Not that we expected a cakewalk, but the trip across the border took a good hour of passport checking and payments in Israel, a security checkpoint in Israel, a quarter mile of walking, a security checkpoint in Jordan, and then a final passport check and payments in Jordan.
We were retrieved on the Jordan side by our guide, Sam, who gave us an overview of our itinerary while our documents were analyzed; a short time later, we found ourselves at the very nice Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba, with a spectacular view of the Red Sea.
We hit the beach, and the boys integrated quickly, joining a futbol game.
A fine dinner at Ali Baba in Aqaba, and more beach time on the Red Sea the next morning. From the sand, when looking southeast at Jordan, Saudi Arabia is not far, and looking southwest one can see neighboring Israel as well as Egypt, the land behind Maggie’s head.
Sam, our wonderful guide (UTA), picked us up midday, and we made our way to Wadi Rum, just a 60 kilometer or approximately one hour drive from Aqaba. Wadi Rum has been occupied for thousands of years, mostly by Bedouins, and their important goat herds. We were told that they were hunters, pastoralists, farmers and traders. The locals “joined the Arab revolt forces under the leadership of King Faisal and fought along with Lawrence of Arabia during the Arab Revolt (1917/18) to fight the occupying Turkish and German armies.” Of course, more recently, they are involved in the tourist industry, hosting groups like ours.
After lunch in a Bedouin camp (set up for tourists, not sure how they really live), we split into two jeeps and crossed the desert.
The kids took a short camel ride…
…and Evelyn was ready to assist Lawrence of Arabia…
This steep desert hill was no match for youth…
Our security guy kept the girls in check…
…an
It is 115 kilometers or 2-2.5 hours from Wadi Rum to Petra. As we approached Petra, we stopped at a gift shop, owned by our guide’s company, why not? In fact, I think the company owned the hotel where we stayed, Taybet Zaman, plenty comfortable with a nice courtyard and good open space, 12 kilometers from Petra central.
Maggie and Lauder outside our room at Taybet Zaman. Fortunately, Maggie brought her two water bottles, filled with sand, back to Barcelona.
Petra was a city inhabited by the Nabateans, ancient Arab tribes who came here from the Arabian Peninsula more than 2,200 years ago. They “became the undisputed masters of the region’s trade routes,” with a kingdom stretching from north-western Arabia up to Damascus. However after many wars throughout the years, and with domination by various Greek and Roman factions, the Nabatean kingdom was “annexed” to the Roman Empire in 106 AD; Sam told us that when the Nabateans knew they were doomed, they left town without a fight. Petra was gradually abandoned and after the 14th century “completely lost to the West,” until a Swiss traveler rediscovered it in 1812. At its peak, Petra’s population was approximately 20,000.
We took in “Petra at Night”, essentially a walk into Petra, about 2 kilometers, but with the path lit by 2,000 candles. At the end of the walk, the group of a couple of hundred people sit on the ground in front of the famous Treasury (Al-Khazneh) and listen to singing, chanting, and music, before exiting on the same path. We did run into our Barcelona friends, the Gordons.
The next morning, Sam took us on a more formal Petra tour. Unlike the prior evening, we rode horses down the first portion of the entry, but then walked the beautiful 1.2 kilometer “Siq” that leads into Petra; this corridor is interesting with its sacred sites and water channels; with very little rain, the Nabataeans were able to harness water through various pools and channels to service the relatively large population, a seemingly amazing feat 2,000 years ago. The Siq ends with a jaw-dropping approach to the Treasury.
We spent half the day in Petra, entering numerous other tombs built into the walls (the Royal Tombs among them), visiting the more than 2,000-year old theater, and walking the Colonnaded Street, before departing on donkeys. Guide Sam is in the background.
Within a few hours we were back at the southern border, where the crossing was easier entering Israel, rather than departing.
Ahmet, our faithful Israel driver from days past, transported us back to Tel Aviv, an approximately 5-hour excursion. Maggie began complaining about her stomach half way into the trip. She eventually dozed off in the back of the bus, but 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, Ella screamed that Maggie was getting sick, the likely result of food poisoning; sorry to ruin your sweatshirt Mariner….
We were back at the Renaissance, where our trip began, and where we first checked in 8 days earlier with four bags and five people. We still had just four bags. But finally, with the knowledge that her bag was indeed in Israel after daily calls with El Al, Evelyn was able to direct the duffel to the hotel, at about 10:00 p.m., before our early morning departure.
Ex-Maggie, who spent some time in the Renaissance bathroom and went down for the count, and Evelyn her caregiver, we enjoyed dinner on the boardwalk behind the hotel. Perhaps our biggest mistake was not adding an extra couple of days to explore Tel Aviv, particularly the gorgeous beach. But we had to get to Sevilla…
