petra

on the advice of our new friend Riyad (whose family owns the hotel we stayed at), we rose at an ungodly hour the morning following the turkish bath debacle in order to experience Petra without the crowds. it may have been chilly and early, but it was undoubtedly worthwhile.

Petra was established around the 6th century B.C. as the capital city of the Nabateans - polytheistic, Aramaic-speaking Semites who controlled the caravan trade between Gaza, Syria, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. the city is a feat of engineering genius, carved from sheer rock walls and employing an ingenious water system of dams, cisterns and conduits. as a trading hub, its architecture reflects a mixture of local styles with greco-roman, egyptian and mesopotamian influences.

the main entry point is through the Siq, a split in the rock that forms a narrow, natural road lined with water conduits. the Siq opens on to the Treasury, which as it turns out is actually a tomb (of Indiana Jones fame, for you children of the 80s). exiting from the quiet, enclosed cool of the Siq, with its impossibly high, natural, rough walls to be confronted by the classical grandeur of the Treasury is pretty freaking awe-inspiring. it's easy to understand how this place knocked some of the old seven wonders off the list.

but honestly, even the humbler homes still have the power to impress. we spent the day wandering in and out of random caves and elaborately carved tombs. we trekked up an impossibly long staircase to catch views of the mountain ranges surrounding the city and the roman amphitheater carved into the rock.

everywhere we went we seemed to be accompanied by talkative cats. the jordanian variety is stouter and longer-haired than the lean egyptian version you find in pharonic tombs and on the streets of cairo. this little guy reminded me a bit too much of a louder, adolescent Rufus - so wanted to scoop him up and take him home...

in addition to cats, you've got your camels and your donkeys, which the Bedouins offer up for rides. didn't take any of them up on it, but did get a kick out of these two brothers (yes, i believe were called Mohamed and Ahmed, the two most common names in the Middle East) trying to climb aboard while their donkey was on the move...

we got a couple different perspectives on the role of Bedouins in the area. the impossibly beautiful girl selling jewelry at a coffee shop inside the park told us that in the 80s the Bedouins living in and around Petra petitioned the government for better living conditions and access to education. in response, the king granted them land not far from the site to build a village, allowing them free access to Petra, where they make a living offering camel rides and selling souvenirs. a non-Bedouin spun a different version of the tale, claiming that the king established the village in order to move them out of Petra, thereby preventing them from causing further damage to the site. these two versions seem to reflect the same sort of tension you find when talking to people in Sinai and other parts of egypt.