Aqaba, Jordan

Aqaba, Jordan. At 8:45 the four of us left to board our private van. The main attraction is Petra, about two hours away. So far we have been very lucky with guides and drivers. This one was no exception. This one had a PHD in Political Science and was doing guide work. His English was perfect and you could see he was very intelligent as well as very nice. The kind of person that might be a friend under different circumstances.

It was a lot cooler then we thought it would be. Muriel was freezing even though she had a jacket. This guy, Sami was his name, took off his jacket and insisted she wear it, which she did all day.

The roads here were the best we have seen in the mid east. We were on a four lane divide highway going across mainly desert. There were mountains in the distance which soon became near. The city of Petra was actually up in the mountains. As we entered the city it was very hilly and the roads were narrow and very winding.

We drove to a gate that led to the ancient city. After paying admission there was a two mile trail to get to the first ruin. No problem it was all down hill and all paved. Big problem. It had been paved by the Romans and never improved or kept up since.

Our friendly tour director on the ship, Roger, told us about the horse drawn carriages we could hire for the ride. He should only be spit on by a thousand camels.

We did hire those carriages. The word carriage describes the things we rode as closely as limousine describes a roller skate. Old falling apart sulky is accurate. That is a two wheeled cart with very hard bicycle tires and no suspension of any kind.

It was all rocks and slabs of rock. It was very busy because of the ship load of tourists and they were making the horses gallop over this pile of rubble. Muriel started screaming to be let out until the camel jockey finally stopped and let her out. These things were made for just two people but these rag heads had to crowd in next to you because they were going so fast. Uncomfortable does not even come close to the ride. Extreme pain and injury is accurate.

We had been going through a pass through the weirdest mountains I have ever seen. In some places it got so narrow, only four people at a time could squeeze by. The ceiling would close in at times and it would be like a tunnel. The mountains themselves looked as if they were the phony kind you see in some zoos. They were very smooth and looked like they had been poured and free formed out of concrete. This had been a very easy place to defend. No army, no matter how large, could come crashing in.

Finally we came to the end of the cart ride at a wide opening in the mountains. We thought we had seen the most amazing stuff that ever was built by man. Wrong again. Carved into the mountain, 130 feet tall, was the front of the US treasury building. It does look a lot like it. It too had been prepared as a tomb but never used and no doors had ever been attached. Inside was just a large empty room with several smaller ones to the sides.

Further down the trail was a town like area with small houses cut into the mountain and even further down was a large open air amphitheater with seating for thousands. Again, you could see it, feel it, walk in and on it, but still not believe it.

Besides the people from the ship there were tons of young local girls from different schools in the area. Many wore uniforms and traditional head dress but many also wore western style clothes. A few got so brazen they even said hello but their friends would drag them away as if they would be eaten or something. When we were standing on the front steps of the treasury like building, a group of three walked up to Bobbi and I and said hello. One of them was dressed in western style clothes with blue jeans and a sweater. The other two wore babushka like things and long dress like uniforms. The western dressed one was doing all the talking. She asked us where we were from and said she had relatives in New Jersey. She was 18 years old, very nice, and seemed very bright.

In this area there were all kinds of very nasty vendors constantly bugging you. There was a guy with two camels selling rides or rather a photo opportunity on a camel. There were also mules to rent to go down the trail to the coliseum or part way up to where you could rent horses.

Going back up the trail was just as much fun, not. We had paid for round trips and we had to take the cart back if it killed us and it felt like it was doing just that. Our poor guide had to walk both ways. We would have been there all day had he not gotten us a couple of carts out of turn.

Right near was a place he recommended for lunch. The food was good and very reasonable. We offered to buy Sami, our guide, and the driver lunch also. He could have ripped us off for the $10 each but said they gave him lunch for free for bringing us there.

Just down the street was a junk store he recommended. Their profits went to a woman’s relief organization or so a sign said. Bobbi bought all kinds of stuff I never saw or knew we needed before. Boy am I lucky or what.

Then it was a two hour ride back to the ship. We saw many tents of nomads. They had flocks of sheep and goats. Where it looked like barren desert, there were really enough tufts of grass and plants to graze the animals. At one point he showed us people still living in an area that had just been flooded by very unusual rains that had drown three people and washed away their belongings and most of their animals. He said there are more rains forecast but they have been living there for as long as they can remember so they keep coming back. He also said most have no desire to improve themselves. The attitude is, what was good enough for their ancestors is good enough for them.

Just the other day the Rabbi’s wife said to me just what I have been saying also. How could these Arabs have been so smart to have been able to construct those monuments thousands of years ago and you don’t see a mind anywhere today.

Non Arab Minded Sherm Out.