Petra

There is a lot of dust in Petra. There is the dust of history shrouding everything, creating mysteries and feeding our imagination. There is the dust of the crumbly rose-red rock falling apart slowly under the scorching sun. Then there's the dust raised by the goats and donkeys on their pseudo-migratory routes in search of food and water along the wadis.

Petra is magnificent in its exquisite appearance, but also in the way past and present coexist here and the way it brings us closer to our ancestors. It is a very busy place during the day when some are trying hard to make a living while others are there just to enjoy. But when the dusk sets in and the night falls the ghosts can finally rest as the sounds fade away and the rock cools down again.

How best to describe Petra? It is very busy, and that I didn't like. It is very vast also, and that leaves still a lot of space to avoid the crowds and explore. It is extremely beautiful, especially when the setting sun sets the rock on fire and the monastery seems carved in a block of gold. The Treasury, a masterpiece of carving, welcomes you upon exiting the narrow canyon that leads you into Petra and back in time. It is this image that most likely haunts you before even setting foot in Petra and it is this image that will always come to mind when thinking of Petra.
The bedouins have long lived in the caves of Petra. Only concerns related to the preservation of the site and tourism have forced these people to move out. But, if you think that people have long forgotten about living in caves you're wrong, dead wrong.
Around Petra you'll see many bedouins still living in caves, you'll see cars parked in caves if you look around the corner in Petra, or donkeys kept there and, most unfortunately, garbage dumped there.

Where does history end, where does present begin ? Are these "cave-people" closer to me or closer to my ancestors? How do I differ from them? Petra threw these questions at me right there in my face and I did not find the answers to them yet.

The Nabateans were extremely smart. They did a brilliant workaround by putting their best skills at work to create that what they were not skilled for. Architects they were not, but excellent carvers and sculptors they were. And so, using the feature of the terrain they had available they carved a city into the rock rather than build it from rock.

The books I had were not only providing descriptions and explanations of the tombs and monuments there, but also descriptions of hikes, walks and treks in and around Petra. For two days I explored Petra on the beaten paths. But I also did a couple of short hikes offering great views over Petra or moments of most welcomed peacefulness.

There is, for example, the short hike up to a spot above the Treasury where you most likely get to enjoy the views in solitude. Not also in silence since the voices and sounds from the Siq (canyon) and area below seem amplified yet distant at the same time.
Then there's the steep stairway leading up to the monastery, a crowded route and a busy plateau till sunset. But if you wait up there for the sun to set and the monastery to put on its golden mask you will feel privileged and certainly rewarded for your patience. The crowds are gone by now, this show is for you only :-)

And then, in case you have missed to observe how fantastic this whole area is with its maze of white and pink rock domes, its myriad of caves and labyrynth of canyons you can always try the other way into Petra, via the Al-Muthlim canyon. Starting from the impressive tunnel carved into the rock (80m long) by the Nabateans you enter this fabulous landscape of red and mushroom shaped rocks and a wadi sprinkled with wild pink-flowered oleanders that gets narrower and narrower until it becomes just wide enough to let you squeeze through and slide down its smooth walls and little bowls. And then, when you least expect it, suddenly it spits you out again into the bright sunlight and through the backdoor into Petra. A short yet wonderful adventure giving you the foretaste of what the area can offer if you have missed to notice that until now. The likelihood of meeting other people here is very little.

And then, after you did all this what's left to do? Well, if you're greedy like me, and if you want to explore these stunningly beautiful surroundings some more you just pack your stuff and go trekking. And don't forget the book with all those great route descriptions.