After we passed through the Suez Canal, we cruised up the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula through the Gulf of Aqaba to Aqaba, Jordan. We arrived in Aqaba on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. From Aqaba looking west, we could see a city in Israel called Elat right next to the Egyptian border. It was easy to see portions of all three countries at once. We immediately boarded our bus to drive about 2 hours to Petra. We booked the ship's excursion on this one as we were a bit uncertain what to expect in Jordan. I really think it is pretty safe, but Syria is just to the north. Aqaba is the southern tip.
We didn't take many photos of the city or the small towns we drove through. It really seemed to be a quite dry and barren. It was after the harvest season and the "rocky," and we mean rocky, fields were plowed for winter wheat. It was so rocky, it was hard to imagine how they could plow and grow wheat. They count on the winter rain to grow their wheat like the dry farms in Idaho.
This green area was in Aqaba. We didn't see much greenery after we left the city.
We saw lots of small mosques with their towers as we drove through the countryside.
We stopped at a gift shop to use restrooms and take photos. It had an overlook of the valley. Machinery was old and rusted and things appeared to be in disrepair. The more we saw of Jordan, the less prosperous it appeared.
The mountain in the distance is called Jabal Haroun or Aaron's Mountain. On top of the mountain is the Tomb of Aaron which is supposedly the burial place of Aaron, the brother of Moses.
The blue of this photo is the sky and not water. When we arrived at Petra, there were many of the horse drawn carriages that you could hire to drive you to the ancient city. It was quite a walk but we were able to resist the pressure from the many drivers offering their services.
Many of these carvings in the rocks are actually tombs. The Nabataeans, nomadic Arabs, were very talented at carving structures in the red rock. They were also known for their great ability to construct efficient water collecting methods-dams, cisterns and conduits to collect the water from flash floods. This enabled them to create an artificial oasis that prospered through times of drought. As early as 312 BC, the Nabataeans established Petra, also known as the Rose City. It became a great regional trade center.
This natural shaft is called the Siq, which means shaft. It creates an entrance to the main city.
This famous structure, Al Khazneh, is the symbol of Jordan and is known as The Treasury. It is actually a tomb. Petra is the most visited tourist site in Jordan. Close to 600,000 visitors came in 2014. Jordan is not a wealthy country. It has no oil. It depends on tourists so the problems in the region really hurt the Jordanian economy.
I had hoped to ride a camel and I was told that this would be a good opportunity. Several camel jockeys announced offered their camels. At the end of our visit, I got one to let me sit on the camel for $5. He said that he would not give me a ride for that amount but he would let me sit. In the end, he walked me around a little bit anyway. He was hoping that more people would get interested in a ride if they saw me enjoying the experience. I did enjoy it! "I RODE A CAMEL!" Now I can cross that off from my bucket list.
Look to the upper far right and see Larry and Steve walking toward me and #4, my camel.
In 1985 Bedouins were still living in the caves of Petra. UNESCO wanted to name it as a world heritage site so just prior to that announcement, the government forcibly removed the Bedouins into cinderblock housing in villages that the government created nearby. Those structures on the hillside are some of that housing.
Below is the skyline of Aqaba with it's mosques and minarets. Petra was a fascinating place to see. We were very tired at the end of our day but felt well rewarded for our efforts.
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