This morning we traveled south from the Sea of Galilee and crossed the border into Jordan. It is amazing how in third-world countries they can make such a big production out of processing paperwork. The first step was to pay a departure tax in Israel, then stand in another line to have your passport checked and stamped by the Israeli authorities. Then we proceed to walk through a duty free shop and down another block where we unloaded our Israeli bus (which isn't allowed to travel into Jordan) and wait for another bus to drive us the 3 blocks across the boarder (that cost another $1.50 per person.)
Once at the Jordan border we unloaded the bus and waited for our visas into Jordan to be processed. Then we stood in another line to have our passports stamped, our picture taken and a thumb print recorded by computer. Then it was outside to pick up our luggage, drag it through an xray inspection station and then walk another block to board our Jordanian tour bus. Oh, I forgot that there were porters in Jordan to load our luggage and that cost me another $10 in tips for the group. Good grief - 90 minutes for this simple crossing. I suppose traveling into Canada by car can sometimes take as long but it certainly makes you appreciate your freedom to travel from one state to another with little interuption.
In Jordan we met our new Jordanian guide, Khalid. He helped us with the border crossing and soon we were on our way toward Amman, the capital of Jordan. Along the Jordanian border the small villages are involved primarily in agriculture but are definitely much poorer than the cities across the border in Israel. Narrow roads ran through these villages lined with local shops selling everything necessary for their rather meager life. We saw one butcher shop with a skinned goat hanging from a hook outside the shop.
As we climbed the valley the landscape became more arid until we reached the desert on the top of the mountains. Jordan is 85% desert and there was nothing, no grass or trees, for mile upon mile. Water is in very short supply and our guide told us that each person in Jordan is allocated 8 liters of water per day; this includes water for showering, washing dishes, flushing toilets. Obviously water conservation is critical for the country to even exist.
Approaching Amman from the west, the suburbs became much more western appearing. Larger houses, modern cars and freeways were commonplace. Jordan has about 6 million citizens and 2 million live in Amman, where the major universities and medical facilities are located. Jordan has a well-educated populace with English being taught to all children 6 years old and up. Many other countries in the middle east send their students to the Jordanian universities.
When we left Amman we traveled south on the King's Highway with runs through the desert before reaching Petra. There is very little along this highway except for an occasional village. Jordan was originally the home of nomadic Bedouin tribes that herd goats and sheep throughout the desert. They have gradually settled in villages and are supported by holding government jobs or serving in the army. By settling in villages they now have access to schools and medical care, things not possible with a nomadic lifestyle.
Petra is located about half way between Amman and the Red Sea. It was an important city on the trading routes between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the middle east. As such, its merchants became wealthy and they had an extraordinary civilization dating from about 300 bc - 200 a.d. With Petra as there capital, they displayed their wealth with fabulous facades carved into the limestone walls of the wadi.
A wadi is a gulch that is carved by the forces of nature, wind and water, in the sandstone cliffs. The narrow streets wind their way through the city, with the local inhabitants living in carved cliff dwellings. The city of Petra was eventually abandoned and lost to the world except the local Bedouin tribesman. In 1812 it was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer, Johan Burckhardt, who learned of it from the Bedouin.
Petra, which means "rock", was recently voted one of the seven wonders of the modern world and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This protects it from overdevelopment and strictly regulates what is done in terms of restoration. Today it is visited by about 5,000 people a day, making Petra one of the wealthiest cities in Jordan. There are many hotels and other tourist amenities in the area.
The walk down from the top of the valley takes about 30 minutes. You can rent a horse or horse cart but walking is the preferred option. Our group all walked down the 1.5 miles, and most were able to walk back at the end of the tour. The gulch winds left and right, moving whereever the water would run, and the gradient is rather shallow. This makes for a relaxing walk, especially if you take the time to look at the different carvings along the way.
Near the bottom of the city lies what is called the Treasury. It is actually a memorial to one of the Nabataen kings and several tombs have been found in front of the facade. It was called "The Treasury of the Pharoahs" by the Bedouins who believed the Egyptian royalty had created the city and stored gold in the carved urn at the top of the facade. The facade is riddled with bullet holes where the Bedouins tried to break open the urn, which is actually solid, by shooting at it with rifles.
In front of the facade were a couple of camel jockeys offering rides on the camels for $7 per person. They are masters of salesmanship with lingo in many different languages, extolling the virtures of riding a camel. For example, they would call them Bedouin Ferraris (or many other luxury car names) They know how to not to make change. For example, one woman gave the driver $10 and he said he didn't have change so another member of the group offered to go. Then he said that instead of $7 each they could do it for "two for $15" Modern Bedouin math!
We visited late in the day so the sandstone was illuminated by the low light of the setting sun. Luckily is was not a hot day because there is not much wind down in these rock formations. Our hike back up was completed just as the sun was setting so the valley became rather dark, but we made it back to the bus without any casualities.
Well, they have turned off the lights in the lobby of the hotel, the only place I could get internet access, so I guess that signals the end of today's blog. More tomorrow as we re-enter Israel at Eilat on the Red Sea.
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