Day 98 - Wednesday April 5 Aqaba, Jordan

Petra photos
position at 7:00am: N29 30.55 latitude E34 59.44 longitude
(Aqaba, Jordan)
temperature: 63F, 65% humidity, clear
distance since FLL: 31,767 miles
Here is the description of the ship's tour that we are taking today.
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Petra - Jewel of the Desert

Duration: 10 Hours.
Concierge Choice, Walking.


The ancient Nabataean city of Petra comes to life on this full-day excursion to Jordan's most impressive national attraction. The fascinating excavated site of Petra, consisting of massive tombs, which were carved from the sandstone hills more than 2,000 years ago. Lost for almost 12 centuries, these fantastic ruins were "discovered" in 1812 by the Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Today the ancient capital of Petra stands as a timeless tribute to the ingenuity and creativity of the Nabataeans.
Leaving your motor coach, you'll begin your tour to Petra down by horse drawn carriages through the Siq, the official entrance to this great monument. Your carriage will lead you into a natural channel, which is often, no more than 16-feet wide with walls that tower over 650-feet high. This path served as a means of protection for the Nabataeans and eventually the Romans and was used for the collection of water. You'll see the remnants of the 2,000-year-old terracotta pipes, which made up a part of the incredible water system for the city of Petra.
The passage will eventually lead you to the magnificent Khazneh, or the Treasury, where you will leave the horse carriage and continue on foot. The Treasury whose impressive red coloured façade was used in the final scenes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Carved from solid sandstone for use as a tomb, the Khazneh received its name from a legend that pirates had hidden their treasure in the urn on the upper level. Your guide will point out the bullet marks on the exterior of the urn as many treasure seekers have tried in vain to shoot open the solid container.
The tour continues on foot down the path to the impressive 8000-seat Roman Amphitheatre. Archaeologists first believed that the Romans constructed the site in the 2nd- century; further excavations have now shown that the amphitheatre was actually carved out by the Nabataeans around the time of Jesus Christ. The final point of your tour will be to view the Royal Tombs, which are considered to be themost impressive burial places in Petra. Carved into the face of Jebel Khubtha, the Royal Tombs consist of the vaulted Urn Tomb, the Corinthian Tomb and the three-storied Palace Tomb, which is one of the largest in the monument.
From the Treasury return by horse carriage back to the main gate through the Siq. Your return journey back to the entrance of the monument will take you by numerous carved temples, burial chambers, tombs, water channels, gates and arches.
Then board your bus and drive to the Ammarin Bedouin Camp for a special lunch under shady tents. In this Bedouin village you will also experience a Jordanian Folklore Dance group as they perform a traditional dance "Dabkeh" in a magical atmosphere. Observe the local Bedouin culture and community as well as the environment through creativity and preservation of the Bedouin society.

Please note: The Bedouin style of seating in the tent for lunch is low seating on cushions, low tables and does not serve alcohol. Often it can be cool in the site, please bring a wrap for warmth. There is approximately 3 to 5 miles of walking over uneven gravel and uneven packed sandy surfaces, there is a long, gradual decline / incline from the entrance of Petra to the Treasury and the Royal Tombs.
Price: $189 pp
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We arrived on time and docked on the starboard side. Clay walked this morning and was one of only a few out. The last 2 days were not too hot, surprisingly, but this morning it was cooler still. The newsletter forecast a high of Aqaba of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The tour description warned that it would be cooler still in Petra (it is at a higher altitude) and could be quite chilly, so to take a wrap. Roger had also warned of this in his port talk and on Voyager Today. Of course, although this chill memo was widely broadcast, it was not received and read by everyone. Dionne was standing at the security checkout podium when we left asking everyone if they had warm enough clothing, but even that last ditch effort must have missed a lot of people. There were many in our small group of 20 in sleeveless tops and shorts or lightweight cotton blouses and capris. They were very cold today. (Some people shopped at the Visitor's Center during our potty break for jackets and shawls. The jackets were very nice. There was a local women's handicrafts shop in the Petra Visitor's Center and they obviously do a lot of cross-stitch work locally. We were dressedappropriately so we did not delay the group with shopping now as requested, but made sure we would have time to do so when we left the site. Sadly, when we returned to the shop after our tour, the salesmen were on break and we could not buy anything.) One piece of information that we were not able to ascertain before boarding the bus was the actual distance between Aqaba and Petra, 150km and that the bus ride would be 2 hours each way. We had an early breakfast at LaVeranda and we were on the bus early. Our tickets said to be on the dock at 7:50am. We boarded the bus about 10 minutes early. There were 9 Ancient Petra buses in line before we got to the sole Jewel of the Desert bus. We had chosen this tour back in October when online booking first became available. It was sold out and waitlisted before we boarded the ship in December. There were a few unhappy people aboard who waitlisted and never did get on this tour. This was one of the expensive Concierge Choice tours. It was $40 per person more than the almost identical 10-hour Ancient Petra tour. It was to have fewer people on the bus for more personal guiding opportunities as well as a horse-drawn carriage ride to the Treasury and back to the entrance gate of Petra to allow for more time at the site. It is about a 2 mile walk in and they usually allow an hour for the walk each way whereas the horse-drawn carriages should only take about 15 minutes each way. The last difference between the 2 tours was the location of lunch. The Ancient Petra tour would have a buffet lunch at a local hotel and we would have a buffet lunch at a Bedouin tent on cushions (no tables and chairs). We had to travel in a police escorted convoy again here and we also had an armed Tourist Police Officer onboard our bus with us. We did not leave the port until nearly 9am. According to the guide (and later the Tour Desk) there was another bus that had a 9am departure for the Jewel of the Desert Tour. Not sure how they could have sold another 10-hour tour leaving an hour later because ours only left a 30-minute window of error at the sailing time. But, that is what we were told. If true, no idea what time they actually left since our loaded buses were still sitting there at the time they should have been loading 9am buses.
We suffered the absolute low point in tours here sadly. Abercrombie & Kent was the ground operator and they have an excellent reputation worldwide. But, someone is at fault here. A&K could not provide the horsedrawn carriages that were sold as the main difference in this tour. The guide could not have been informed of this prior to our arrival because he seemed stunned by the news. We arrived inside the ticket gate and there were no carriages. He had us sit on a rock wall and he talked to us about the site and the Nabateans, etc. After about a half-hour, he excused himself to go check on the status of things. He returned with a A&K rep in a coat and tie and they told us that there are fewer than 10 horsecarts operational here and permitted to go through the Siq. All the other buses and tour groups had gone on. All the people who had come to Petra independently had gone on. There were 6 people left behind us that had come independently and needed horsecarts. They were all told that it was at least an hour's wait. Our group trickled off down the hill in pairs as horsecarts appeared. There was a fight for each cart as the A&K rep wrested the cart away from the independent guide. We were the last couple to be loaded and we had just stood or sat in the desert for over an hour for it. It was a very bad ride. There had been no warnings for pregnant women, people with neck and back problems, etc. and there should have been strong warnings. This was an adventure ride. It was extremely rough. It was a very primitive and basic way to move people from one place to another with little regard to safety or comfort or sightseeing, or very sadly the condition and treatment of the animals. The guide explained at some point in our wait that he was surprised when he got this tour because he had never heard of this; that the horsecarts were usually only used for handicapped people. He thought that the reason there were no horsecarts for us is that the cart men had hired themselves out to all the handicapped people who arrived before us. That still does not explain the hour plus wait. We saw each cart arrive and leave and return and our own trip each way was only 15 minutes. So, even if all the carts had gone down with the 9 Ancient Petra buses before us, they could have returned in 30 minutes and we did not see the first cart until after 45 minutes. In any event, what was sold could not be provided and that is just unacceptable. This is the first time we have made an official complaint onboard since the luggage theft incident. So, like that time we will have just left behind a paper trail.
We were the next to last couple to load a horsecart and the last toarrive. The couple behind us must have had a fresh horse, because they raced by and we ate their dust all the way. The guide had to run. The group had departed in 2s over about a 40-minute period. They just had to stand there and wait at the other end with no idea when the tour would resume and the guide rejoin us. He was not far behind us and was red-faced and winded. It was pretty awful. He took 15 to get his breath and round everyone up. Then he told us about the Treasury building in front of us and gave us 5 minutes for those who had not been waiting down for a halfhour to go look at it closely and inside it. Then he led us to the amphitheater and the Royal Tombs. He told us we could take 5 minutes to see the amphitheater inside if we wanted but to catch up before he got the group to the Royal Tombs. We did go inside for a couple minutes and when we got back out the group was gone. We caught up near the restrooms. He talked about the Royal Tombs and pointed them out. He told us we could take 5 minutes to use the restrooms if we wanted but that we had to be back at the Treasury in 30 minutes to load the horsecarts back. There was no time for us to walk up to see the details of the Royal Tombs, so we only got a brief glimpse inside the theater and the Treasury during our visit. Debbie took the 5 minutes at the restrooms and was happy she did not wait for the Visitor's Center. Because when we arrived back at the Treasury, we lined up and for an hour we witnessed the fight over each horsecart as it arrived but we were again the next to last cart to load. This meant that we would not have much time at the Visitor's Center before it was time to get on the bus again, but we knew what we wanted. Sadly, the men there were apparently on break with some of the guides from the buses and they would not sell us anything. We used the restrooms again, not knowing when we might get another chance and walked back down to some T-shirt stalls that we had passed and got 2 t-shirts. The stalls were not selling any of the local handicrafts though, so that was a missed opportunity for the locals and for us. We were back to the bus before our guide, Raed, had run back up through the Siq. While we were waiting in front of the Treasury someone asked him about lunch. He said that we would eat at a Bedouin camp on the other side of the mountain, inshallah, about 2pm. Raed, was in a difficult position for most of the day. He was very ironic though and it seemed that most of the group did not get or appreciate his sense of humor. Debbie, though, found him very funny. When he told us about lunch, she was the only one to laugh. Raed rolled his eyes. Debbie explained to Clay. After the explanation, Clay still thought that "inshallah" was a town. He asked Debbie why that was funny. Debbie thought that was even funnier. It was not a good day for laughter for her. It was hard, dusty walking and she was very short of breath and having coughing fits. It was still funny. Debbie explained again, starting in Dubai, about inshallah. Clay finally did get it and realized why Debbie found it so funny now, but it had lost something in the 5 minutes since Raed first said it. Somehow, Clay has spent the last 2 weeks in the Middle East and never picked up on the phrase inshallah (not sure how this is spelled, not having seen it written!). Anyway, it is not clear if when the locals say it, they mean it in an ironic sense of something that will not in all likelihood ever be happening, or if it is really meant in a wishful, God-willing, sense. In context, it generally seems to be meant ironically rather than hopefully.
We did get to lunch just a little after 2pm. This was a permanent business camp. The floor, benches, and about 2 feet up the walls were poured concrete. They were covered with rugs and cushions and pillows and a tent top. It was comfortable and scenic. It began with a beverage ceremony. The Bedouin host did not speak to us, but to Raed and he explained the customs and how it would work. The host poured himself a little thimbleful of coffee from a brass pot and drank it. Then service is from the right no matter where the most important guest is seated. Honor is at stake, but Raed told us they would understand if we did not drink coffee. (Well, now how could we not. That would be too rude!) We were the 3rd and 4th from the right in the seated group. They only had about 4 cups. You do the math. We each got our little thimble and had to drink it immediately for the cups to be dipped in a bowl, by a man following the pouring host and reused for the next person. This was not coffee. Clay does not even drink coffee and tried to give his to Debbie after a sip, but she would not take it. She was choking her own down. We did finish them off and return the empty cups. Debbie asked Clay what it was, he looked surprised and said, coffee. No, that was not coffe was Debbie's reply. Clay found this very funny. (Later Debbie asked Raed and he saidit was mostly cardamom and was a delicacy but also an acquired taste. We guess.) The entertainment followed the coffee ritual and was a little strange. If the Bedouins were such a loose-knit, nomadic people, how would they ever have gotten those military-looking costumes? This was not explained. They did a couple of dances and songs. The first one with a bagpipe and drums and the second one with a lute-like guitar instrument and drums and 2 of the dancers carried swords. While the dances were going on another man came through with a tray of small glasses filled with hot tea. We took those too. These were very sweet and we don't know what kind of tea, but as soon as they cooled enough to be drunk we finished them off too, just in case they wanted the glasses. (They were standing there watching expectantly and picked them up as soon as we set them down.) Then we were rousted up from our cushions for the buffet. We got to see a woman making a few pieces of the fresh bread we were served. The rest of the food was already in serving dishes covered with foil on the table. We had a choice of chicken with rice or lamb with rice or a vegetable mix with potatoes. All the dishes were very flavorful and tasty. The hummus was particularly good and Debbie has never liked it before. Raed had told us about the extraordinary numbers of olive trees in Jordan per capita and how valuable olives were locally. There was a variety of local olives, green and brown and both were good. There was a pickle bowl. The pickles were unusual and very spicy hot. There was a salad with diced tomatoes and cucumbers. There was no dessert. As soon as we seated ourselves with our plates filled, a vicious cat positioned itself at our end of our table in a very cat-like fashion as cat lovers at the other two tables called to it and offered it food, only to be ignored. No, a cat always wants to be where it is least welcome. So, it menaced Debbie through her entire meal and at one point lunged onto the table and her plate. Bob was horrified! Debbie was already using her water as a defense, but the cat just seemed to want the water since it would take a good spritzing and then lick all the water off and come back for more. Now, Debbie was force to use her knife as a defense. The cat ran under the table hissing. Debbie was really worried now, because the cat could claw us until we surrendered. Clay pooh-poohed that until he took the first scratch. Debbie said, all those shots and now we'll need rabies! The woman in the walker, laughed and told Debbie, oh you're an optimist. Debbie said, no just practical. A woman sitting on the other said replied that she had not been vaccinated for rabies either. Clay showed the group that while he had been scratched, that blood was not drawn and since he kicked back and the cat had fled the area that no one would need a rabies shot. Inshallah!
We drove back through a different village than modern Petra. Raed told us this village was built by UNESCO beginning in the 1970's to entice the Dools (spelling?) who were living in the caves of Petra to move out. He said they did not all move out until the 1990's and were still entitled to free housing, education, medical care and free access to do business in Ancient Petra. Their village does overlook the open end of the ancient village of Petra. We did have one last potty stop at the Movenpick Hotel in modern Petra. (There were permanent toilets and showers built at the Bedouin Camp, but there was no electricity on, so you had to go in the dark and many people balked.) Soon, we were back to the roads we had originally come in on for the return 2-hour drive. The roads were much better here than they had been in Egypt, so it was a much easier ride. The rides there and back were scenic and interesting in a different way than the ride to and from Luxor. This was really almost all desert and mountains. We drove through a sandstorm on the way back to the ship and that was dramatic. You could see it a long way off in the distance as we came down the mountains. We saw a lot more camels than donkeys here. We also saw a lot of goats.
Ancient Petra was just an amazing place and we are sorry that we did not get to visit it more thoroughly and in happier circumstances. We arrived back at the ship about 6:20pm. The ship sailed at about 6:50pm. This was 10 minutes before scheduled so everyone must have gotten back early. We had a quick dinner and then early to bed. We gained an hour tonight, so going to bed early and getting back the hour from last night should help us catch up with our rest.
Petra photos