Day 4 - Petra

After a very prolonged thunderstorm from about 10pm we eventually had a good nights sleep.

We left the hotel at 9.00 for a full day at the ancient city of Petra, also known as the Rose City because of the colour of the buildings.

It is 13 years since our first visit in 2010. At that time mass tourism there had only really started 3 years earlier after Petra became officially known as a Wonder of the World. A lot has changed since then. A massive museum and visitor centre complex has been built near the start of the Siq, a 3km path leading down to the ancient town of Petra. The Siq itself has been widened in places as electric buggies now transport people up and down the 3km at a cost of 15 Jordanian Dinas (about £19 one way). We walked down with the guide but were constantly being pestered by souvenir sellers. When we eventually arrived at the main square and Treasury building we were greeted by lots more souvenir shops and lots of camels, donkeys and horses which were being offered for rides around the site. There were a few camels in 2010, but not this many. We also found many stray dogs & puppies and cats and kittens are now living around the site. So we were continuously trying to avoid the shite that was everywhere. The tour guide politely called them "Donkey Bombs"

It was difficult to photograph the buildings in their entirity including The Treasury because of the souvenir shops and a lot more tourists. We were told that tourism is down by over 60% since the war in Gaza started so goodness knows what it would be like at 100%. Our guide showed us a video, pre covid, when a cruise ship had docked in Aquaba. The queues to exit the Siq were very long and it looked more like spectators leaving a sports stadium. At least it wasnt like that today.

After walking down the Siq, which is a long narrow path between a natural gap in the mountains, created by movement and possible earthquakes, we spent some time in the square gazing at the Treasury and trying to avoid the souvenir sellers. We then walked, with our guide, further into the town and then climbed high to get a good view of the ampitheatre and also see some of the tombs that had been built up high. We then descended and walked further towards a newly built restaurant where we were booked for lunch. The restaurant was run by Crowne Plaza hotels and the food was very good but there were flies everywhere so it wasnt a great experience. Some of the group walked up to the Monistery but as it was over 800 steps Paul did not want to do this so we walked around a bit more of the site and visited a burial chamber that we had visited before. This time there was a perfume shop set up at the entrance and another shop outside so we couldnt replicate the photos from 13 years ago.

It was disappointing to see how commercialised Petra has become but we did manage to see quite a bit more of the site that in 2010 and it is fascinating that even today, the experts have no idea how some of the very high tombs and carvings were made. Even with modern day cranes and lifts it would be difficult to replicate.

The photos are mainly of sites where I could avoid souvenir stalls and other tourists.

The Siq

End of The Siq

The Treasury

Building in Petra

The Ampitheatre

Burial Tomb of Middle Class person

(high in the rocks)

Burial Tomb of poor people in bottom of rocks

The Church Ceiling

The Church Walls and Ceiling

The Church

(unfortunately with souvenir sellers outside now)

Rocks at Petra

One of the many camels

Very small lizard

Little Donkey in Petra

Souvenir Stalls all along the path through Petra

We returned up the Siq by buggy and returned to the hotel where a few of us used the Jacuzzi which was only lukewarm so not the best experience but welcome after all the walking today. Paul and I then went for a walk in the town. As the population here are all Muslim, it was not possible to find anywhere that sold lager, other than 0% varieties. Paul is beginning to get desperate! Fortunately the hotel served lager (no wine or spirits but 5% local lager so Paul is happy).

Paul in Jacuzzi

The Mosque at Petra

Residential area in Petra

View from hotel over Petra town and surrounding mountains

New restaurant complex in the town

After a very nice dinner at the hotel, most of us went to the Petra by Night Show. This meant walking down the Siq again in the dark, seeing the 30 minute show, and walking back up again. So 6km walking in total. We got the impression that our tour guide did not think it a good idea to go but as it was included and sounded good we decided to go. That was a bit of a mistake. The walk down and back was good as the Siq was light by thousands of real candles which were inside a paper bag weighted down with sand and tied at the top. The candles had burned through a few bags but the effect was really good.

We had front row seats looking opposite the Treasury. When the show started we couldnt really understand the English version but the speaker mentioned some disasters that have happened throughout the years. The first part of the show was someone playing Arabic type music on a flute like instrument. It was very monotonous and went on for 10 minutes. There was no lighting except for hundreds of these candles in bags around the stage area. We could only see what was going on by taking a photo in night mode. Then someone else came on and sang a very mournful song, again in Arabic style and this too went on for 10 minutes. After this they lit up the Treasure building with colour changing lighting. The 3rd act was better. Although it was still Arabic music, at least we could see the musicians and it was a little more melodic than the previous acts. We were served tea during the show. We understood why our tour guide had tried to warn us not to go. Apparently he told one of the group that the show was crap! We walked back up the Siq and were taken back to the hotel.