toward the center of town Becky took us to Hema, which is sort of like the local Target. We got a few things to bring home with us to Israel (like stroopwafels, which are delicious but not K-for-P). We had a small snack at Hema, then stopped in a local bar for a drink before heading to meet Eric for dinner. We had dinner at an Indian restaurant, which was delicious.