moonIn Petra, rocks were obviously the predominant theme. Originally underwater, Petra is filled with large cliffs of rock that cut in many amazing shapes and contours that could have been created from having been submerged underwater for hundreds of thousands of years. Walking to the famous stone city of Petra entails walking through a two to three miles long path that had been cut through the giant rocks of the area by a river that once flowed in the region.
In this area, the combination of the lack of sand caused by the ancient Roman road that was constructed when they ruled this area and of the fact that the rocks are as high as towers causes you to feel like you are indoors or at the very least like you are in a massive and long cave. The beauty and majesty of this area is so great that I forgot that the rocks of Petra were not even the city’s main tourist attraction; however, after my 2-3 mile walk I clearly saw why so many people come to Petra.
Like a river flowing out into an ocean, the path that I had just trekked through simply opens up into a wide open area, a wide open area dominated by the ancient temple of Petra. The picture below can show what it looks like; however, neither that nor my words can capture its greatness. That is something that can only be done in person with one’s own eyes.
After the half hour I spent simply gazing in awe at the temple, I traveled around the rest of the ancient stone city of Petra. While it is carved into the sides of mountains, the city has the set up typical of any city from this period as it had an amphitheater, basic caves for the towns average citizens, and more ornate and impressive structures perched higher for the city’s elites. After this six hour trip, my group traveled about another hour south as we headed for Wadi Rum, land of the film Lawrence of Arabia.
Even though my group mates and I camped outside in the desert for the night, we had an experience completely different from that of the Bedouin home stay that we had three weeks earlier. For one, we were with each other and therefore surrounded by people who could speak English. Secondly, the camp that we stayed at was the Arabian version of a campground for vacationers as the small mountains around the camp were wired with lighting and stereos. In other words, the campground looked to be quite prepared for hosting desert rave parties. In addition, the landscape was very different from where my Bedouin home stay was. A bit south of Ma’an, my home stay was covered with rocks and soft dirt rather than sand. Wadi Rum though, two hours south of Ma’an, has the quintessential desert landscape as the sand is soft like that on a beach. Most of our activities at the camp revolved around interacting with and taking in this beautiful scenery.
I had many firsts in the activities that I did at the Wadi Rum campsite. My favorite activity was definitely riding a camel while catching the area’s sunset. Even though I had never ridden one before, I was very comfortable as I rode it without a guide holding the reins. At some I even had it sprinting and a galloping for a good ten seconds. After the camel ride, my group and I returned to the camp grounds for dinner, argheela, and music; however, after doing this for a couple of hours, my friend and I left the camp to see what the surround area away from the camp’s lights looked like at night. Night time in Wadi Rum is unlike any other place I have been. Because of how bright the stars and moon are, you can easily see what is 10-20 feet in front of you without any artificial light. After taking in this night time setting, on top of a smaller sized cliff, I went to bed ready to head back to Amman as I had now felt that I had seen the country’s most beautiful natural wonders.
Camel Riding in Wadi Rum
