Aqaba, Jordan (The Lost City of Petra)

Our five consecutive days at sea, were filled with April Fools jokes from the crew about there being a glass bottom to the ship for guests to come look through, and the not so joking pirate waters of the Gulf of Aden.  Luckily, no pirates came near our ship as we were escorted through the waters for two days by naval ships and the occasional helicopter.

We finally arrived in Jordan, a city that, unlike Dubai, holds much more true to its culture.  We got off the ship, stepping onto the desert that extends all the way up to the edges of the sea.  Through the city of cookie cutter square buildings of cement slab walls, and small cut out square holes for windows, we traveled the lone highway out of the city towards the lost city of Petra.  My hesitations for liking Petra came with the initial two-hour bus ride, but the irritation from cramped seats and feeling of Closter phobia was gone after seeing how beautiful this place is.

We began our walk down a long dusty, gravel road.  Walking was short lasted with the appeal of a horse ride, and before I knew it a local boy was running along side, pulling the rope of the horse that I was riding past the masses of tourists.  The young horse owners say that they work only for tips, but then of course once you pay them, ask for more tips. After paying, I tried to tell him my tip was “don’t run with scissors in your hand”, but I think the language barrier was too much for my cheesy “dad” joke.  After the short horse ride, we continued our walk down a long narrow way.  Looking up, there are hundred foot high walls of rock on either side, with a sliver of clear blue sky peeking through.  Passing by down below, horses pulling small carriages were running by, their tails grazing my arm as they pass. At the end of the long dusty cobblestone path, there was an opening and the sight of the face of what looked like a building (the view from the picture).  This incredible temple, carved perfectly in the side of a jagged rock face.  In the wide opening, surrounded by the massive rocks and carvings are tourists having their picture taken on a camel ride, buying local treasures, and staring in awe at this incredible sight that could in no way be imagined or pictured perfectly through words.  The walk continued, as did the carvings of buildings into the rocks that surrounded us.  People passing by on camels, donkeys, and horse carriage, in front of the street vendors selling hand made jewelry; there wasn’t a second where my interest wasn’t caught by the busy movement of life amongst this forgotten city.  We found some local teenagers who followed us, persistent on their offer of a donkey ride through the city.  One of them went as far as to offer and ask, how many camels for my hand in marriage. We all laughed, not sure if he was serious or not, and in the end took the offer solely for the donkey ride. I figured my parents wouldn’t be too happy missing my wedding but the even bigger problem was how to get the camels back on the ship. 

Of all the places I have seen so far, Petra was by far the most incredible.  I wish I could fully describe how amazing everything about it was.  Hopefully this will help a little, but by no means do it justice.