The main drawcard at Aqaba is Petra and we were told nearly 1400 people from our ship were going there today. Also there were two other cruise ships in port so we expected Petra would be busy.
The forecast was 30+ degrees and sunny, and we were warned the visit to Petra would require walking 6km on uneven surfaces. We dressed in white shirts which we hoped would help keep us cool.
We were herded off the ships in groups, one per coach. Here we had over 30 coaches waiting for us, all lined up alongside our ship, an impressive sight to see!
The drive to Petra is 2 hours and we did this with only two short stops along the way. The first, a souvenir shop with restrooms. The second, a lookout over the mountains.
It took about 15 minutes to pass through Aqaba, the city is walled off and controlled by a large checkpoint run by military. The main purpose of this is for taxing goods passing through the border. The checkpoint was quiet this morning but had capacity for hundreds of cars plus trucks and buses. Being an organised tour, we passed through quickly with a quick conversation between our tour guide and the guards.
Petra is up in the mountains, about 1200 metres altitude, and our drive was through a mixture of mountainous roads and open highway. Many of the roads had two lanes. When going in a straight line, our bus driver sat on the centre line right in the middle of the road, unless passing other vehicles. On winding roads, he would cut every bend either left or right, to smooth out the ride. Stopping at compulsory stop signs was apparently optional. For all that, he always behaved for oncoming traffic and we noticed other vehicles driving in the same manner.
Jordan is a harsh and yet beautiful landscape. Lost of mountains, very rocky, and also very sandy with little greenery. The highway roadsides are absolutely covered with litter including plastic bottles, broken glass, and other packaging. It is just everywhere and impossible to miss. There are small unused houses dotted around.
Many people here are still nomads, herding goats and sheep in the mountains and also near the roads. For this reason, even main highway roads have occasional speed bumps that keep slowing the traffic down in case of wandering stock. Also we often saw tents which we guess is how many people still live here.
Once up in the mountains, the roads were narrow and more winding as we continued up. Here there are many small towns located on steep terrain. Many of the side roads were incredibly steep and had steps on each side for pedestrians.
Arriving at Petra, we suddenly noticed it is such a tourist hotspot, with hotels and restaurants everywhere. We parked in a massive coach parking lot and were guided to the Petra visitors centre where we sat in the shade whie we waited for some people to take a toilet stop.
Soon enough, as a group we were given tickets and walked through the turnstiles and our day really began.
The walk started with a sandy trail wide enough to drive a car on, through an open rocky landscape. The rock formations are incredible, as are the various hues of brown and red. Here, where was no shelter and we started to bake as we walked. Here we saw some wild goats alongside the track.
Next to the walking trail is another dirt road used by a mixture of camels, donkeys (some pulling carts) and horses. These modes of transport were all available for a price and there was plenty of encouragement for us to purchase. Only two people in our group took the opportunity, in hindsight a wise move on their part!
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Eventually we walked into a canyon that was incredibly tall and narrow. As we continued downhill, the canyon continued to narrow. Historically, this was the main path into Petra and along the way were various dams to trap water, and aqueducts along each side at shoulder height to carry water down into Petra.
Through this narrow canyon we had to share the way with the animal transports, the worse being the donkeys which had a mind of their own and ran at pace. All the drivers could do is yell at us to get out of the way.
We witnessed a donkey cut a corner, and the cart hit the side of the canyon, unfortunately a lady was walking there and got crushed between the two. She looked in pain and others gave her assistance. We had to continue to keep up with our guide, who was moving at pace despite stopping to show us things and tell us stories.
Suddenly through the canyon we got our first glimpse of The Treasury (known as The Treasury but actually isn't one) and were confronted with huge crowds of people taking photos. We were given 10 minutes to soak up the view, and told the background of The Treasury.
We were very aware that we had been walking for about an hour, and the whole time it was downhill. As we were getting closer to noon, the sun was high and very hot. I asked the guide what the altitude difference was between The Treasury and the visitors center where we started, he told me 150 metres. That's a big walk back!!!!
At this time we were given two options. We could make our own way back in our own time, or carry on with the guide to see more. Helen opted to walk back slowly, while I continued on with our guide.
As we walked further into Petra, we saw many more incredible sights, both natural and man made. The canyons were amazing with the rock formations and colours making a wonderful combination.
We walk down pasted the amphitheatre and after a while the city opened up to a lovely vista of the mountains. We were open, in the sun, and it was hotter still.
Conscious of the effort required to walk back, some of us departed company while our guide continued to tell more stories.
I had befriended an elderly lady named Ferne on the coach, she is from Vancouver. I offered to keep her company on the return trip and this meant I was walking at a leisurely pace. Once we got to The Treasury, the sun had moved and the light was better so I stopped to take photos and told Ferne I would catch up with her.
I walked faster now, and got very hot, and my water was running low. Through the canyon, we now had sections of shade, and less people to contend with, so the walk was OK but was still a constant incline.
Suddenly I reached the end of the canyon and into the open section. The sun was beating down and I knew I had 30 minutes at least to go. I hadn't caught up with Ferne yet which surprised me. I found a small seat in the shade so sat for a minute to cool down.
Once I got up and walked back into the run, I saw a Japanese couple on my right. The husband was standing up holding his wife in his arms, she looked very tired. I asked him if she was OK, and just as I did so she fainted. The pair of us grabbed her and without much talking we carried her back around the corner where I the shaded seat was. We cooled her down with water and she regained consciousness. A man with a camel came to help and call for medical assistance. The husband assured us she was OK and I continued my journey under his insistence. This was a reminder of how hot it was.
I had not eaten since 6am, and by now it was 3pm. I had not caught up to Helen or Ferne, and walked on but I was running on empty being hungry, hot and almost out of water. Eventually I found Helen sitting in the shade near the visitors centre. She was tired, hot and had no water or money either. I gave her the last of my water. She had no energy and we had about 0.5km to walk to get to lunch. We eventually made it.
We had lunch booked for us at the Movenpick Hotel, a very nice hotel. Interesting we observed the security for vehicles here was high, and we had to go through metal detectors to get into the hotel.
Inside, we found a beautiful buffet available in a nice air-conditioned restaurant. The food was amazing, especially a slow-roasted whole lamb sitting on a bed of aromatic rice. The waiter just pulled the meat straight off the bones and put it on our plates. Pure bliss after the walk we had today.
According to my Apple Watch, I walked 12km that day.
The ride back in the roach retraced the same route. As we approach Aqaba, the sun was getting low, into what photographers call the "golden hour" and we were treated to some lovely final scenes.
We had a wonderful day in Jordan, if not tiring, and were suitably wowed by Petra and the friendliness of the locals. This is one place I would recommend friends put on their bucket list.
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