We had wanted to get down to the site when it opened at first light... we were running a little late and didn't quite make sunrise, but we were early enough to enjoy a lot of the monuments all to ourselves before the crowds showed up. Here, I'll finally show you the Treasury - named because according to legend an Egyptian pharaoh stored his treasure here sometime after it was abandoned; the original function was probably related to worship of some sort. Harrison Ford enthusiasts may recognize it from a little movie called Indiana Jones (The Last Crusade)
The Siq.
Me in the Siq - I don't know why my leg is up, that wasn't an intentional pose.
A clip I took of what it was like to wind through the Siq and come across the Treasury.
The Treasury with no crowds in front - the only time you'll ever see that! (Yes, there is still one solitary worker cleaning).
Clip from the movie, showing the scene when you first see the Treasury.
We moved on, anxious to try to climb to the Monastery first thing before the crowds arrived. This was, again, a silly plan to attempt, as at every turn there was something new to discover and get us sidetracked. That wound up being the theme of the day, and the Monastery wound up being one of the last things we actually got around to seeing... which, crowds and all, was fine. We had a fantastic day exploring and playing on the rocks and ancient tombs.
Roman-style amphitheater.
Climbing up on some rocks, looking back at the Roman-style amphitheater, Cali.
After getting distracted in some fun little caves by the amphitheater, we head on towards the Monastery and found ourselves on the colonnaded street, lines with ruins of columns (put back together with original materials found lying on the ground)... passing by one tall-ish wall, I saw a staircase and a sign. Upon further investigation, I discovered this was the ruin of an ancient Great Temple, and when I figured out that the steps actually went somewhere I took them and suddenly found myself on the platform of a gigantic site, completely invisible from the path level down which we had been walking. Having recently taken an art history course, this was an incredibly exciting find, and I'm excited to e-mail some of these photos to my art history professor at LBCC.
View down the Colonnaded Street towards the Arched Gate - the random-looking columns to the left are part of the Great Temple complex I accidentally discovered.
First view of the Great Temple complex upon ascending the almost-hidden stairs - there's me!
Self-portrait to show size of columns.
View after climbing all the way up to the top/back of the Great Temple complex.
Entire Great Temple complex, completely invisible from the path below.
Still attempting to follow our plan to find the Monastery early, we pressed on, stopping briefly at the Qasr Al-Bint Temple, the only freestanding stone structure in Petra still standing (the rest are cut into existing rock).
Qasr Al-Bint Temple
Me inside the Qasr Al-Bint Temple
Inside the Qasr Al-Bint Temple
Pressing on to the path we thought was towards the Monastery, we climbed up into the rock mountains and around the back of the ones we had be immediately facing. Realizing we had made a wrong turn, but interested in the different pathways lying before us, we asked a local Bedouin where the paths lead, and were told the longest one in front of us lead to the "snake monument." It wasn't on our map, but there was an unlabeled monument graphic that made sense, so we decided to take a change and go explore. The path went almost off the map we had, but it was nice to go down a road seldom traveled. Definitively leaving the tourist part of Petra, we passed countless more tombs that local Bedouins had made into homes, and were invited into several for tea. We didn't stop, much as I would have liked to (how crazy a story would that have made?), and continued until we found what had to be the Snake Monument. It was a small but interesting tomblike structure up on a semi-open, semi-gradual stone slope, and after scrambling up to it, we stopped to eat some lunch we'd brought with us and enjoy the incredible view.
First view looking back before going around the mountain.
Walking around that first mountain - can you believe the view?
Me and some random tombs. They were everywhere, just ancient ruins scattered about, so many most weren't even worth a mention on the map. The path we took was through that little gorge there next to me.
The view from next to the Snake Monument where I ate my lunch.
Me in the Snake Monument.
Full view of the Snake Monument and little outcropping on which it is perched. Not pictured: chickens belonging to the family in a little house just to the right of the frame.
After lunch and hiking back the long path we'd taken in the opposite direction, we finally made it back to the correct starting point for the climb up to the Monastery. The climb is over 800 steps up uneven stone stairs, past harrowing cliffs that the local animals climb with seeming ease (though we did see someone fall off one at a particularly scary spot and refuse to get back on or I assume pay the owner leading them)... we decided to feel personally invested and do it 100% by foot. Cali and Jonathan are in much better shape than me, and I had a gigantic backpack with all my valuables including my computer inside, so I told them to go ahead and not wait up for me. It probably took me about a half hour longer than them, but it was fine - as you shall soon see, there was plenty to see and do at the top.
The Lion Triclinium on the way up.
The Monastery is a massive yet relatively simple structure cut directly into the rock, and obviously served a very important function with such an intentionally removed location. The simplicity and lack of intricate detail adds to the effect of its overall size and impressiveness, and the difficult climb was definitely worth it.
That's me with my arms out, well in front of the Monastery - you can see people standing on the threshold for a more accurate depiction of size.
Looking up at the Monastery from up close.
There were paths leading away from the Monastery leading to other spectacular views of the surrounding area, and we spent some time exploring those pathways - at every turn, a new spectacular view.
Looking back at the Monastery - the path up enters the area at the bottom right of the monument, so this path is a sort of continuation.
Me!
Continuing along that path you come across these signs. Of course we followed the signs / path.
Looking back at the Monastery farther along the path.
Panorama from where the previous picture was taken, 360 degree view.
Cali chilling with a Bedouin offering tea to weary travelers, looking out over Wadi Araba, aka "the end of the world"
A look out over the mountains and, beyond, Wadi Araba.
Panorama from next to the tea-offering Bedouin's tent.
We finally decided to head back down, which was MUCH easier than going up - it seemed to take no time at all. Before I knew it, we were back on the Colonnaded Street, passing again the Great Temple complex, retracing our steps back towards the Royal Tombs. After stopping at a little tent for some Arabic coffee (I was getting that all-too-familiar caffeine headache from not having any for too long), our last hurrah of the day was climbing up into the Royal Tombs, taking a peek around, and casually browsing the many stalls selling handmade jewelry and crafts.
On the Colonnaded Street, looking straight back at the Royal Tombs.
Shop up on the Royal Tombs terrace - this scene very strongly evokes a scene from Aladdin to me, I'm not sure why.
Shops at the top of the Royal Tombs complex - this one is where I bought Loren's little Bedouin teapot.
Panorama from the top of the Royal Tombs complex - including the shop where I bought Loren's teapot from a Bedouin that I'm almost positive was wearing eyeliner, and almost positive was attempting to look like a Jack Sparrow Johnny Depp.
Finally, we were all Petra'd out and decided to leave and get some real food and restock on water and rest our weary weary feet. On the way out I took a few more obligatory photos at the Treasury before we ran into some American Jews that struck up a conversation with us as we all walked out of Petra together.
Camel and tourists in front of the Treasury.
Me!
We elected to walk back up to town this time around (much to my chagrin), and stumbled our way back to the same restaurant from the night before. I ordered the same dish as before, too exhausted to even attempt to read the menu and find something new. That restaurant does a lot of good business with tourists - it sure got a boost by being named in that Lonely Planet guide that Cali had. Dinner was delicious, as it had been the night before.
We then went to the bakery around the corner, and I had my first taste of kunafa - and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted! It's a sweet cheese pastry, made a variety of different ways, served / known in Jordan and Palestine. I'm still thinking about it, it was SO DELICIOUS.
All different varieties of kunafa - I had the one closest to the camera.
After another short Skype, my hotel owner arranged for one of his cab driver friends to pick me up in the morning to take me back to the Eilat border. Cali and Jonathan were heading on to Amman, so they were taking a bus later in the day. I went to bed early, since I had an early morning ahead.
As always, I do not include all (or even close to all) of my photos
here in my blog. To see all my photos from my post-Birthright travels,
see my Flickr album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke/sets/72157628990457609/
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