Petra

CONTINUED FROM HERE: Little Petra | Petra

Backpacking Jordan: Day 008 (22-April-2024)

 

Dhu-Shara

At 6:30AM, we were in front of the Petra main gate. There is a free shuttle bus that takes you to the back gate via Little Petra. From there, the hike to the Monastery is easier and the trail is scenic. But the free shuttle was to begin a bit late. Though it was a bit expensive, we agreed to take a taxi till back gate for 10JD. But the driver dropped us at Little Petra. From there we had to first walk about 3-4km till back gate and then to the Monastery. Jose seemed tired, on the other hand, I was up for a long walk as the views were great.

But this walk would have been very tiring. Thankfully, we got a jeep ride. Two officials who were visiting the back gate gave us a ride till there. That saved us a lot of time and energy. From the back gate, we had to walk another 2-3 km. But I thoroughly enjoyed the hike as the trail was beautiful. 

Along the way, shacks that once catered to tourists, lay abandoned. Chairs, benches and carpets were left behind indicating a probable return when the business would resume as usual. 

The stones around this area are beautiful, layered with multiple colours. They were neatly arranged by the side of the trail. We were the only ones taking this route that early. 

At the Monastery, there were hardly any tourists. Other than us, there were four Asian girls. Jose wanted climbed a small hill opposite the monument to get a top view. I decided to stay back.

At the monument, I met a small boy who offered to click a few pictures and make some videos for me. I agreed and he did a good job asking me to pose or look in certain way while he took some interesting videos for me. “You can give me what you like.” He had said in the beginning. I told him that I would pay him 1JD. He responded – “People often pay me 10JD.” I laughed and said – “Not more than 2JD” and handed him two green notes. He took it without further negotiation. Interestingly he had an American accent. I wonder where he learnt that from.  

By now a few tourists had gathered there. Some seemed curious to avail his offer and I showed them the videos he had made of me thus promoting him. A few tourists availed his offer. 

I could have sat there all day looking at this beautiful monument and perhaps sketching. But we did not have that much time. So, after relaxing there for a bit while Jose enjoyed a cool coke, we headed towards the front gate. Our plan was to cover everything else that lay in between. We could not do all the trails, so we decided to stick to the main route. 

While walking down from the Monastery, we saw several stalls selling traditional shawls and artefacts. Without demand, they were willing to sell anything for a throw away price. 

On our way we met the Australian boy from our dorm. He had made it to the secret viewpoint and showed us the pictures. We decided to go there. But before that, we had several other monuments to cover. The scorching sun made it difficult to walk and I had to cover my entire face with the Keffiyeh. Here are a few interesting sites. 

The Temple of Dhu-Shara 

The Nabateans worshipped the Arab gods and goddesses and their defied kings during pre-Islamic era. Dhu-Shara was the primary male god. He was the head of the Nabatean pantheon and the lord of Sharah mountains of Southern Jordan.

Byzantian Church

The Roman Amphitheatre

The Royal Tombs

On my way to the Royal tombs, I met Mohammed. Mohammed sells souvenirs and rocks by the road. He told me that lack of tourists has hit the business badly. I was surprised to hear from him that he lives in a cave, inside Petra. Around 50 families belonging to the B’doul tribe live in the caves even today. Though many have been relocated by the Government, some have stayed back. 

He pointed towards the far end of the landscape indicating the location of their settlement.  I desired to visit the settlement but we had already walked so much that walking off track did not seem practical. I bought some colourful stones from him for 0.5JD before leaving. 

Jose met Irene, a Spanish traveller. She is traveling with her mother who has recently recovered form cancer. Irene decides to join us as we set out to explore the view point of the Monastery as indicated by the Australian traveller. Irene is one of the most interesting persons I have met. She is funny and speaks non-stop. Irene knew a lot about India too. She was aware of my hometown Mangalore and actors like Aishwarya Rai and Alia Bhatt. 

We walked along the steps to the high place of sacrifice and tried an offbeat route up the opposite hill. Assuming that we were lost, we headed back to the high place of sacrifice. There were two women selling water on the way. It was funny how when they asked Irene how she was, she began ranting how we had walked all the way up under the scorching sun and she was tired. She spoke continuously in Spanish while the two women looked at her smiling as they understood nothing. When she paid 5JD for water and asked them to keep the change, the two women gave her some extra bottles of water and told – “She is honest. Take more bottles for that money."

The guards told us that the trail to the viewpoint was closed due to renovation. We headed back to the Treasury were we met Irene's mother who was relaxing in a cafe. They left soon after. 

Jose and I relaxed there for some time before heading back to the hostel. Thankfully, I had carried packs of chikkis and they were sufficient. I di don't feel very hungry for some reason that day. There are very few eating options inside the archaeological site. 

At the main gate, we bought the tickets for “Petra by night”. This happens only three days a week - Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We also stopped at the Petra Museum by the entrance. Some of the collections like the bust of the Nabatean God Dhu-Shara and other interesting facts about the tribes who inhabited this region during Antiquity were impressive. 

I have to mention about the dogs in Jordan. Though the cats rule the streets, there are a few dogs that are mostly docile. In Amman, people would keep them always chained. They need to be retained in the backyard of the house. In small towns and villages, you will find a few stray dogs. I wonder who feeds them as they are often seen scavenging from garbage. Some people do not like them being around and often chase the away. There is some religious reason to this indifference towards the dogs but I am not aware of it.  

We headed back to the hostel, freshened-up, relaxed for a bit and stepped out again for dinner. A pamphlet left on the windshield of our car announced the opening of a new restaurant nearby. The menu had enough vegetarian options. We decided to go there. I tried a new dish called Maqluba. It is a common Arabian rice dish prepared by layering rice, vegetables and meat in a pot. The one I had was vegetarian. It is then cooked and the pot is flipped on to the plate revealing the beautiful layers. It looked impressive and tasted very good. The ride was served with tomato puree. 

While I was there, an Indian man walked into the restaurant and asked the servers if they could serve him anything other than falafel and hummus. He said that he was tired of eating the same thing for a week and wanted something else. The serves gave him some option. He agreed to return after a while. Though I have been eating hummus and falafel wraps almost every day, I never got bored of it. But I understand his frustration. So, I told the server to recommend him Maqluba, if at all he returns. 

We then went directly back to Petra entry gate for the evening show. We had to walk again till the Treasury. It was exhausting. Along the pathway there were several candles, covered with a paper bag. As the flame touched the paper bags above, they burnt them down. In front of the treasury some chairs and carpets were laid to seat the visitors. More candles were lit all around the seating area. Black tea was served in a small paper cup. 

The show consisted of two musical performances – One song and one instrumental piece. After that, an old man gave an inane speech filled with random recollections of his past and some pointless history of the place. That was it. The show was over and we had to walk all the way back to the main gate. The whole thing did not even last for 20 minutes. We had spent more time walking to and from the Treasury. The only good part of the show was that one musical piece and the lighting. There is scope to do more with this beautiful monument such as a music and laser light show. But this whole “Night by Petra” seemed like a scam because it wasn’t worth the money paid for the ticket (17JD). I would recommend people to skip this.

We met another Spanish girl from Colombia there. Jose had been interacting with her on Couchsurfing. She could not speak English so my conversation with her was limited, but she is a very kind cheerful young girl. The two Spaniards got on to long non-stop conversation and someone sitting behind us at the Treasury had to ask them to shut up. 

Exhausted by our close to 25km walk that day, I went to bed as soon as we reached the hostel. My legs badly needed rest. 

Jordan Roadtrip Day 04: Petra (25KM)

CONTUED HERE: Wadi Rum