Petra & Amman Jordan Day 6
Petra & Amman Jordan
Day 6 - Friday, November 26, 2004 - Explore Petra, the City Carved in Stone
Our room clock said 4:38 but our alarm went off at 6:15 for the time to get up so we knew it was time to get up. It is COLD! (40 degrees) and windy so we needed to wear all of our warm clothes and more today.
Our breakfast buffet at the Marriott was lovely, with a new taste - beef bacon - as the Muslims do not eat pork but our western appetites appreciated this well cooked treat.
We left the hotel at 8 AM and traveled through the hillside town of Wadi Moussa with its terra cotta and limestone buildings blending in with the surrounding rock formations. Today is Friday, the Moslem day of rest, but many shops are open early this morning as this area is noted for their tourist trade.
We got to Petra and the entrance to this ancient city about 9 AM and spent a little time in the small museum and gift shop while Samir bought the tickets. Although it was chilly and breezy, we had a beautiful walk down through the approach with horses flying up and down taking tourists for 500 yard rides.
As we entered the cut in the rock or El Siq, Samir told us of the flash flood that struck this area in the early 1960's killing 23 French tourists. Their bodies were never found.
As we strolled through this really incredible sheer vertical rock formations,(600-foot-high overhanging sandstone cliffs) we saw the colored layers throughout the rock which was literally beyond description. Exiting the darkness of the siq, we stood agape before the towering brightness of El Kazneh (‘The Treasury'), a 140-foot high edifice carved into a mountain.
The Treasury is the name given to one of the most phenomenal carved structures in the city of Petra. As we explored this area, turn after turn, we came upon more and more incredible carvings in this rose colored sandstone rock formation. Huge tombs, natures colorful wallpaper and ceilings, and enormous entry rooms were typical of each side of the canyon wall.
Here the Nabataeans, Arabs who dominated the area prior to the Romans, carved elaborate temples and tombs out of the sandstone. There are only a few freestanding buildings here, with over 800 monuments carved into the stone.
Those of us who wanted to climb the rocks, followed Samir up the hillside like mountain goats. This climb was relatively easy but steep. As we climbed higher we were able to see more of the beautiful tombs and carved rocks close-up. We overlooked the huge amphitheater and saw the few others from our group waiting there far below us.
After a short bathroom break we headed out to see more of the ruins. It had begun to rain, a slight drizzle, but we could tell we were in for more rain but went on anyway as we did not want to miss a minute of this experience.
As we headed for the main street into the old city center we had a downpour. What is so fascinating is that this area has, at most, two rainstorms per year. This was the first rain in 8 months. We scheduled to eat lunch at the Petra Restaurant so we went directly there only to find hundreds of other pilgrims trying to keep dry also!
We went into the small museum to kill a little time before there were cleared tables. We had a leisurely lunch and then gathered our things to leave and explore more of Petra. We thought we were already wet so it would not hurt to get out in the rain again.
We were all looking at the drainage "arroyo" and commenting that never had there been so much rushing water through this area. A gentleman stopped Samir and told him that there was a flash flood through the canyon and they were going to evacuate all of us and all other tourist out of the area in 4 wheeled drive vehicles at their expense as there was not way for us to leave.
We waited for almost an hour until they had everything organized and small pick-up trucks began treks out. In the mean time we watched the water level rise and the local Bedouin men lead out their donkeys, horses, and camels. By this time we were all very nervous but Samir was in constant communication with us and the local authorities.
Finally three small Mitsubishi trucks came up and Samir hustled us right out and we got ahead of many others. In our truck, two people from our group squeezed in front with the driver, three ladies sat in the extended cab. The security and local soldiers were now in charge of the evacuation and let Dick, Russ and I get into the bed of the pickup and we were ready to go.
At the last minute three Russian students jumped in and away we went in the pouring rain. Our driver could hardly see as the windows were fogged and he slipped through the mud and over the rocks. Each time he hit a low area in the road, we in the bed got soaked by the splash. We proceeded up the path and retraced our walk down.
But the further we went the higher water level rose. Just before entering the Siq, we saw a spectacular waterfall created by the rains. Once in the Siq we were in a foot of water with much higher depths in the narrow passages. We were all concerned that the exhaust would be flooded and we would stall. The driver came to a stop and then shifted to granny gear and then raced up the torrential water to the top.
We had some close calls as there was a horse and buggy trying to get out also and one vehicle trying to get down for more tourists! Once at the top, he took us right to the bus where or driver was waiting for us. Other members of our group were not as lucky and had to walk up the slippery path from the information area - over 500 yards.
We know Samir worked very hard to get us all out and we were all appreciative of every one's efforts and glad to be back on the bus together and safe. We also commented that we had bonded as a group through this memorable event. We wished to stay together through Egypt as we all like each other and get along. After a short ride to the hotel we could not wait to get out of wet clothes and into a hot shower. A double scotch also got my insides warm.
The Victorian traveler and poet, Dean Burgon, gave Petra a description which holds to this day, "Match me such a marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time." The amazing carved red stone city of Petra served as the backdrop for the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Lawrence of Arabia strode the vast desert and canyons of Wadi Mujib.
We had time to re-pack our suitcases and work on this journal before going for dinner at 7 PM. It was again a very good buffet. By 8:30 we were back in our room ready to use the internet to send today's journal.
Petra Marriott Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D
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Comments
Post a Comment!Indiana Jones! I'm glad you guys got out of the valley safe after the flash flood-- how crazy as it rains once a year there!
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