Petra, and the Jordanian Port of Aqaba

So, today we docked in Aqaba, Jordan.  This is a very interesting port - as it's the only port city that Jordan has.  Apparently, they traded 10 km of coastline with Saudia Arabia for 10 km of desert in the 60's, and I think they came out with the better end of the deal.  We could see Saudi Arabia from our dock, as well as Eliat, a port in Israel.  Stuff is really close together over here I think.  Here's a visual -

Anyway, we met our driver for our Petra tour this morning at 8am - his name was Tarer, I think.  His English was very limited, but he had written instructions to get us to Petra, so that's what was importat.  The drive to Petra from Aquaba is about 2 hours, some on the very modern highway (especially compared to Egypt!) and the balance on the curvy (but modern, and paved!) road through the hills.  Here's a few shots from this morning. The first is looking over at a desert area known as Wadi Rum, which is where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed.  The clouds cleared once we got up towards Petra

This one is higher up in the hills, looking out at the lower valley

Once we arrived in Petra, we got out and were escorted to the main gate, where we picked up our English speaking guide, named Ahmed.  The total distance to the end of the Petra gorge was about 2 km (1.2 miles) each way.  The first part of our journey, from the visitor center to the entrance to the Siq was done on horseback.  Here's a nice couple of shots, and Chris just LOVES riding horses  (this was #2 in his life)

Once we reached the Siq (Arabic for canyon) we started our walk to the main part of Petra.  

This was actually a very nice journey, as the private guide allowed us the ability to get their earlier than all the ship tour buses (44 in all!) and we only had Chris and myself to contend with, so the guide was only delayed when we were taking pictures, or otherwise lagging.  The walk was actually very amazing, some of you may recall that part of the 3rd Indiana Jones movie was shot here (the part at the end) so of course we had to take some photos of where Indy rides his horse at top speed through the Siq.

The most amazing part is really when you get to the end of the Siq, and see what is known as the Treasury through the narrow Siq opening.

It opens into quite an area, with many opportunities (that I did not utilize!) to ride a donkey or camel to the other end of Petra.  It's fairly busy, but NOTHING like it would be later, when all the tour buses arrived!)

We then walked though another canyon, which opened up into the main area of Petra.  For those that are not familiar, a brief history.  Petra is the Greek name of a Nabatean city, that was located at a crossroads for trade during 200BC-300AD.  There were approx 35,000 permanent inhabitants, and they served as a stopping point for caravans all over the area.  They also taxed everything that came thru as well, making it a very rich city.  The city was destroyed in an earthquake, and lost to the shifting sands untiil the early 19th century, when it was rediscovered.   Very minimal parts of the city (maybe 10-15%) have been uncovered and restored, so it is still an archeological work in progress, to be sure.

Back to the tour - we then walked down into an open valley where the majority of the people lived, with quite some stunning views.  Again, not much has been restored, but it's really incredible.  The coloration in the rock walls is absolutely unbelieveable.  

We then eneded our tour, said goodbye to our guide, and had some lunch and prepared for the 2km+ walk back to our tour car.  We made a slight detour to check out the Urn Cavern, up on a hill behind one of the impressive stone facades.  Wow, it had suddenly gotten very warm, and I'm pretty sure my climbing abilities suck.  We did make it to the top, and here is a a cavern picture (inside and the facade)

 

and then the valley view from that height.

We then started our trek back to the Siq and the visitor center.  I have to say, the temperature had jumped, and now there were a bazillion cruise ship tourists who had caught up with us, so it was a very different walk back.  We had the opportunity to ride a donkey, horse or camel most or all of the way back, but decided to just hike it, since it was pretty scenic.   Fun fact of the day - Camels are one of the few (if only) animals to walk on 4 legs, and move the legs together on the same side of the body when walking, which gives them a really weird gait.  I pointed this out to Chris (since I remember these fun facts!) and he was very impressed (as should you all be)  Watch your cat/dog/horse next time, they move front left with back right, and front right with back left.  Camels, right side, left side.  It's really weird.

Anyway, the walk was hot and long, but we made it out alive and met our driver for the return drive.  He wouldn't let us buy anything at the entrance (like water or soda) and we stopped at a grocery on our way out of town to grab something cold- Pepsi and a water each.  Wayyyyyyyyy cheaper.

The drive back was uneventful, we got back around 4pm, and got onboard pretty quickly.  The ship was due to depart at 730pm, so we took a quick shower, and then hung out our on balcony to watch all the port activity, which included the return of the 44 buses (!!!!) and also some transport of what appear to be military tanks - not sure where or for what, but there were at least 20 truckloads we saw leave.

Then down for a quck dinner with our favorite waiter Joey, a few drinks with some friends in the Martini Bar (we've made friends with most of the English, Scottish and Australians onboard, with a few Americans scattered in for good measure) and have quite a group that hangs out most of the evening chatting.

Time for some shuteye, since we have gotten pretty caught up so far.  Next 6 days are at sea, with the full Pirate Precautions in place begining Tuesday evening.  More on that as it happens!!!