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I decided to spend 1 1/2 days to visit Petra. Eventually the time was less because of a physical problem.
The Kings Road is a historic road in Jordan that has existed since ancient times and runs through it from north to south. It practically runs parallel to the Dead Sea and is obviously full of spectacular desert scenery.
I traveled it from Amman to Petra, by bus and chatting with a family from Valencia. Most people rent a car, but also because I had to go to Israel, I chose public transportation and had no problem.
Visiting Petra, a myth for every traveler
Petra is more than deservedly one of the 7 wonders of the modern world; needing at least 1 1/2 days, but even 2. The time was not enough for me to get to even what is called Little Petra; but walking a lot, I saw everything else.
As a fan of all those who want to visit Petra, I slept in one of the many hotels on the road leading to the entrance; it is within walking distance. Arriving in the afternoon, I immediately entered the site to see the first part, starting with the Siq. It’s a long, spectacular gorge from which you get to the first monument, which is the over-photographed Treasury.
The whole area is desert, and the site has been preserved precisely because of this, having been abandoned and somewhat forgotten until the 1800s.
Day 1, the Siq
Just four years after my visit there was a flood. For those who saw it as I did, it is amazing to think of the Siq suddenly becoming a waterway and the tragedy limited thanks to the intervention of Bedouins who managed to alert the incredulous tourists that they were about to be submerged (but still 20 people died).
All the monuments are rock-carved facades, and there is nothing inside, unlike what it looks like in the Indiana Jones movie.
But temples and tombs are fantastic and made even more beautiful by the colors and special veining that the rocks have.
The only sore point was the annoyance toward a fussy and meddlesome Bari. The latter slipped behind the counter of one of the spartan eateries (located inside a cave) because he wanted to explain how to make tea to the boy working there.
In the evening I saw the Petra by night show; singing, dancing and especially the plaza in front of the Treasury lit by candles. This is also a must when visiting Petra.
Day two, the Monastery
I went to bed early with the idea of entering the site (which opened at 7:00 a.m.) first the next day. In fact at that hour I was the only one: I had Petra all to myself! The idea was to take the stairs up to the Monastery, it’s the monument furthest from the entrance, before it got too hot.
Visiting Petra without seeing it seemed like a crime to me, and in hindsight I can confirm this, although it is by no means a walk in the park.
I did not calculate that the various vendors, however, also arrive later, along with most of the tourists, and I had not had breakfast and was halfway up the steps (850 steps, very bumpy and really tiring), hungry and thirsty.
My salvation was a girl who was setting up her stall where she would sell necklaces. Evidently she saw me in distress and offered me her homemade cookies and tea; thus I experienced the hospitality of the Bedouins, who in the desert never deny a wayfarer help. I was extremely grateful, but unfortunately then I had a doubt about how healthy that snack was.
I arrived at the top and shared the spectacle of the Monastery (actually extremely similar to the more accessible Treasure) along with 2 stray dogs who, indifferent to the 2,000 years of history that fascinated me, were playing wrestle.
On the way back I passed a couple of obese Americans riding up on two poor mules; really unheard of violence to exploit those animals in this way.
Visiting Petra and having intestinal turbulence
Hungry, tired, and also fulfilled, I decided to leave the site to have lunch at one of the many nearby small restaurants and then evaluate what to do next. My assessment was forced, because halfway through lunch I had to dash to the bathroom, then had to escape the restaurant, and spent the rest of the afternoon in the bathroom. I remember the amazed and saddened face of the nice waiter who must have wondered why I fled mid-meal. Fortunately it was something intense but brief, and by evening I was fine, but being the only food I had eaten in those hours, I had many doubts about the hygienic condition of that tea with cookies.
Home trip Welcome to Jordan (and Israel)
Previous stop Bathing in the Dead Sea and bidding a Dutchman
Next stop Sleeping in Wadi Rum, with a Bedouin cat on your belly.
Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent
Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives
Countries visited in my travel stories
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