Day 125: Aqaba, Jordan

Thursday, 11 May 2017
At Sea — Gulf of Aqaba

Stats @ Ship’s Time 7:30p (AST) … UTC 4:30p (11 May)
Temp: 92.8F (33.8C)
Position: 29.31.02N / 34.59.78E

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away.
~ Hillary Cooper ~

It wasn’t hot when we arrived in Aqaba, the port city of Jordan.  In fact, it was comfortably cool.  That wasn’t the case later in the day unfortunately.  Even with the occasional light breeze that was very welcome, it was hot, hot, hot in Petra.  Dry heat — but still hot.  When I checked Accuweather later, it showed the day’s high in Petra as 104F (40C).  Such measurements are usually taken in the shade — which we had very little of except in the Siq, the slot canyon that one must traverse to and from the ancient Nabatean ruins.

We were up at 4:30a for our early tour to Petra.  Insignia was berthed a little before 6:00a.  I had organized a private tour with Via Jordan for USD $215/person for a group of four … expensive, but worth every penny.  As the ship was tying up, we met the Walfords, our tour companions, at Baristas and headed down to the gangway on deck 3.  Then we waited for the authorities to show up … which they did at 6:15a.  Fifteen minutes later the ship was cleared — no face-to-face or other immigration requirements for this port, and if US citizens needed visas, it must have been handled by the ship with no input required by us.  Our guide and driver were just arriving for the 6:30a pick up, so the timing worked out perfectly.  We were first out of the port, but, in short order, were joined by many others heading in the same direction.

The drive to Petra is a long one — first through the beige-brown landscape of the desert, then through the mountains (for a change of scenery) before dropping into Wadi Musa, the town outside Petra … named for Moses … where he is said to have found water by tapping his staff on the ground.  Bilal, our guide, said that the Mountain Highway is referred to as the King’s Way and is thought to have been the route Moses followed during the Exodus from Egypt.  Along the way, we saw acacia trees and fertile fields — watermelon and tomato grown in some of them; barley and wheat already harvested.  There were camels grazing as well, but not nearly as many as we saw in Oman.  Our drive took a little over two hours … would have taken longer had we taken advantage of the breakfast spread set up at the shop we stopped at for a potty break.  We appreciated the hospitality, but the reason for our early departure was to stay ahead of the tour groups, so we politely declined.

When we arrived at the gate to the Petra archaeological park it was 8:45a.  It was starting to heat up … we just didn’t know then how much hotter it was going to get before all was said and done.  Bilal bought our admission tickets — JD 50 (~ USD $72); included in the tour price — and by 9:00a, we were on our way to the Siq, stopping to listen to Bilal’s explanations and taking photographs at some of the spots of interest.  Horse carts and horses were running up and down the dirt road adjacent to the dirt path for pedestrians.

We wanted to experience the .75-mile (1.2 km) Siq on foot so we just kept saying La Shukhran [no thank you] each time an offer was made to give us a ride … cost based on one’s bargaining skills.  In hindsight, we could have taken a horse — free with admission, but tips mandatory — and still experienced the Siq since it took us 30 minutes of stop-and-go walking to get to the entrance of the canyon.  We would have thus gotten to the shade offered by the high canyon walls that much faster, but seeing the horses slip on the rocky surface of the road, I’m glad we opted to walk.

Siq is an Arabic word that translates as “the shaft.”  An appropriate name for the slot canyon that once led camel caravans — and now serves as the tourist entrance — to the ancient Nabatean city of Petra.  The 300- to 600-foot (91-182 m) high walls on either side dim the light in the narrow gorge that winds its way, curving this way and that like a snake, until it opens up to the ruins.  The first glimpse of the most sought-after sight of Petra — Al Khazneh — is a breathtaking one.  The canyon is a result of tectonic forces that split apart a geological fault.  Later the walls were smoothed by water, which was controlled by the Nabateans who built a dam for that purpose.

Our slightly downhill walk through the Siq took us about 30-40 minutes at a fairly steady pace.  Enjoying the shade, we walked; stopped when Bilal wanted to point out something of interest; listened to his explanations; and photographed our way to the much anticipated moment when the Treasury reveals a sliver of itself between the canyon wall.

The first glimpse of the façade of Al Khazneh [the Treasury] was a true WOW moment.  I’d heard it described as the “most famous façade in the world.”  Seeing it for myself, I finally understood why.  Cut into the face of a rock, and tucked into a valley where there is no rain or wind to help along the natural erosion process, it is a remarkable monument.  And our timing — arriving a few minutes after 10:00a — was perfect as the sun lit up the façade and brought out the beautiful rose color of the rock.

Of course we dallied in front of Al Khazneh for a while — 45 minutes or so.  It was crowded — but not as much as it would become by the time we were ready to move on to explore the rest of the site.  Bilal led us to a spot from which to get half-way decent photos with few to no people in it.  Then we sat on a bench with a small table in front of it, and using a copy of a lithograph made in 1839, Bilal described the various features of the façade, pointing out what has been destroyed in the interim since the images were drawn.  One can no longer go inside Al Khazneh — not that there is much to see inside anyway, so it was no great loss.

Then down the Street of Façades we went all the way to Qasr el Bint al­ Faraoun [the House of the Daughter of the Pharaoh] … the only Nabatean temple that remains that wasn’t carved into the rock.  By this time it was boiling hot … with no shade to be had.  Much as we wanted to explore the Royal Tombs, the High Place of Sacrifice, the Monastery, and some of the hidden sites accessible only by climbing stairs, we had to be satisfied with admiring them from afar.  Our time was limited and we needed to conserve our energy.  We didn’t even have time to check out the museum.  A return visit on our own, staying at a hotel outside the gates so we can go in at 6:00a, is warranted.

At the Qasr, thinking we’d want to do more photography on the way back, we separated from Bilal and the Walfords so as not to hold them up.  But it was just way too hot to dally.  The stops we’d made on our way from the entrance to the site had made the walk seem short.  But now we realized we had a ways to go to meet up with our party at the appointed hour.  We probably should have ridden a donkey or a camel back to the Treasury, or even taken a horse cart back through the Siq, but seeing the animals lose their footing on the rocky surface did not inspire confidence.  We were totally drained by the time we arrived at the Visitor Center to meet up with the rest of our party.

Lunch at Deretna My Mom[‘s] Recipe in Wadi Musa, just a short drive from the archaeological site, was next.  Good mezes … baba ganoush, tabbouleh, hummus, and a tomato-cucumber salad … olive oil with herbs to dip flat bread.  The main course was huge — we were told not to worry and that the leftover food would be given to the poor.  It consisted of lamb served on a bed of rice and a yogurt sauce.  We washed it all down with mint lemonade — think mojito without the alcohol.  Very refreshing.  The drinks were served in huge mason jars — and overpriced even at that size … USD $5 each.  I don’t think they charged us for the künefe Mui requested as dessert … that was quite good and not too sweet.

The drive back to Aqaba followed the same route.  This time we stopped for a potty and tea break along the desert highway.  We were back on the ship by 5:00p.  I had originally planned on not returning until 7:00p.  Had the temps not been so high, that would definitely have been the case as we would have gone off to explore those sights we skipped at Petra today.  As hot as it was, it just wasn't feasible to do more than we did.  Which was still considerable.  Just sticking to the main trail from the entrance, through the Siq, to what Bilal described as the ancient residential area just past the Qasr, we walked 5 miles (8 km) … so not bad, not bad at all I say.

With the ship not sailing until 9:00p to give some of the ship’s tours time to get back, I had plenty of time to relax on the veranda before bedtime.  We are gaining an hour overnight … only because Egypt is not observing DST.  Since we don’t have a day at sea to rest and recuperate after today’s sightseeing trip, I’m grateful for this small gift of time.

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