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.
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.
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