Jordan

GBC Israel Trip 2015, Day 9 – Petra 

This was one of the nicest days I have had for walking in Petra. The temperature was no more than mid-80s in the afternoon, and with the breeze almost chilly in the morning. We left the hotel and drove only about 15 minutes to the entrance to the park. This is the first time I have been to Petra since they have finished the new visitor’s center, and it is a huge upgrade. Shops circle a lovely plaza with plenty of room for groups to meet and guides to give some orientation. It was good to see some of the traditional shops are still there (such as the Indiana Jones Gift Shop and my personal favorite, Jeff’s Books), but I did not see the Titanic shop.

IMG_3219One change that might be a problem for some visitors is that the shops inside the Park are no longer allowed to sell “box lunches” to visitors. The only restaurants are the very expensive and crowded, well past the center point of the hike. We were warned by our guide not to try and sneak in a lot of food, although there were no bag inspections. We stopped for water (and Turkish coffee, naturally), and the venders had snacks like chips and cookies, but no sandwiches are allowed any more.

Our guide Ash did a fine job explaining the details of the Siq, the long canyon leading down to the Treasury. There are several places guides typically stop and give an overview of the Nabateans and there culture. Ash kept these brief and to the point, something appreciated by the students. He also pointed out some recent damage to the cliffs caused by the extreme cold last winter in Jordan. One of the major factors in preserving Petra for 2000 years is the lack of rain and freezing temperatures. Some of the facades of the tombs could easily be damaged by freezing rain.

The students took lots of pictures at the Treasury, although  a few too many of the cats which run around the area. I thought the area was less crowded than previous visits, but they have allowed the donkeys back in the area, so there was far more evidence of donkeys (ok, poop) than before. You have to watch your step on the uneven stones and because of the piles!

After a break, most students climbed up to the Royal Tombs. This hike gives a spectacular view of the whole valley. I went with a few others to the Temple of Zeus. This is a huge complex and has been very well preserved by Brown University. It is remarkable to me so few people visit it, most just walk up the first flight of stairs and take a quick picture and move on. There are many this to see and I spent more than an hour poking around the nooks and crannies with Zac Thompson.

Usually no one hikes up to the Monastery since there is just not that much time left in the day, and the Royal Tombs are also something important to see. But when I said you probably could not climb to the Royal Tombs and the Monastery, Cameron Cramer and Jeremy Herr too that as a personal challenge. They ran from one to the other, although the steps slowed them down. They win the Iron Man away for this trip, since they made it to the bus with plenty of time to spare. Amanda gets the Miss Popularity award, it turns our people think she is a Jordanian super-model.

It seems to me everyone is exhausted after a long day at Petra. Some headed to the pool, but I think a few took before dinner. Tomorrow we will cross back into Israel and visit the Red Sea for some snorkeling.

GBC Israel Trip 2015, Day 8 – Visiting Jordan

We left our hotel very early to cross the the border into Jordan. This went very smoothly until we got to the other side and our Jordanian guide was not there. He was caught in traffic near the border, a small village had a “market day” and caused a disruption. After a tense twenty minutes, our guide Ash arrived and was extremely apologetic. There were no problems at the border and once he arrived we were able to move quickly to Jerash. Well, as quickly as one can move through small Jordanian villages. Traffic is terrible and there only seem to be general guiding principles for traffic flow.

 Since it was getting close to noon we had a quick “sandwich” at a shop in the Jerash parking lot. I had a kabob, roasted beef with some vegetables and a few fries, but chicken was also available. With a drink it was $9 (or 6 dinar), a reasonable price. Strangely the shop was playing Joan Baez’s Greatest Hits, probably because the first song was Amazing Grace and we were a Christian group. It was somewhat surreal to hear her music in a Middle Eastern shop. As much as I enjoy Joan, it didn’t quite fit.

Jerash is a large city and was once part of the Decapolis. It does not have much biblical interest (unless Paul visited during his three years in Arabia), but it is a well-preserved Roman era city, much larger than Bet Shean (another Decapolis city in Israel which we visited two days ago). There are many highlights and I hate the fact we can only spend a short time at the site. Hadrian’s Gate opens to a street and hippodrome, although it is not fully restored. The oval plaza leading to the Cardo is breathtaking, a great picture opportunity.

IMG_3218From the oval plaza we walked up to the a fully restored theater. From a central spot you may speak in a normal voice and be heard throughout the theater. It is fun to watch students speak a few words then step onto the spot, they are always amazed at the amplification. Naturally the bagpipers have to play, although I am not sure why. I would prefer to have a quiet visit, but people seem to like them. I would also like to visit the temple of Zeus nearby, but we did not have the luxury of time.

Passing by the mosaics in the three churches, we walked over to the Temple of Artemis. This massive temple has some of the best pillars we see on the tour and demonstrate how they sway in the wind. There was a coffee vendor (with a fake British accent) so we shared some Turkish coffee (with Cardamon, of course!) We then walked down the sacred steps (seven sets of seven steps) to the Cardo. There is much more to see here, we were only able to visit a few of the highlights.

From Jerash we traveled south past Amman to Madaba and Mount Nebo. We were running behind, so we skipped the Madaba map and only viewed the Dead Sea from Mount Nebo. This is the traditional location where Moses viewed the land before he died. Between the evaporation from the Dead Sea and modern pollution there was quite a bit of haze, but the Sea was visible even if Jericho was obscured.

The long drive to Petra was uneventful, it is a sadly dull drive through the desert and the last part is in the dark. We made it to dinner by 9PM and most people were exhausted. The Petra Marriott is very comfortable, and we have an early start at Petra in the morning.

 

Israel 2012, Day 10 – Hiking in Petra

At Petra, January 2012

We arrived quite late to our hotel in Petra the Beit Zaman. This is a very nice hotel although it is a ten minute drive to the gates of Petra.  The hotel is a series of bungalow style rooms designed to look like the original village of Beit Zaman.  I found the beds comfortable and the food quite good.  The only problem is that the rooms are laid out like a maze with little (or no) signs to mark the correct path to your room.  Since all the rooms look alike, the directions “go out and to the left” sent our group on a hunt for their rooms.  To make matters worse, they were tired and hungry from the long drive down to Petra.  Eventually we found our rooms, got the luggage to the right rooms, had a late meal and got a great night’s sleep.  I slept right through the night, although I was awakened at 5:15 AM by the call to prayer.We planned to start our day at Petra at 9AM, so naturally it was about 9:20 before we heading to the gates.  For those of you who have visited Petra more than a year ago, the visitor center is still under construction, although it is getting close to finishing.  I talked to a shop owner who said he expected to be back in his regular place in six months.  The parks authority has raised the rates for Petra quite a bit in the last five years (now 50 dinars, it was 21 in 2009).  Hopefully all that money will result in a nice visitor’s center.  I also noticed that the donkey boys were more prominent than my other visits but perhaps that is the result of being here in January when there is no school.  (Although in my experience the children of Petra often skip school to sell in the park – this is another thing that needs to change since the children are missing their education and are being used to more or less beg from the tourists.)

Our guide Suliman did a great job explaining the major points of interest on the walk down to the Siq, stopping briefly to point out significant tombs or comment on the carving process.  Our whole group walked down together and everyone did a great job keeping up.  I have always enjoyed watching people as they finally get to the point where the Treasury is visible from the Siq – jaws drop then the cameras start (as if the cliffs are going to close up before a photograph can be taken!)

It looks like they have continued to dig around the front of the Treasury, although I have not read any kind of a report on what has been found in the lower rooms.  Since they are working in front of the building, the steps are now off-limits.  I think this is ultimately a good thing for the site since the human damage to the Treasury would only increase as visitors continue to arrive. We had a few brave souls who rode the camels for a few minutes, providing great photo opportunities! Joyce and Joan in particular seem born to ride a camel, but the Kemper clan has mastered the signal to make the camel kneel.

There seemed to be more Bedouin than tourists wen we arrived, although as we were leaving I noticed many more tour buses int he parking lot, even at 3PM they were still arriving and starting what must have been a very fast walk to the Treasury and  back again.  (Honestly, this is a disservice to the tourists since they pay a lot of money to visit the site, to hurry them through in less than 2 hours is ridiculous!)

After a “box lunch” (not the best I have had in Petra) the group split off into several directions.  A few went up to the Monastery, others to the High place, both offer spectacular views.  Karin blazed her own trail, winding around the site in a way that I did not think possible.  I wandered up to the Royal tombs, not the highest of the hikes possible, but I just happened to get there at a time when there was virtually no other person on the cliff sides.  This gave me the time to poke my nose into several tombs (one occupied by a donkey) and get several very nice photographs.

We had six full hours at Petra and saw only a tiny fraction of the site.  You can spend four days hiking to some of the more remote locations.  I think that our group had good experience and hopefully will all return in the future.  I was chatting with our guide about the drop-off in tourism due to recent word vents in Arab countries.  Jordan is by far the most stable Arab country to visit and has a great deal to offer.  You really could make a ten-day tour of just Jordan, our two days seems far too short.

Tomorrow we are off to the border for a last visit to Jerusalem then the long plane ride home.

Israel 2012, Day 9 – On The Road to Petra

Just a quick update from the road today, quite literally. I tethered my iPad to my guide’s iPhone, so I am typing this from the bus as we drive to Petra. I think that qualifies as pretty cool on a geek sort of level. I am sure Lawrence of Arabia would approve. I also mention this
to absolve me of spelling errors and auto-correct weirdness. Plum goes wobbly in the green sun.

We crossed into Jordan early, then made our way to Jeresh. This is a huge Roman city which has been nicely restored. You can spend five hours at the site, so our quick two hours seems far too short. We drove an hour and a half to Mount Nebo, the valley was quite clear, so we could see Jericho clearly. We ordered a “box lunch” (which came in a bag) containing a great chicken sandwich, paprika chips, a snack cake and a banana, plus a choice of drink. It was better than last May, but a tad more expensive.

After a visit to a mosaic shop we then started the long desert dive down to Petra. I will not add and pictures right away, since my camera adapter is not with me, but I might on the road back from Petra tomorrow.