Day 11: Petra, Jordan - I Have Chosen... Wisely

Ooohhh!

Ahhh!!!

Wait, what's that?

Holy fucking shit!

Quick, raise your hand if you've heard of the Nabateans. Anyone? Buehler? The visitor's guide to Petra said the Nabateans were one of "the most gifted civilizations ever." I thought that was a rather amusing way to describe a group of people. Then I walked into Petra, and became utterly convinced that the visitor's guide is correct.

So the Nabateans were an Arabic civilization of the Jordan/Saudi Arabia/Sinai area. Being centrally located, their civilization became integral to Mediterranean and Asian trade routes. They decided to show off how awesome they were by carving an entire city out of the cliffs. Let me repeat, they didn't build a city from the ground up. They literally carved it out of the walls. That's probably why it's so well preserved. The fact that their city IS the cliff saved it from earthquakes, erosion, etc.

OMG!!!

How the heck have I never heard of these guys? I consider myself reasonably literate historically, and I had never heard of these guys. But look what they built! And remember, everything is CARVED!

WTF!!!

Liz and I left Aqaba in the morning to board a bus from Aqaba to Petra. We were told by three different sources the night before that buses to Petra depart at 7:00 AM. When we arrived at 7:00 AM, there was no bus. Shock. We took a taxi with two French girls who were also told 7:00 AM. The driver told us that the last bus to leave Petra for Aqaba left at 4:00 PM. I told Liz I would bet her money we take a taxi home.

Stop!

The entrance to Petra, called the siq, is a rather narrow path through two gigantic sheer cliff faces. Just as I was done admiring the cliffs, I saw a glimmer of something huge through the crack. Three steps later, I was at the Treasury, aka the place where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed. In the movie, the Treasury held the Holy Grail. In real life, it held a little bit of trash and graffiti. 

Along with Danish David who we picked up along the way, we walked all the way to the end of Petra, up 800 steps, where the Monastery was located. Why are all religious sites located up mountains in incredibly hard to reach places? While not quit as impressive as the Treasury, the Monastery has the benefit of being elevated and having an amazing view.

Just stop!

All in all, probably the best day of my trip so far. If I had to visit only the Pyramids or only Petra, all things considered, I'd probably choose Petra. 

We took a taxi home.