Originally we had planned to spend a night at Petra and Wadi Rum, but, due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to visit these places in a day trip from Amman instead. It’s a 3 hour drive from Amman to Petra, so this shortened the amount of time we could spend at each place. But, we were able to get a good sense for both of these unusual areas anyway.
Petra:
Petra is a huge complex of dwellings temples and ancient relics. It is spread over a 4 mile wide area in southern Jordan. To get to the center, where the most famous temple, Al-Khazneh (the Treasury), is located, you must walk 2 miles through a thin sandstone canyon. Or, you could take a donkey, a horse or a camel half way, or a large golf cart all the way. On the way in there are two dirt paths to start, one for people & gulf carts, and one for donkeys & horses. Walking isn’t much slower than the other methods because of all the crowds on the path. So, if you are up for it, the 4 mile round trip to Al-Khazneh and back is the best way to see Petra, with the returning 2 miles back, going up hill about 500 feet in elevation. Along the way you’ll see part of the pathway built by the Romans made with stones. From the center you can continue another 2 miles to the Monastery, up another 500 feet, making the full round trip of 8 miles and 1000 ft of elevation climb, a pretty long day. Our half day got us to the center (the most famous part) and back, and was enough of an examination for us. Most people who want to explore all the details of Petra take 2 or more days.
Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) is the most famous temple in Petra, a city of the Nabatean Kingdom, inhabited by the Arabs in ancient times. The Temples and dwellings are carved out of a sandstone rock face. The structure is believed to have been the mausoleum of the Nabatean King Aretas IV, in the 1st century AD. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in both Jordan and the middle-east region. Along the path to the center are various dwellings and carvings from ancient times, many of them not preserved very well because sandstone does not weather very well over time. However, a main significance of this area is that it is one of the oldest known habitations of man, going back about 7,000 years. If you have time, there are many paths, stairways and trails to explore throughout the area encompassing the ancient site. I’ve included a few pix of things you might see in the photo gallery.
Wadi Rum:
After the morning in Petra we spent the afternoon exploring Wadi Rum, a desert hangout of Bedouin tribes in the vast desert. We met our Bedouin driver, Yunis, with a four wheel drive truck, who drove us about 10 miles into the desert to see some of the interesting rock formations, a couple of natural bridges and a natural mountain formation that looked like a Sphinx. We did a little climbing on one of the natural bridges and had some tea at the Bedouin camp. It was a beautiful sight and the weather was pleasantly cool (low 70’s) for the desert. I’ve included some pix in the gallery for your viewing pleasure.
Dead Sea:
Our last adventure in Jordan was a day trip to the Dead Sea. It is the lowest place on the surface of the earth at about 1400 feet BELOW sea level. It’s a landlocked salt lake that is about 1000 feet deep and losing around 3 ft of depth every year. The Dead Sea is dying. (Is that an oxymoron?) The main source of water replenishment is from the Jordan River to the north. Starting in the 1960’s, Israel and Jordan have been deferring the Jordan River water for other uses. This is causing the Dead Sea to continuously shrink since then. It has already lost over 100 feet in depth. There is no life (other than bacteria) in the Dead Sea. This is probably because its salt content, at about 35%, is almost 10 times greater than normal sea water and can’t sustain life.
The salt laden water is so heavy that the human body easily floats in it. In fact, they warn you not to try to swim, just float on your back. If you try to swim on your belly, your legs float up on top of the water forcing your face down into the water. I tried it for just a second, but had to turn over again on my back. It would burn if the saltwater got into your eyes or an open scratch or rash on your skin. Ever since I was a child I could not float in a swimming pool. I always exhausted myself just treading water. I could lay, flat on my back on the bottom of the pool. Needless to say, I never learned to swim very well. I’ve always wanted to just be able to float on the water without moving. I finally got my wish. It was really a fun experience.
Fun, yes, but we didn’t stay in the water very long. The high salt content, which is supposed to be good for your skin (?), in a bath (they sell it all over in packages), started to get a little prickly on our skin, so we got out fairly quickly. You are supposed to coat your skin with the black Dead Sea “mud”, but that didn’t look like much fun to us, so we dispensed with that ritual. Maybe that is why the water started to get prickly on our skin. There was no sand at the edge of the water, only sharp edged gravel. So, we had to walk over that quickly to get into and out of the water. The bottoms of my feet were not too happy with those sharp little stones.
That’s about it for our adventures In Jordan. It was a very interesting cultural as well as historical experience. I’d highly recommend a visit here if you have any interest. Some day, if the other countries of the middle-east ever stop warring with each other, we might return to see what secrets they hold. We’ll see. For now, Jordan is a very safe, very friendly place to hang out.
Travelog and Photo Website:
Carol’s related blog:
https://carolapucci-tips.blogspot.com/2023/05/ancient-modern-amman-provides-visitors.html
Later……….. your favorite travelers, Tom and Carol
Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea Photos
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