March 24, 2023 – Aqaba, Jordan

We arrived in Aqaba, Jordan early this morning.  We had another face to passport inspection where we handed over our passports.  We have a tour at 8 am.  We met our guide, Twaisi, and boarded the bus.  Aqaba (pronounced A-ka-ba) has one of the largest, freestanding flagpoles in the world.  You can see their flag from far away.  The landscape looks very rugged here.  Reminds me a bit of Muscat, Oman.

We rode the bus through the town, up a hill and through a security checkpoint.  The landscape grew more rugged and barren.  The mountains have these black stripes of mineral deposits in them.  We asked if they mine and he said they do not mine the copper because it takes water and it’s low grade.  Apparently, they do mine potassium.  As we rode along, we noticed herds of goats or sheep along with their shepherd.  Could have been a scene from a few thousand years ago.  We’d see tents where some of these people live out in the desert.  We saw camels and donkey’s, goats and sheep, just like it’s always been.

Our guide told us that it rained recently and it’s green.  Wow, at first you don’t really notice the green, but it was there.  I’m just use to green everywhere so green to us is certainly different.  The terrain is extremely rocky and you could see where they would cultivate an area and plant something.  We asked what they were growing and he said wheat.  In dry creek beds, you’d see low bushes growing, just begging to stay alive.

We stopped at a rest stop at the top of a hill.  The scenery was breathtaking but we didn’t know at that point, what we were looking at.  Twaisi said we’re looking at Wadi Muse.  In Arabic, it means the Valley of Moses.  I got chills thinking about it.  I’m starting to understand the concept of ‘the wilderness’ after seeing this desolate area.  Near the top of that hill, a windmill farm, for electricity.  It seemed like a clear day, but Twaisi said if it were a bit clearer, we could see Hebron, Israel!  We boarded the bus and drove down this very windy road, into a town and through narrow streets.  Houses for rich and houses for poor.

Our bus stopped at the bottom of the hill and you could see the entrance to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Petra.  We walked down the hill and into the entrance following Twaisi.  We followed a rocky path that led us to tall, cathedral like rocks and into a very, narrow passage way they call the Siq.  It reminded me of slot canyons in Utah.  It became darker from the shade of the tall rocks.  It twisted back and forth like a snake.  We started seeing carvings in the rocks and then tombs.  Beautiful tombs everywhere.  It has more than 600, but I understand that archeologists have only uncovered 15% of this city.  Twaisi said it’s over 100 square miles.  

Petra – The Lost City!  I cannot believe we are here.  A place I never dreamed that we’d actually see in person.  Remember the scene from Indiana Jones, we’re going to see it in a few minutes.  During the first centuries BC to AD, Petra is believed to have been home to 20,000-30,000 people and was an important trading city.  It then sat uninhabited for over 5 centuries until rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812.

Petra is one of the oldest cities in the world.  Archaeologists believe it was home to 3 different peoples throughout history: the Edomites from 18th to the 2nd century BC; the Nabateans from 2nd century to 106 BC and the Romans from 106 to 395 BC.

Petra appears numerous times in the Hebrew Bible (Sela).  The ancient city sits inside Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses).  According to the Bible, Moses passed through the valley and struck water from the rock for his followers at the site of Ain Musa (‘Moses Spring’ or Moses Well’).  The Nabateans built channels that carried water from this spring to the city of Petra.  Petra was one of the most famous water stops in the Middle East.  Hard to conceive as a water stop but the Nabateans were excellent engineers.  Recent excavations uncovered a complex irrigation and water storage system that enabled the tribe to transport water from the springs in the hills and into the city.  Petra had lush gardens.  Their inhabitants designed stunning artificial gardens with fountains, ponds and swimming pool.  A true oasis in the desert!

Finally, we caught a glimpse through the Siq of The Treasury building (which was actually a magnificent tomb).  We came out of the narrow passage and there before us was that breathtaking building carved from the rock.  No wonder this was a Lost City.  You seriously would not know it was there without exploring these narrow passageways.  I can’t even imagine how excited that Swiss explorer was when he caught his first glimpse!

Most tours are in the morning, so there were lots of people there.  People from all over the world.  As you stood and listened, languages were spoken that you’ve never heard before.  Everyone wanting a picture with the building or a camel.  Camels sitting on the ground waiting for their next victim.  Lol.  It always looks funny when someone gets on and the camel stands up, shooting them forward looking like they will go flying off.  I’ll admit, entertaining.  Bob and I stood in awe looking around.  We came out of this narrow passage and see this building.  To the left, it looks like a dead-end, but no, steep steps that climb higher and higher.  To the right, an opening that goes to the theater.  We headed towards the theater and saw many vendor lined up selling their goods.  As we walked we could see many more tombs.  Some of them were very elegant from the outside.  The theater, also carved from the rock, held hundreds of people and you wonder what entertainment they had in those times.  The trails went on for miles, but we didn’t have time.  We broke off from the rest of the group to try to see as much as we could.  We knew we had to be back to the designated meeting place in a few hours.

We saw as much as we could with the time we had.  This is truly a place I’d love to explore even more.  I will tell you, the walk in is all downhill so when you get ready to leave, in the heat of the afternoon, it’s all up hill and a challenge.  There are options.  You can walk, hire a golf cart or hire a horse.  Bob and I decided we wanted to take our time and walk back, get more pictures and enjoy our surroundings.  We walked, then rested, then walked, rested more and eventually we made it back.  Slowly, but surely!  Believe we walked 7 miles which is certainly not out of the ordinary for us, BUT, it’s been a long time since we walked ‘up hill’.  You have to remember, we live in Florida now.  There are no hills.

Back at the entrance, I noticed the Indiana Jones gift shops and flags flying that included the American flag.  Thank you very much.  I haven’t seen the red, white and blue in a few months.  Our tour included lunch before heading back to Aqaba.  Most people had already met for lunch.  We decided to use some of that time to continue exploring.  We had a delicious lunch, with traditional Arab dishes and were ready to head back.  We boarded the bus and started up the steep, windy hills.  We went by the rest stop and then I realized, we were looking down into Petra this morning, we just didn’t realize it.  All of those carved buildings are hidden.  You’d never know they were there.

The area of Petra has been hit by earthquakes and floods.  I need to research more.  I’m not sure if they know why the people left this city.  Reminds me of the Mayan’s in Mexico or the people of Machu Picchu.  Cities that were just left and centuries later, rediscovered!  Mind blowing, for sure.  

As we drove, we saw shepherds in the desert with their flocks of sheep or goats.  They have been living like this for centuries.  The sun began to set as we were driving through those rugged mountains.  Soon we were coming down the hill into Aqaba.  Can you believe we are in Jordan!  We are only here for the day so we didn’t get to go into the town.  I do know, their dollar in stronger than the US dollar ($1 US = .71 Jordanian Dinar).  

All aboard by 10 pm and we sailed away.  Down the finger of the Red Sea that touches Saudi Arabia to the east and the Sinai Peninsula to the west.  In the night, we passed over the area where Moses parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out from Egypt.  Archeologists have uncovered some sort of monument on each side that King Solomon had placed as the crossing.  The Red Sea is also known for having a very high salt content and fabulous place to go diving.  The reefs are brilliant in color and have many kinds of fish living amongst them.  I read an article that in the 1970’s they found evidence in one of the reefs, coral had attached to ancient chariots found at the bottom.  Hmmm….fascinating!

Farewell Jordan!  Thank you for your hospitality.  I would love to visit you again someday.