"X Never Marks the Spot"

We are relaxing in Dahab, Egypt, for a few more days, and I am going to try mt darndest to get caught anybody who cares caught up on our adventure. Get ready for a slurry of blog posts!

We spent 6 nights hopping around Jordan, and came to the conclusion that we are very worn out. Over the next 3-4 weeks we are only going to visit 4 destinations in Egypt. Dahab, Cairo, Luxor and Siwa. I'll dedicate at least one blog post to each stop. For now, let me share about the most enjoyable portion of our Jordan trip, Petra.

When most folks think of Petra, one of two things pops into their head. One is a terrible Christian band from 20 years ago. The more popular recollection is of the famous arrival of Indiana Jones and the Nazis to the secret hiding place of the Holy Grail. In reality, it is the Treasury of the ancient Nabataean city of Petra:



You walk through a narrow deep gorge called the "Siq" for about a mile before you get to the Treasury, and the effect is breathtaking. The gorge itself was not caused by erosion, but was rent apart in an earthquake, leaving towering, sheer walls on both sides. The open space containing the Treasury (which is carved in one single piece out of the cliff itself) is the first opening at the other end of the Siq. I have to admit, I thought this would pretty much be it. Not that I would have been disappointed.

In reality, the ruins are spread out over a huge mountainous area, and we took three full days to explore. Each day we hiked up to a hard to reach destination and spent some time in the easier to access ruins. The most incredible ruin of all, in my opinion, is the Monastery. On the one hand, it is high up in the mountains, away from the rest of Petra. On the other hand, it is absolutely massive. Can you see me?



Another hike took us to "The High Place of Sacrifice," but he best part was coming down the back way and seeing the incredible geology. The rocks looked as if somebody had literally taken a paintbrush to them.



We spent a fair amount of time lounging in the sun as well, usually from high places to avoid the bus below. The sights were incredible, but let me reassure you that we certainly did not have a tranquil experience exploring them on our own. Unfortunately for us, Petra was recently declared one of "The New Seven Wonders of the World." Of course, none of these new wonders are actually new, and it is essentially a ploy to invigorate tourism. It worked. The place was absolutely packed with tour groups, as well as locals selling postcards, jewelry, rocks, and camel and donkey rides. Nothing brings out the PETA in me like seeing a 250 lb German man breaking the back of some poor beast of burden is it struggles to carry him up to the Monastery.

At the same time, children as young as 4 years old are accosting you to try to sell a pack of postcards pr colorful rocks. A lot of them have little tricks to engage you in conversation and we saw many tourists buying junk simply because the kids were cute. One woman asked to take a picture of some little boys, and they demanded payment before posing for her. Quite sad really.

I tried to get in the habit of acting insulted at the offers for camel or donkey rides. "I'm young and fit! Do I look like I need a ride?" The most common answers were "For fun!" and "For the woman, she will love you more!" Thanks for the marital advice, pal. The thick skin we've developed from dealing with touts in Istabul helped.



We still had a great time, and would recommend the trip to anyone. More to come...