Life In The Sandbox: June 2013

So there we were, having made a neck breaking trek across the treacherous mountain range and upon check-in the hotel dude tells us we have two tickets for the Petra at Night walk. WHAT? Aric forgot he had booked us in for a 2 hour tour, and all I wanted was relax at the bar. Anyway, on with the shorts and gym shoes and down the road to the entry of a long winding walk lit by candles in paper bags.

As can be seen in the pictures, it was like walking in a gauntlet (featured in one of the Indiana Jones movies) which at the end opened up to the Treasure, the large carved mausoleum at the entry into the rest of the hidden city. We were told there would be a concert at 9.30pm and everyone were sitting down among the paper bag candles anxiously awaiting Andrea Bocelli and the Vienna Boys Choir. Instead, Mohammed the string player howled out some ancient tunes which sounded like a cat being tortured, followed by Ahmed the flute player who was not in any way in the same league as a pan flutist. We bolted before the crowd en-massed back through the Siq (gauntlet) and headed for the Cave Bar, the oldest bar in the world apparently, where we finally enjoyed a drink and a shisha.

Enjoying a quiet Shisha pipe

Lawrence of Arabia meets John Wayne

The next day we were up for a nice breakfast, and then off to the entry again for some haggling over what route and tour to take into Petra. Since we had already walked through the Siq, we opted for a 1.5 hour horse back ride up over the hills above Petra and then a hike down. Just my cup of tea :) Feisty Arab horses with steady hooves took us up, up, up....through amazing hills with great views of Wadi Musa, a nearby village. The two guides walked with us so they could ride the horses back after dropping us at the top of the mountain. Splendid company we got the whole story about how much the Jordanian Jordanians hate the Palestinian Jordanians...and how awful Queen Rania really is to the Jordanian Jordanians, as she is herself of Palestinian background. Is it any wonder there is always war somewhere in the Middle East? Jordan is very safe though, everyone friendly and welcoming and we never worried about any trouble.

Once off the horses, we started our descent into Petra, above the tombs. On the way we met two women who were selling little souvenirs and I bought two elephants, in marble and bronze, figuring she had hauled them all up there I could probably get a good price as she would not want to haul all that crap back down. Bad choice, I now had to carry a marble elephant in my pocket for another 4 hours and it turned out the guy who would rather live in a cave had them for sale for 3 dinars less! Well it was for a good cause and the Bedouin lady can now afford to buy a new Abaya.

Auntie and Niece with their handi crafts

Coming down into Petra

Bustling town with tombs in the background

Hand-chiseled into the sand stone - this is how the Nabatheans built Petra

Walking through the ancient village was an experience I will never forget. Busy with camels and donkeys (Air conditioned Ferrari, as the Bedouins call them) I can only imagine how life must have been thousands of years ago. As we made it down the colonnaded street towards the King's tomb, I laughed when a young boy of maybe 10 was struggling to get his donkey to come with him. That's why they called them stubborn mules. A minute later I saw him throw heavy rocks at its head and yelled out "OY - don't do that" - to which I got back "fu*k you it's not your business". Stunned and speechless, I was trying to figure out if I had heard right. I usually get thrown out of Disney World or in jail because of saying those words, so to be on the receiving end of it just floored me. I told Aric, who said I must have heard wrong. Shortly after, the boy got on the donkey and whipped it furiously with an electric wire piece. Three ladies walking next to him yelled, and they also got the "fu*k you, it's not your business", and this time Aric saw and heard it. About five minutes later, the boy happened to turn up our path and Aric stopped him. Aric asked "did you say fu*k you to my wife?" The boy was horrified but proudly said "no mister I did not say fu*k you to your wife, only to the three ladies down there" - at which point Aric now believed I was right! The flood gates opened and I thought Aric was going to haul the little Bedouin boy off his donkey and spank him. The next ten sentences that came out of his mouth is a blur. But suffice it to say that it was something like " I ever catch you disrespecting a lady or a donkey again I'm going to kick your ass all the way to the entry!" I chimed in saying that I would take away his donkey if he ever threw rocks again...like where was I going to take the darn mule? Duh! But the boy was clearly scared. Several other tourists applauded and a guide apologized on the boy's behalf, but I got the last word in, Robert di Nero style: "I'm watching you" with two fingers at the eyes....little shit!

Most caves now used for cooling donkeys

some of the many tombs - or homes?

Abdullah Aric bin Tom Al Ault

Rich and colorful sandstone carved tomb

The famous and often pictured Treasury carved from the top down to the base.

We explored a few more caves, then had lemonade at Ibraheim's coffee shop and found out he preferred living in a cave - good luck with that - and then we made our way back through the Siq and up to the roof top terrace for a cold Gin-Tonic. Highly recommend 3-4 days in Jordan taking the similar route through and for anyone who wants to read more about how Petra came about, watch National Geographic's Mega structures special: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCFYeXyoOM4

And if you visit - watch out for the little Bedouin boy with a dirty mouth!

Nice air conditioned Ferrari

Classic words from a classic Bedouin, who happens to manage the biggest corner cafe with a gift shop and a blender, ice cream, coffee maker and other modern amenities, but hey "who needs technical...we don't need technical - life is simpler in a cave". YES that it is my friend. Welcome to Petra, home of the many caves, where donkeys poop but there is a view to die for! Ah but I am getting ahead of myself.

I decided in December last year to give Aric a little trip away and we've always talked about going to Petra, and to visit the Dead Sea. Luckily for us you can do both in Jordan! I strategically booked it so it would be after my completion of the Master's in Social Psychology, which I received May 26 thank you very much...4.0 straight A's all the way through, no really!

So on the 29th of May we were off to Amman, eager to relax and get rid of some of all that pent up stress a "technical" life brings with it. Our interaction with Dollar rental cars was similar to the last two times we booked with them...reserve a Blazer and end up with a Korean Yansoon or something along those lines, so after the typical conversation between Aric and the agent: "Get me what I reserved, I don't want this piece of Chinese s**t" - "but Sir it is Korean and this is all we have, it's brand new, good A/C" - "look it dude, you guys either get me what I booked and paid for or I go to Avis"...it usually takes 10-15 minutes for this kind of interpersonal communication to play out, but we were eventually driven to the headquarters of Jordan Dollar (20 min outside airport) where we took over a Pajango. And then we were on our way.

I always imagined the Dead Sea with sparkling blue water and white sandy beaches. Why is that? It's DEAD, nothing grows around it...so when we took in the first glimpse of the brown, mucky shore and dull looking water, I was slightly disappointed. Wasting no time with unpacking we trekked down to the shore from the Marriott, and waded into the strange emulsified liquid. It did not particularly smell good but then again, with potassium, bromine, magnesium, potash and sodium chloride in the mix, why would it? That is all the stuff that is good for you and your skin. Floating around in 32% salt solution for 45 minutes makes your skin crawl - literally - and when you slather on the filtered mud which is provided by the hotel in big tubs, well there is just no comparison...you would pay $200 for a similar mud wrap body treatment at the local spa. Add to that the 423 meters below sea level and you really get a cleansing!

The water is so thick it looks like you're floating in vegetable oil. At one point Aric and I jogged around, held up by the water to our chest...it was very weird. He suggested we jog to the other side, which was very close - my guess is 1-2 miles. I had to remind him that side was Israel, and they may not appreciate a half naked American with no passport in his shorts.

We left behind oodles of stress and enjoyed the sunset above with an electric Margarita in hand. Superb beginning to a long weekend.

Next day after another dip and float, mud coating and a well deserved breakfast, we set out on the drive to Petra, 3 hours south. Now mind you, we got a GPS device, and I was the designated navigator, so after punching in Movenpick Hotel Petra and getting the route outlined, what else can go wrong? Well, listening to the GPS for one, a map with three different roads leading to Petra, but not a single sign telling us what number road we were on. We took the left turn when it told us. Oops. The road was paved but only for a few miles. Then gravel and potholes set in. And then there were these high mountains ahead...I mentioned to Aric how lovely they looked...I got back: "we have to cross those f***rs". Such a lovely attitude from my husband when he is driving. I now see the point of NOT getting the Korean sanyoun piece of sh*t. The next hour was spent in breathtaking mountains with just as much breathtaking nasty winding one lane roads. Nerves standing on end, we eventually came to Bedouin Village and Little Petra, and then it was downhill after that (literally) - and we coasted right up to the hotel which was situated nearest the entry to Petra's secret 2000 yr old city.

To be continued!