Day 87 – April 2, 2015

We have just spent four days at sea. We went by both the coasts of Yemen (port of Aden) and Somalia. We then went through the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea and we are now at the port of Aqaba, where we have a tour to Petra and Wadi Rum.

As Jordon’s only sea access, Aqaba has played an important role in the country’s history. Ayla, the first Islamic city on the Arabian Peninsula, was built around the year 610 and served as a trading port between India and the Mediterranean. The city finally succumbed to earthquake damage and attacks by the Crusaders around 1116. It became a quiet fishing village only to be restored to prominence during World War I when T. E. Lawrence (of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ fame) and the local forces he commanded took it back from the Ottomans. Now known for its temperate climate and dramatic landscape of desert cliffs meeting the sea, Aqaba is a popular getaway for Jordanians from Amman in the north as well as other parts of the country. In 2001 Aqaba was made a Special Economic, Free Zone. This means that it has its own government within Jordan. It also means that there are no taxes here. It also has an international airport, where the visa fee is waived. It is a beautiful city with beautiful beaches and a great looking city. There are currently 107,000 people that live here, but before it was a free zone, there were only 45,000. We were only able to drive through it, but would love to come back. In fact this is one stop that would be a great vacation destination. Over 75% of the income from the city is from tourism.

Two hours from Aqaba, Petra, Jordan’s famous ‘lost city’ lies hidden in a valley, where it had been forgotten for 1000 years. Built by the Nabataean people around 312 BCE, the city was carved into pinkish-colored cliffs that led to its nickname ‘The Rose Red City’. It was a center of caravan trade between Egypt and Persia. These people were pagans and that meant that they felt the after life was more important than their life here on earth. So, what they did was spend their time building these gorgeous tombs in the sandstone cliffs of Petra. These are still standing today. This is an earthquake area, but these tombs have survived. The water system they built back then, is still the basis of the water system they use today. The city was absorbed into the Roman Empire around the year 100 CE. If was unknown to westerners until 1812 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.  On July 7, 2007 it was determined to be one of the New Sven Wonders of the World. It was absolutely beautiful and the two hours we spent there was no where enough. You can hike up the rocks and explore all of the different tombs. It is a place that Philippe and Nanda (Steve’s soon and wife) would really love. We would love to come back and spend three days just at Petra. They have very nice hotels all around the area.

Also accessible to Aqaba is Wadi Rum, ‘the Valley of the Moon’. A desert landscape known for it dramatic rock formations and the deep red colors of the rocks and sand. It was the filming location for ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. Wadi means lower area and Rum (besides something good to drink) means desert with high mountains. Here, by sixes, we piled in the back of old, old pickups and road out into the desert. The Wadi is traced back to 17000 BC, the stone age. Because it had water, it was a place where people could live. Lawrence of Arabia spent a lot of time here also. In 1995 it became a protected area and two years ago it was deemed an UENESCO World Heritage site. The Bedouins are the ones that still live here and are the ones that guide you around. On the walls in the Wadi Rum are carvings that date back to 2 or 3 BC. They contain animals and hunters. It is just so amazing that this architecture is still standing after so many years. We made two stops in our 1.5 hour ride through the Wadi, one to see the carvings on the wall and the second at a Bedouin tent where we were served coffee and tea and were introduced to some of their culture.

This is probably one of the ports that we loved the most. It was a lot of walking, about 2 km into Petra through the canyons to the treasury, which is a beautiful tomb, not a treasury, and then another 1 km to the theater where they held their religious ceremonies. Getting into Petra was easy, as it was down hill, but coming back it was very hard. Still, it was a fantastic day.

As an aside, I read a book before we went to Petra called Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen. It is based in the 70’s when she and a friend went backpacking (they are from New Zealand) in Jordan. She met one of the Bedouins in Petra and married him and raised a family there. It was very interesting and then to actually see what was in the book was great.

1 – View from ship

2 – Other side of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is Israel

3 -5 Views from bus going to Petra

6 – Musa, the town where Petra is located

7 – Entrance to Petra

8 – Horses you can take the first 800m (we did not)

9 – Our guide talking to our group (she was really excellent)

10 – Beginning of the walk to the Treasury; to left at this point there is a separate path for carts and horses

11-18 On the walk to the treasury; tombs, cliffs and carvings

19 – Carriage - $35 for two

20-25 Narrow openings in the cliffs you are going through

26 – Just before you get to the Treasury you can barely see it through the opening; it is a fantastic view of which I am sure you cannot tell from the picture

27-28 Treasury – tomb

29 – us

30 – Steve

31 – Across from Treasury looking left

32-33 Across from the Treasury to the right 1 km it is the old theater area where the religious rites took place

34 – The captain of the ship and his wife as he is getting ready to ride a donkey

35 – Camel riders in caverns

36 – Where we ate lunch; believe we ate camel

37 – Sheep along the road

38  Pickups we rode across Wadi Rum

39-42 Wadi Rum

43 – Our guide with the drawings on the wall

44 – Wadi Rum

45 – Bedouin camp

46 – Wadi Rum

47 – Bedouin tent where we had tea and coffee

48 – Cooking fire in tent for the coffee and tea

49 – Inside of tent

50 – Steve outside of tent

51-52 Wadi Rum

53 Us on truck

54-59 Aqaba on our way back to ship; we were on a private tour and all aboard was 5:30; we got back at 5:20. There were 24 of us on this tour, so they would have waited.