Petra

Aqaba in Jordan, the gateway to Petra

Jordan is a tiny Arab kingdom ruled by the Hashamite dynasty. It was created in 1917 when Lawrence and Sherif Hussein ben Ali lead the Arabs against the Turkish Empire of the Ottomans, Aqaba, Jordan’s only port town, was liberated by mounted Arab cavalry against a Turkish fort that is there to this day. If you saw the film Lawrence of Arabia you may remember the scene where the Arabs attacked the Turkish soldiers across the sandy plain against a white walled fortification. It is a lot more built up now with cranes and dock installations. Using a little imagination as you look down from the deck of this tall ship, you can see it all, the plain, the sand, the white walled fort and the blue sky are still there. All very heroic.

The largest flag pole and the largest flag flies in honor of that event and what was to follow from the taking of Aqaba by a combined Arab force. The event lead to the liberation of the Arab countries from Turkish domination and the foundation of Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The huge flag and its pole are so large they dwarf. the port and its modern cranes. The Jordanians still care about the event, it founded their nation.

Jordan shares borders with Israel, along the river Jordan and the Dead Sea in the west, and Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the east, Syria in the north. We could see the lights of Eilat, the Israeli sea port. on our starboard side as we left Aqaba. Aqaba lies at the end of a narrow channel in the Red Sea, so the sea is warm, clear and great for scuba diving

We were going the visit Petra, an ancient caravan stop over, lost from memory in the rocky mountains of Jordan for several centuries.

We traveled over good roads through neat towns and villages climbing up the high desert surrounded by rocky outcrops and escarpments, We could see Bedouin encampments with tents, camels and four wheel drive trucks. The tents are brown heavy cloth made from goat hair, They make a heavy bulky roll when pulled down for moving, I could see the reason for a four by four truck. It would be easier to load than a bad tempered camel. When in use, the tents are well secured with ropes and anchored with large rocks. There’s always plenty of those. Herds of goats are usually scattered` around feeding on any available green shoots but not many people outside the tents looking after them. The guide said the desert was especially dangerous at night. There were wild animals like wolves and snakes, hidden potholes to fall into, so all was secured at night fall and that included their domestic animals. Camels apparently, could look after themselves they were usually hobbled so they did not wander too far away.

As the coach climbed higher, the desert converted from red brown rocks and sandy plains to stubbly green meadow, much to our surprise. The guide explained that climate change had given rise to heavier than average snow and rain the last few years, and the Bedouin were having a great time for once. In some cases it looked like they were planting grass and short growing season crops for fodder.

On one recent occasion the snow was so heavy, travelers were stuck in the mountains for a few days as the roads were impassable. There are hotels and resorts that benefited from this and probably are praying for more winters like that. The climate suits fruit and olive trees but would not support cereal crops (yet). Eucalyptus and cypress tress grew in the little villages, giving a landscaped look, although there was the occasional dilapidated building making it all look real. Donkeys brayed from the paddocks and chickens ran wild through the olive groves making it all very believable that we were in the Bible lands.

The road signs were in Arabic and English, there was no sign of MacDonald’s but there was an Arabic version offering hamburgers and fries. Lots of door- less shops but without the litter. Instead of sacred cows we saw camels, goats and donkeys but they were under control and not a hazard to traffic. The motor traffic under such difficult terrain was good natured and co-operative. The roads winding but clearly signed to avoid hazards.

We finally arrived at the gateway to Petra. It was set in a valley which had many fancy hotels like the Hilton along the rim, We had lunch in one, typical of Cunard it was very special.

We moved as a group down through the open air stalls selling the usual stuff. We arrived at the official gateway to Petra, We walked through the metal detectors and security (something the original caravan users did not deal with) which lead down to a dry wadi.

A wadi is a dried out river bed that floods when it rains. This was the secret to the success of Petra. They learned to manage water.

Many years ago before there was a Jordan, Saudi Arabia or Iraq, trade between China and the west was carried on the Silk Road from Xian on camel trains by traders and goods from the west going in the opposite direction. To reach the nearest ports in the Mediterranean meant going through this part of Arabia. These camel trains were called caravans. At the stopping places along the silk road, in Afghanistan for example, either they were aided, exploited or robbed. The seasoned travelers knew the route and the route was picked to avoid these troubles.

The tribes near Petra, the Nabataeans, a mixture of Greek, Egyptian and Semitic people, started off as brigands and robbed the caravans but realized that they could provide food, shelter, money, goods exchange and most importantly, water, For a price. The caravans traveled through high, dry desert. Cold at night hot and shade-less during the day. At Petra they had access to a natural enclosure of high cliffs, with easily guarded entrances and access to abundant fresh water. What an attraction! In no time at all the Brigands, turned businessmen, became very wealthy selling to the caravans all they needed, or taking goods in exchange and trading back.

The entrance is called the Siq al,Barid (ravine of cold), a narrow passage through the rocks where, in heavy rain, it becomes flooded and a dangerous river. So Nabataeans built dams and conduits along the passage wall to capture the water and store it in stone cisterns. They even went so far as to store it as hot and cold water depending on the location of the storage, or whether the water was delivered over hot or cool spots in the rocks face. Their knowledge of water conservation and management before the Romans was stunning.

They were a very clever group of people used to living on their wits. As the caravans came from east and the west they carried people from all cultures and with different skills. They used foreign stone cutters to carve or show them how to dress the interior of the enclosure which luckily was relatively soft sandstone. They made caves to store the goods, sleeping quarters, animal enclosures, food preparation places and money exchange facilities. It may be hard to believe but shrines for sacrificing animals were constructed along the Siq and around the inner enclosures as religion trumped profit in those days. So the Nabataeans had a business that worked well. All the services of a good hotel, plush religious centre and yet probably no concerns about people not paying up. So they grew rich and could afford to decorate the place up a bit and were willing to be shown how to do it, The results are a magnificent set of monuments that still look good 2000 years later. All is not yet revealed as the site is a 20 square mile city. They were so successful (or expensive) the just Romans had to take over and spoil things, Eventually, with the collapse of the Roman Empire in 350AD the trade routes changed and Petra went into decline. Apart from some rather secretive Bedouins no-one knew about Petra until a Swiss explorer, called Johann Burckhardt, found it in 1812.

The best known feature, the Treasury, lies at the end of a 1,2km long passageway which is open to the sky but has very high cliffs. As you emerge from the passage, way you are faced with a fantastically carved building made from solid rock with a mixture of architectural styles from Greek to Roman to Indian. It is huge and must have taken many years to complete, It is set in a natural square with lesser building all around. Enough space to accommodate many caravans with hundreds of camels. We saw it with at least 500 people in it and there was room to move but not the best way to take pictures,

To the left of the Treasury the square dead ended in shops and storage places. To the right it lead to a wider valley with Roman shops along the road reminiscent of Pompey or the ruins in Rome. The remains of the Roman roadway were still visible but water erosion had done its worst.

We were offered camels, horses and very scruffy horse drawn carts for rides back to the buses, along really bumpy roads, without springs or shock absorbers of any sort for $35 each. The government had given the concession to ‘offsprings’ of the Nabataeans tribe to run these businesses. The horses were well looked after Arab ponies and the young riders were very cocky and managed English like college grads.

It was a hard day, the walk was very long, the weather hot and the atmosphere dusty and we ran out of water, although we had started with more than half a gallon. The bumpy ride in the garry was not attractive enough and there was no way Sheila was getting on a camel or an Arab pony, so we waked it back and drank two pints of water at the hotel before we touched any food. We felt a little triumphant for two old codgers. We had both had a wonderful experience and enjoyed the trip immensely.