The Holy Lands

Go to Jordan, go to Jordan, go to Jordan. A touch pricier than other places we have been, but check out Wadi Rum and Petra.

This is a coffee shop in Lawrence of Arabia territory. It is a Bedouin (the nomadic people) area so shops are at times inaccessible.

We drove around Wadi Rum, a protected desert area, in 4WD’s and then had tea with the local Sheikh of Wadi Rum (a crazy Bedu in his own words), and that is our lovely Australian guide in the middle.



Next stop was a picnic in the shade, mostly consisting of hommus, felafel and baklava.



And then we climbed a sand dune for a bit of a view over the local area.


And here’s a shot for Matt’s Mum.



We really spent the rest of the afternoon gawking at the scenery.



And trying not to be swallowed by the craggly rock formations.



During our traditional Bedouin dinner in a desert camp, the Sheikh warned Matt about letting his wife loose with so many crazy Bedouins about, and some members of the group tried to sell our guide to him for three camels, a goat and a manservant. The Sheikh then colluded with the drivers to bust out some tunes, the chorus consisting of bleating like a camel while clapping your hands. Crazy Bedus.



The next day we came to Petra. To get to the site you first have you bash your way past columns of Indiana Jones shops, complete with Indy hats.



Then you pass down a 2km cavern.



Before it opens into the start of Petra town proper.



This is the classic image of Petra, the so-called “Treasury”. It takes that name because legend had it that a pharaoh had hidden some treasure in the urn at the top of the facade, and you may be able to see some of the urn is missing, since Ottoman soldiers shot at it to try to get the treasure, only to be showered by bits of stone.

The producers of Indiana Jones would have you believe that there is a large room inside, but there is not. It really only extends about 10m into the rock. However, there are tombs underneath but they have only been partially excavated for fear of the facade cumbling and Jordan’s tourist industry with it. The site was created by, and subsequently ruined by, earthquakes. Our hotel slants noticeably towards the street and down the hill, so much so that the bathroom drain is a few centimetres higher than the shower, so you need some really good squidgy technique to clean up the bathroom.

What we didn’t initially realise was how big the Petra site is. There were rows and rows of 2000 year old multistorey residential blocks carved into the stone.



An ampitheatre.


A temple or two.



And these are the ruins of the Roman main street.

We climbed for a hot and emotional hour up 800 steps to reach the Monastery, which is probably more impressive to look at than the “Treasury” and has a larger room inside.

So, that was two days in Jordan. We have enjoyed some amazing food, but quite out of character for us we have not been taking photos of all of our meals. Off to the Dead Sea tomorrow, then we will be seeing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.