Wadi Musa (Petra), Jordan 14-16 May 08

(just to convince you that the Dead Sea is toxic to sinuses, my nose is still running).

Getting around this country is such a mission and one thing we’d recommend is either come with loads of time to spare for hitching or waiting for taxis to fill up, or take a tour. Paying a wee bit extra (tour, hiring a car or paying a driver) is worth it to avoid the hassle of finding transport around the country. It costs a lot to go anywhere between the major sites and many of them are off the beaten track. For eg. We travelled from Amman to Madaba on the local bus for the equivalent of just under GBP1 but to get from Madaba to Wadi Musa (Petra) cost us close on GBP40. Very infuriating but transport south basically stops at the verge of this massive canyon – the Wadi Mujib. Its about 1km deep and 4km across and the distance between the towns is around 30km and there is no transport in between. There seemed to be very few cars going through so you could be waiting hours for a lift. Oh, and the advice about a visa has only been tested at land border crossings, not arriving at an airport!



Anyhow, it was a great trip to Wadi Musa nonetheless and we got to see some great scenery. The guy who drove us was good value although seemed to prefer me to shut up (which I’m slowly learning to do to) and almost seemed to pretend I wasn’t there. Some of the men clearly don’t like dealing with a (lippy) women. Euan has been forced to put bartering, negotiating and conversational skills into play where I on the other hand, get to enjoy a good book!!

We had to stop for a chat as the policeman was his younger brother.


Bedouin Tents – these guys live anywhere. God knows where they get the water from but we saw one lady loading up a donkey who was carrying four big water drums.


We had to stop so Muhammad (driver) could pray


We’re staying two nights in a grungy pension about 5km from Petra but its cheap, quiet and clean beds (the most important things). We’ve not yet slept on the roof, which seems to be a popular option for backpackers in Syria and Jordan – we figured we’d pay an extra GPB2 and get a bed. We’re well and truly back under budget – a few cheap night buses and cheap hotels in Syria sorted that one out for us.

I was assured by Euan that this was definitely tat but I thought they were pretty cool nonetheless and would have bought one if I didn’t have to carry it and risk sand ALL through my pack. All the sand comes from Petra and the colours are as they are on the site – no colouring, additives or E numbers in these. There were the usual sand mountains, camels etc, but neither of us had seen anything quite this intricate.


We visited Petra early in the morning and managed to beat the hoards of tourists which was a good move. There is a bit of a walk from the town to the siq, which is the entrance to Petra. The siq, I think, is one of the most impressive things about Petra. Its basically a big mountain of rock that has cracked down the middle, leaving a gorge (estimated 3m at narrowest, 6m widest) that is 1.2km long and gives access to the valley that is Petra.

The start of the siq – not so impressive but gets more so the further in you walk.


A bit further in… (you can see some ripples of colour in the rocks)



A sneaky peak of whats at the end


The Treasury (shame about the shadow)


Looking back at the end of the siq and the entrance to Petra


The site is so huge and some folk take days to get around it. Euan was recovering from some bad food the night before (now he’s not eating meat either!) so planted himself in one place while I went exploring. Not so bad as he’s been here before and has seen the sights. I hiked up to the Monastery which was a bit of a climb and its amazing the number of lazy b*stards who use the donkeys. Honestly, as an Indian chap said to me “if you have an enemy in this life, wish that they come back in the next as an ass”. Some of the folk on the donkeys looked like they could have done with a bit of walking. The view and the Monastery were worth the effort.

The Monastery


There were also a few young goats that were playing one of the rock faces. How cute are they? Check out their ears!!


Some of the rocks looked like they’d had hot wax (or caramel sauce?) poured all over them


And the colours were stunning


Check this out – only a small section


But the colours were everywhere


The 7000 seat amphitheatre


Donkeys put up with an awful lot


Showing off