admin October 10th, 2007
This stunning photograph is part of a pool of images of Petra, Jordan which has recently been set up on Flickr, the photo-sharing site. It’s by Flickr user Yousea. We heartily recommend enjoying the rest of yousea’s photos as well as diving into the Flickr Petra pool - a group you can contribute to when you return with your own images of the Rose City.
admin October 9th, 2007
Shahien, in his own words, is an aspiring journalist travelling the world, a journey which recently took him to Petra. Not content with just writing or taking photographs to capture the essence of the places he visits, Shahien also carries a video camera. Last week he visited Petra and, with his video camera, firmly attached to his right cheek, here is his report.
Unfortunately you will need to tilt your head 90 degrees to appreciate the glory that is Petra through Shahien’s eyes. Not a problem we’ve come across before with YouTube.
admin October 7th, 2007
Nancy is a twenty year old student at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a double major in political science and philosophy/theology. As a part of her political science degree she has been studying in Amman in Jordan.
One of the perks of this posting, she says, has been the chance to escape the city and enjoy the country’s tourist sights on leisurely weekends. One such break recently found her en route to Wadi Rum and, later, a sojourn to Petra. Here she underlines the advantages of getting to Petra bright and early:
By some stroke of luck… we walked through the long rock corridor early in the morning which meant that we were able to see and take pictures of the Treasury, of Indiana Jones’ fame, before any other tour groups were allowed into the park. Most of the sights in Petra are ancient royal tombs of the trader civilization that lived in Petra predating Roman times. We climbed up nearly 1,000 steps to a site called the Monastery with an excellent view of the rugged terrain that lies between Petra and Israel (and quite a big selection of Bedouins selling camel bone jewelry). In some spare time I also chatted with quite a few genuinely friendly “free spirits” that are part of the Bedouin tribe that maintains the park (including a seven year old local who through American TV and movies had a perfect American accent, in addition to the knowledge of several Bob Marley songs).
admin October 6th, 2007
Maria & Leanne’s Middle East Adventure seems to be coming along nicely. They certainly enjoyed their Turkish baths in Petra, though we’re not quite sure what to read between the lines.
Got into Petra last night & without a moments hesitation, signed up for a luxurious Turkish Bath where we got the full treatment (some women got a little more than they paid for from the male masseuse)!Spent a good 1/2hr in the steam room (crammed in there with about 25 others which was crazy as there was not enough room for us all to squeeze in but somehow we managed & had fun at it). Sweated buckets while having a good conversation with others before heading off to the scrub room to get a squeeky clean with a good scrub down. Sure wish he would have done my calluses on my feet! Back again to the steam room before going in for a great massage which sounded a bit like fireworks as my body cracked & cracked
Sounds like a perfect preparation for exploring the sights.
admin October 6th, 2007
It always pays to do a bit of homework before going somewhere new, particularly if you are visiting a site as interesting as Petra. Vances is probably the best-prepared traveller we have come across, recording the thorough research he has undertaken into the history and culture of Petra before setting off on his journey. In fact he calls it his Prelude to a Journey to a Journey.
My carefree forays around Petra began with the Nabateans, the people who built Petra. Ingenious Bedouin merchants, the Nabateans prospered by trafficking frankincense to European markets across a desert wasteland. Did I say ingenious? The glory of the Nabateans is yet another proof that brain power spans all ethnic groups.
We look forward to reading about your adventures when you get to Petra, Vances.
admin October 4th, 2007
We think it’s fair to say Candace was blown away by Petra on a recent trip to the Rose Pink City. We have seldom read such fulsome praise for the famous old site.
At night they had a “Petra by Night” tour where they line the path through the Siq (a HUGE gorge that leads to ‘The Treasury’ building) with candles and have a performance and tea waiting at the treasury. They ask that you remain silent for the walk so one can really take in the experience. I LOVED it. It might have been one of the most romantic things I’ve ever done…which is sad since I walked alone. Haha. The performance included 2 men sitting in the center of 100’s of candles in front of one of the main buildings, 1 singing and the other drumming. The other performance was a man playing the flute. He started playing inside of the building so that all you could hear was the echo and then came out and played around the people. I could go on and on..so really, you have to go
To sum it up: You must go to Petra! I can’t say enough good things about it. Oh! And, every meal I ate was a buffet. And a delicious one at that. So there it is, Petra is a dream.
That’s telling ‘em.
admin October 1st, 2007
C and D (that’s what they call themselves) are travelling the world before they settle down to new jobs in New York. They have just visited Petra, taking some great photographs along the way, including this image of the view towards Israel in the distance.
We walked the length of the city and climbed up to the farthest point in the city to reach the Monastery (a serious 1.5 hrs hike from city center), which is similar to the Treasury but larger and less ornate. From this peak, you can look west over the Negev to Israel—pretty desolate but inspiring. Words like prehistoric and primordial come to mind. Just an amazing site and one that will not be forgotten.
admin September 24th, 2007
This Mom Knows is a great name for a blog. And this mom knows how to enjoy a trip to Petra. First, pick a handsome guide:
Our guide, Ahmed, looked like a cross between Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino - just darker. I thought he was quite handsome (although a bit on the short side)
Then enjoy a fun-filled camel ride:
I was not prepared for the way they stand up, first the front legs and then the back creating a steep and quick dip! It threw me off a bit but was really funny.
Then go star-spotting:
we ran across Donna Karan in Petra! How random is that?… My mom thinks she saw Madonna and Guy Ritchie…but we’re not buying it!
admin September 24th, 2007
Jamie, a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology, has written an interesting blog post about Petra. Rather than concentrating on the dry, but beautiful, rocky landscape, he has water on his mind, using the incredibly elaborate water technology of the ancient Nabataeans as a theme in one of his sermon series.
Enormous and elaborate tunnels carried water throughout the city. Reservoirs and chambers kept water sufficient for residents but design also accounted for and prevented flash flooding. Over 2000 years ago, the Nabataeans knew the importance of water as a source of life and constructed this amazing city with that in mind.
admin September 18th, 2007
John Stanko has just been to Petra and writes entertainingly about a donkey-back tour. It seems the experience of his steep descent, swaying precariously on the beast of burden became almost a religious one.
After we spent some time at the top (the monastery was bigger than the treasury, but was not as ornate), we decided to ride the donkeys back down the trail. It would not have been so bad if it was a trail, but the trail was littered with steep steps for most of the way down. I thought several times I was going over the cliff. I confessed sins I never committed and made vows to God I can never keep, trying everything I knew to do to keep that donkey on the path! My guide kept saying, “Relax!” and I kept telling him, “You relax! You’re walking and I’m about to die!”
Fortunately, of course, he returned to terra firma safely. Now we he has some promises to keep.
admin September 14th, 2007
We like this entry from the Adventures of Bill and Kim where they arrive at Petra and climb for over an hour to enjoy the view from the High Place of Sacrifice.
We looked at all the Royal Tombs where a guy tried to sell us an “authenic, original Nabataen oil lamp”. We could tell it was fake because I don’t think they’d carve that kind of sexual position on an oil lamp 2000 years ago.
Wel, you never know.
admin September 14th, 2007
Ramadan has begun in Jordan and while many tourists would consider this a difficult time to travel in an Islamic country, many of us find something special in the holy atmosphere (well, in many places at least) and in the special buzz in the evening when bread has been broken.
The Black Iris blog quotes a 13th century verse about the daily fast:
There’s hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness.
We are lutes.
No more, no less.
If the soundbox is stuffed full of anything…
no music.
If the brain and belly are burning clean
with fasting, every moment
a new song
comes out
of
the
fire
admin September 9th, 2007
Would you take a teenager on a family holiday to Jordan. Martin Symington would. And did. And wrote about it in the Times this week. Petra was one of the highlights of their journey. And remember that photograph of a camel drinking a can of cola? The met it in Petra and fed the poor thing’s addiction.
a camel, introduced to us by her minder as Zuza, sitting on the ground with head held high in haughty expectation. It was 13-year-old Laura Winter’s idea to buy some Diet Coke instead of the regular Coca-Cola. “Better for her health,” she reasoned. Then she and my son Sebastian, 14, each fed a can to Zuza, whose trick was to open it with her teeth, tilt her head back, glug the contents and spit out the twisted metal
admin September 5th, 2007
Here’s a great image of a pale rosefinch, taken among the ruins at Petra and posted on this travel photo of the day site. Of course, there are probably better ways of getting noticed than appearing in rose pink plumage in the rose pink city of Petra. But maybe that’s the point.
Keen bird-watchers heading for Jordan should take a look at this informative site.
