Here's an article I wrote after a trip to Petra - hope it contains some useful info for anyone planning a trip there.
Enjoy!
The big ‘must see/do’ in Jordan is a visit to Petra. The UNESCO world heritage site is a two to three hour car journey from Amman and is well worth the day-trip. I hired a car and a driver to go with it for less than 100JD (c£80) … for c6 hours worth of driving, coupled with the freedom to go/return when it suits me, seemed like great value to me.
You should aim to arrive in Petra relatively early in the day depending of the time of year. You need to be sure that the sun is still on the face of The Treasury as you come to the end of The Siq (the incredible chasm route through a sandstone gorge that leads you mystically into the heart of the hidden city of Petra). The result is truly awesome. You will be amazed that you end up with an image on your camera that is equal to the quality of any picture that you have ever seen on the front of travel guides, holiday brochures or history books.
It takes a good thirty minutes at a fairly leisurely pace to walk the full length of The Siq to the face of The Treasury. Try to avoid large groups of tours to ensure the best from your camera en route. Take time to look up as well as ahead as the sheer scale of the towering natural 200-meter high walls of The Siq (as well as the myriad of natural colours of the sandstone) are spectacular. There is a cool breeze that runs through this tight canyon - as it has done for centuries and, in doing so, has carved incredible natural sculptures in the walls above. At ground level, a crude aqueduct has been carved into the rock face by previous inhabitants to capture rainfall and channel it the one kilometre distance down into the city where it was collected and stored. Ingenuous.
Hawkers and stall keepers are a reminder of Petra’s heritage as a crucial trading post. Looking inside one of many crude dwellings carved out of the sand stone I could imagine the space being once occupied by some Nabatean selling his wears to passing travellers – refreshments, beads, cloth, herbs, spices. Not much has changed, I thought, as I glanced over at the nearby vendor’s array of warm Coke, bottles of water, local silverware, ‘I love Jordan’ caps and packs of Benson and Hedges. Eking a humble existence, two young boys aging no more than five or six, accosted me with their collection of naturally colourful pieces of sandstone. “Only 1JD!” they screamed - in competition with each other for the sale. Jostling for position and thrusting bits of rock that I didn’t want into my hands. What could I do but buy a lump of stone from each of them only to discard the said pieces 100 meters further down the track. ‘They’ll be picking them up and flogging the same souvenirs to someone behind me’ I thought. It made me smile and it reminded me that enterprise is not a modern invention.
One of Jordan’s natural treasures, Petra’s origins are believed to date back as far as 7,000 years. But it is the little known Nabateans (whose occupation of Petra can be dated back to the 4th century BC) that much of Petra’s legacy is attributed. The sheer scale of what has been achieved will astound you and it is truly an exceptional place that you are relatively free to walk around completely unrestricted – this was quite remarkable at a time when you can’t seem to even get within spitting distance of Stone Henge. In Petra you can wander almost anywhere you chose.
Suddenly, I recalled the fact that ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ was part filmed here – it seemed so fitting – both the place for the film and the film for the place.
Top tips:
1) Take your time – there is a lot to see. If your are determined to see it all (including ‘the High Place’) then you should stay overnight in Petra and see it over two days - and take a packed-lunch from your hotel.
2) Wear suitable sturdy shoes/boots – flip-flops will be wholly inadequate and the dust will wreck your ‘Sunday-bests’ too.
3) Buy a guide book – they are worth the money, make for a fascinating read, and help you make the most of your visit without ‘gate crashing’ a guided tour or fork out for a guide of your own.
4) Look at the ceiling of the Urn Tomb – well worth the climb.
5) Don’t forget to cover-up/factor-up with sun cream – there’s not much shade and the heat can be oppressive in the summer.
6) You are relatively unrestricted in where you roam but, as always, “take nothing away and leave nothing behind”.
7) If you can keep ahead of all the guided tour groups you can have moments of isolation in The Siq and marvel at the peace and quiet in the cool breeze.
8) The horses and donkeys that are offered to take you up/down from the entrance to The Siq or The Treasury all look desperately in need of an easier life. Your choice of course but I decided to walk.
9) Watch your footing – apart from in The Siq, the ground underfoot is mostly rubble.
10) Toilet facilities would challenge even Kim & Aggie – go before your enter and hold it until you come out! Equally, you’ll need to ‘hold your nose’ inside some of the tombs – ‘need’s must’ I guess but somewhat disrespectful I thought.
More information:
www.see-jordan.com
www.fco.gov.uk
Edited by: brad01
