Adventures with Julia

October 10, 2018

We arrived in Jordan late afternoon, October 6, after flying from Mahe to Dubai and then on to Amman.  Had a few anxious moments when Mark’s bag did not show up on the carousel.  Turns out customs had taken his bag and were waiting for him to report it missing.  They had him open it for their inspection.  A pair of binoculars was the offending culprit and soon we were free to go with all bags accounted for.  Our driver, Mohannad, and guide, Sabatini, were waiting for us and we immediately began our four hour  drive south to Wadi Rum.

Sabatini started talking right away about camels.  He quizzed us to see how much we knew, very little for sure, and taught us a few things.  They have a 25 year life span, can go 7 days without water and 14 days without food.  They weigh 500 to 1,000 kg and can carry an amount equal to their weight.  They have a 12 month gestation and the baby weighs between 50 and 70 kg at birth.  They cannot have twins.  When I asked why he was asking us so much about camels, he said it was because we were booked to ride camels early the next morning.  So we corrected him.  We have ridden enough camels and do not intend to ride any more.  Suddenly, there was no more camel talk and we learned we could sleep an extra hour in the morning.

Sabatini told us that the population of Jordan is 10 million and that there are 4 million in the capital city of Amman.  There are currently 1.3 million Syrian refugees residing near the Syrian border.  Many of them work in Jordan.  There were also 300 thousand Iragi refugees, who have mostly been assimilated or returned to Iraq.  There are also 800 thousand Egyptian laborers in Jordan.  They are all hard working people.  Other stats he rattled off include:  7% of the population is Christian and the rest are Muslim; only 5% are active Bedouin.  Most Bedouin have been assimilated; the country has 26 miles of shoreline on the Red Sea, at the Gulf of Aquba.  The annual growth rate is 4.5% and 42% of the population is under the age of 15.  There are 4,000 primary and secondary schools and 50 universities.    Jordan’s largest income producers are phosphorous, potash and tourism.

About half way to Wadi Rum, we stopped at a large tourist place selling what I call “useless dustables”.  There was a huge amount of Christian objects from rosaries to rugs with pictures of the last supper; jewelry, pottery, brass trinkets, soaps and much more.  When Mark asked why there was so much stuff for Christians and very little for Muslims, the salesman said 95% of tourists who come through the store are Christians.  Only a few Muslims come through.  While there, Sabatini suggest we eat something.  We settled on cheese sandwiches.  I was not too sure about eating raw food in Jordan at the moment and decline the cucumbers and tomatoes.

We arrived at Wadi Rum, a national reserve, about 8:30pm.  It was dark and we could see very little of the desert camp, Sun City Camp, where we were to stay, as there were only a few dim lights along the uneven boardwalk laid on the sand, that lead to the back of the camp and our martian dome.  Sabatini helped us onto the dome platform, about 4 feet above the sand, and into the rigid structure.  It was very basic, but it had a good bed, a full bathroom and best of all, AC.  The desert was quite warm, even at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We thought we were in for the night until Sabatini told us to grab a flash light and come with him.  Back down the boardwalk, we got into a funky pick up truck and headed, off track, deeper into the dark desert to do some star gazing.  Eventually, we saw a camp fire and stopped near it.  Several young men were seated around the fire chatting, while a round of bread baked in the ash and coals.  Sabatini told us these were bedouin boys and they were making a traditional dish called Tharid.  While the bread cooked, we walked away from the fire to look up at the night sky.  After the bread was picked out of the coals and pronounced done, one boy dusted it off with his dirty hands and gave us a piece from the middle of the loaf.  We enjoyed the hot bread with no bad effects.  Then he tore the rest of the bread into tiny pieces in a large pot, poured milk and yogurt over the bread, and mixed it into a mash with his hands.  Most unsavory.  Finally, he poured the mash onto a large platter, smoothed it out, made a hole in the middle and poured oil in the hole.  Voila!  The group of them dived into the mess with gusto, scooping it up with their own dirty hands.   After a few polite comments, we withdrew and went back to our dome, the night sky not all that interesting.

Next morning, we opened the dome door to find ourselves surrounded by martian domes, sandstone hills and desert.  The camel ride we skipped, passed by us.  After a breakfast in a large dome, we were off on a 3 hour ride through the desert on the back of a pick up truck.

We made several stops to: climb a sand dune, visit two natural stone bridges, see ancient petroglyphs and share tea with a Bedouin and his son.  The Bedouin played his homemade instrument for us.  It looked a bit like a one string violin.  Mark gave it a try and found it interesting.

Back at camp, we had lunch and moved to our air conditioned touring vehicle, which Mohannad had already packed, and were off to Petra.  Only 1.5 hours north, we reached Little Petra by mid afternoon.

Apparently, it had been a caravansary for camel trains passing through Petra along trading routes.   The traders would stable their hundreds of animals at the caravansary and go into Petra to shop, trade and visit religious sites.  There were no accommodations in Petra, especially not for camels.  There were the facades of a few well carved buildings inside the large open area, accessed through a narrow sandstone passageway.

From there we drove on to the Movenpeck Hotel across the street from the entrance to Petra and relaxed for the evening.  Sabatini left us and we acquired a new guide, Issam for our walk through Petra.

October 8, 2018  Petra

We met Issam at 7:30 and began our long, hot walk through Petra in the heart of the Shara Mountains.  As we very slowly walked through the Siq, the 1.2 km sandstone gorge that gently slopes down toward the ancient city of Petra until it opens on to the famous Treasury, Issam told us the history of the place and the people who founded Petra and lived there from 700 BC until 109 AD, the Nabataeans.

On either side of the passage were niches where statues of gods were placed.  However, our attention was drawn by the channels we could see on both walls of the Siq.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water channels ran along each side and held clay pipes that carried fresh water to the city from springs, and cisterns and reservoirs that collected rainwater.  To prevent leakage, the Nabataeans developed a waterproof cement to line the walls of the cisterns and reservoirs.  They were master hydraulic engineers and developed a sophisticated water supply system that allowed them to flourish in the middle of the desert regardless of the season.  Terraced gardens were cultivated inside the city for beauty and erosion control.  Livestock and irrigated crops received ample water and hillsides were protected from erosion.

Petra was the perfect location to take advantage of flourishing trade  during the last centuries BC and early AD.  The main trade routes were the Frankincense Route from the south and the Spice Route from the east.  Both routes passed through Nabataean territory and converged in Petra before moving west to Egypt, northwest to Europe or north through the Levant.  To pass through Nabataean territory was expensive as they extracted a tax on each camel passing through.  The only reason it made sense was that the trade in spices was lucrative for the traders. In Petra, the goods could be traded, repackaged and redistributed.  The Nabataeans, masterful merchants, grew rich on both trade and taxes.

The key to all this wealth and power that culminated in Petra, was the rise in demand for incense.  The Nabataeans were nomadic traders long before they came to Petra.  They roamed the deserts of Arabia transferring items from one place to another to earn their living.  With the rise of the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman empires, demand for incense proliferated.  It was used for burials, embalming and burning at temples, sacrifices and rituals by all three civilizations.  Much of the incense–that is frankincense and Myrrh–came from Arabia, what is now Oman and Yemen.  Originally Nabataeans were the middlemen in the transport of incense, but by 100 BC, they became the primary transporters of south Arabian incense. Incense was valued as much as gold.  It makes total sense to me that the wise men were probably traders carrying incense for trade, would have had it in their caravan and could have given a bit of it to Mary and Joseph as an aid to keep evil away.  But I side track.

The first mention of the Nabataeans was in the 7th century BC when they were listed as enemies of the King of Assyria.  The next reference is of a military campaign by one of Alexander the Great’s general’s trying, in the 3rd century BC, to conquer an area controlled by the Nabataeans.  The campaign failed.  The reference suggested that the Nabataeans had already established themselves in the region.  It is believed that they may have begun to settle in Petra as far back as the 6th century BC.  Petra peaked between 100 BC and 100 AD as a modern, cosmopolitan and organized trade center.  In 106 AD, the last Nabataean king died and the kingdom was absorbed by the Roman Empire.  The city remained an important trade caravan stop for another two centuries.  The Romans built a theater, a colonaded road, a Roman Soldier Tomb and other structures.  Even the Treasury has Corinthian columns.  In 324 AD, Petra became part of the Byzantine Empire.  Some of the population converted to Christianity and Petra became the seat of a bishop.  Many important structures were converted to churches and at least one Byzantine church was built from the ground up.

In 363 AD a major earthquake struck and many free-standing structures crumbled.  Worst of all, the water system was damaged.  Despite these setbacks, the Byzantines remained in the city into the 6th century when another earthquake brought more devastation.  After that, the city’s population declined.

In addition to the history, Issam told us Petra is a Greek word which means “rock”.  , Siq means “huge crack” and the word Nabata means “to get water out of the ground”.  Frankincense and myrrh were mixed together to create an incense that people believed would keep evil away.

For many centuries, Petra was lost to the world.  The first westerner to re-discover the site was a Swiss explorer named Johan Burckhardt, who heard about it on his travels and finally found it in 1812.  His sketches drew the attention of others.  And here we are.

Finally, after the slow walk through the Siq, we turned a corner and got our first glimpse of The Treasury.  It is just as grand as the photos you may have seen depict.  What is different and much greater, is the size of the city complex that surround the facade and the number of other structures (over 850 tombs alone) still standing and available to be explored.  It is not all visible from the area in front of the Treasury, but there is enough to know you are only at the beginning.  The Treasury, carved out of a single block of stone, is 39.5 meters high, 29 meters wide, and was carved from the top down.  Although a Bedouin legend has it that a pharaoh hid gold in the urn at the top, many people shot holes in the urn to no avail.   Archeologists believe it is the mausoleum of King Aretas IV (9 BC – 40 AD).  The facade is decorated with funerary designs and symbols related to death and the afterlife.  The corinthian style columns are examples of Hellenistic influence along with a frieze of winged griffins.  In the center is the goddess Isis.

We wondered around the area awhile and took several photos.  As the morning wore on, the crowds increased.  It was obvious that many people see the Treasury and leave.  We, however, were ready to move on and see more of Petra.

Continuing our down hill walk to the city center, we stopped at the Roman Theatre, which seated 6,000 spectators and is the only theatre in the world that is carved  into the rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked along the colonnaded street and looked at the Great Temple, a major monument covering over 7,000 sq. meters and built by the Nabataeans near the end of the 1st century AD using classical as well as their traditional architecture.

We paused at Qasr as-Bint, the  main and most important temple in Petra.  It is nearly square, 23 meters tall today and very imposing.  From the entrance to this point was all down hill.  Then we began the climb up to the Monastery.

It was not as difficult as the hike to Clouds, but is was steep and difficult enough.  Thankfully, I had Mark and Issam acting as my part time porters.  The round trip from the entrance to the Monastery and back was 6.6 miles, with the sun on us most of the time.  Part way up the Monastery Trail, we stopped at the lion Triclinium, a small temple with two lions carved by the entrance.  The Monastery is similar to, but simpler and larger than The Treasury.  Built in the 2nd century AD, its hall was used as a Christian chapel.  Crosses were carved into the rear wall, which is how the structure got its name.

Getting back down the hill was a snap, except for the people hawking their goods.  We said “No” every time, but it sure made me feel bad for these people.  Who wants to shop on a hillside and carry stuff.  I did not see anyone shopping at a vendor stand the whole day and felt really bad for them. And to have that same experience day after day.  Maybe it is time to find another line of work.  THe only item most people purchased was water.  We stopped and had a lemonade with mint.  It was rather sour, but went down well in the heat of the day.

After we got back to the center of Petra, we hiked up to the 5th century Church complex to see the well preserved mosaics on the church floor, and then over to the Royal Tombs.  This name was given to the four magnificent facades adjacent to each other at the end of the main path through the middle of the city.  We were so hot and tired by then that we did not linger. Besides, the sun was in our faces making photos hard to take.   We made it back to the hotel by 4:30, bought Issam a drink, gave him a good tip and said good bye.

It felt good to have a shower and sit awhile.  Although several people tole us we needed 4-5 days to really see Petra, we were content with the one day we had.